One month removed from its Best Picture win for “Spotlight,” Open Road Films has hired Jonathan Helfgot as its new president of marketing, effectively replacing Jason Cassidy, who is departing the company. Helfgot will report directly to Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg, who made the announcement Wednesday.
Helfgot joins Open Road from Rec Room, an original- and branded-content studio that he founded and where he most recently served as managing partner. At Rec Room, Helfgot and his partners worked with clients including Sony Pictures, Fox, Warner Bros., HBO, Netflix, Paramount, Universal, Disney and FX, and developed digital series with networks including Comedy Central and E! Entertainment. The remaining Rec Room partners will continue to oversee these projects under a new banner.
Before founding Rec Room, Helfgot served as executive VP of worldwide marketing for Anschutz Film Group and served as senior VP of marketing strategy and research at 20th Century Fox. At Anschutz Film Group, Helfgot oversaw all marketing, advertising and publicity efforts for Walden Media and Bristol Bay Productions, as well as managing Walden’s branding strategies across publishing, licensing, promotions, outreach, and new media. At 20th Century Fox, Helfgot crafted and implemented strategic marketing campaigns for over 150 films, including “Avatar,” “Borat,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “The Simpsons Movie” and billion-dollar franchises such as “X-Men,” “Ice Age,” “Night at the Museum” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”
“Jonathan is a widely respected and rising star marketer and will bring a boldly strategic and innovative point of view to our campaigns,” Ortenberg said. “He is a proven leader with big ideas and I am thrilled to bring him on board.”
“Open Road Films is a dynamic studio that has released some of the highest quality films in recent memory. With an incredible slate in front of the company, I am thrilled to join
Open Road’s upcoming releases include Oliver Stone‘s “Snowden” (Sept. 16) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the Jamie Foxx thriller “Sleepless Night.”