Maeda exec VP at Gaga
Exec to raise company's profile in Los Angeles
Maeda will report directly to Kaz Tadashiki, president of Gaga Pictures, based in Tokyo. He will work with Yoko Asakura, chief operating officer of Gaga America.
Aside from feature film acquisitions, the exec's duties will include coordinating television and pay TV pickups and generally raising the company's profile in Los Angeles.
Maeda, a Los Angeles native, has lived in Japan for six years, including four as the Tokyo-based manager of ad sales for Time.
Gaga is expanding its acquisition activities. It has distribbed packages of pics on behalf of New Line Cinema and Miramax Films. Its upcoming slate includes romantic comedy "Notting Hill," starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts; actioner "End of Days," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; and drama "The Green Mile," starring Tom Hanks. Universal is distributing "Hill" and "Days" in the U.S., and Warner Bros. is distribbing "Mile."
