USA Films taps Pomerance

Exec VP to o'see prod'n, development

By CHARLES LYONS, JONATHAN BING

As USA Films passes its one-year milestone, it's adding muscle to its executive staff. Ruth Pomerance, who until March ran the Gotham office of AMG, has been named USA's executive veep for development and production. She starts in June.

"Ruth is fantastic at dealing with agents," said Donna Gigliotti, prexy of production. "I really needed a right hand and she will be it."

Pomerance will remain in New York, where she'll report to USA production prexy Donna Gigliotti, overseeing several films already in development and putting new projects into production, most of them in the $5 million-$40 million range. "We want to be as productive as possible," Pomerance said. "There's a slate to fill."

That slate already includes Joel and Ethan Coen's "The Barber Movie," with Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand; Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic," with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones; and Jodie Foster's "Flora Plum," with Claire Danes and Russell Crowe.

Having worked as a production executive for Arnold and Anne Kopelson, Frederick Zollo, John Davis and Scott Rudin, Pomerance is a veteran of the Gotham book market.

But given how long it takes to put literary material into production, Pomerance will be especially keen on screenplays and other projects already developed by producers. "I will always be partial to making books into movies," she told Daily Variety. "That's my background and my interest. But I'll have to be looking initially for projects that are further along."