Yahoo Finance MRC Hires MarVista & Lionsgate Vet Kenneth Christmas As First General Counsel
EXCLUSIVE: Kenneth Christmas has joined MRC as General Counsel.
He will report directly to Chief Business Officer Scott Tenley.
More from Deadline
In this newly established role, Christmas will oversee all corporate legal affairs for the independent entertainment company and its expansive partnerships and investments, in addition to working with the company’s business affairs and mergers and acquisition teams.
Christmas is an entertainment industry veteran with a long career spanning positions at well-known studios, production companies, and law firms. Christmas most recently served as Of Counsel at boutique entertainment law firm Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano. Previously he served as EVP, Business & Legal Affairs at MarVista Entertainment, a global independent studio that creates, acquires and distributes more than 60 movies a year. He also worked at Lionsgate Television as VP of Business & Legal Affairs. He held various other positions throughout his career including serving as a business and legal consultant at The Tyra Banks Company, outside legal counsel for A&E Networks, working with Vincent D’Onofrio in a production company, as General Counsel/Head of Business Affairs at Edmonds Entertainment and at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, et. al, a leading talent firm in Beverly Hills. He started his career at O’Melveny & Meyers representing major studios, networks, production companies, entertainment lenders and bond companies in complex, cutting-edge transactions. A graduate of Yale Law School and Stanford University, the San Jose native has two children and lives in Los Angeles.
“I’m very excited to welcome Kenny, who has a keen legal and business mind, to MRC as we establish the role of General Counsel,” said Tenley. “His entrepreneurial spirit, deal-making prowess in film and television, and strategic thinking will be invaluable to MRC as we continue to grow.”
“I am thrilled to be joining MRC’s entrepreneurial, team-oriented culture,” said Christmas. “I’ve long admired the company and look forward to contributing to its future success.”
MRC counted a record 27 Emmy noms in 2020 including all three scripted series from MRC Television: Ozark, The Great and The Outsider and for the 77th Annual Golden Globes, 2019 American Music Awards and So You Think You Can Dance, from dick clark productions, part of MRC’s Live & Alternative division. MRC Television is currently in production on Ozark, The Shrink Next Door and The Great. MRC Non Fiction has the feature Edgar Wright documentary The Sparks Brothers making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this week. MRC Data, a joint venture with PMC, recently released its comprehensive Year-End Music Report.
Best of Deadline
U.S. Covid-19 Update: More Americans Have Now Died Of Covid-19 Than Died In All Of WWII
Coronavirus: Movies That Have Halted Or Delayed Production Amid Outbreak
Hong Kong Filmart Postponed Due To Coronavirus Fears; Event Moves Two Weeks Before Toronto
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
