DeVon Franklin and Adam Milano have been promoted to the position of vice president, production and Lauren Abrahams has been named creative executive for Columbia Pictures, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures.
Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad and Tolmach said, “DeVon and Adam have each been involved with a number of recent hits at the studio and have given our senior executive team tremendous support over the past several years. They have cultivated several important talent relationships and are well respected within the company and throughout the creative community. This promotion acknowledges their past contributions and recognizes their importance as key contributors to the studio’s ongoing success. It’s been our pleasure to watch Lauren grow within the department and we have already come to rely on her intelligence and prodigious work ethic. Each of these executives have grown up in our system and we are proud to recognize them with these well deserved promotions.”
Franklin joined the studio in 2005 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, where he served as an executive, shepherding such projects as Be Cool and Beauty Shop. He began his career as an intern at Handprint Entertainment before working as an assistant to James Lassiter at Overbrook Entertainment and an executive at Tracy Edmonds’ Edmonds Entertainment. Since joining Sony Pictures, Franklin has helped to oversee such hits asThe Pursuit of Happyness and Hancock, both of which starred Will Smith and saw enormous worldwide success, and 21, starring Kevin Spacey, which earned $150 million worldwide. He is presently working on Seven Pounds, a drama starring Smith and Rosario Dawson; the next installment of the Pink Panther franchise, starring Steve Martin;The Ugly Truth, starring Katherine Heigl; and Not Easily Broken, produced by Bishop T.D. Jakes. Franklin earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Cinema-Television from the University of Southern California.
Milano joined the studio as an intern at age 19, becoming an assistant after graduating from USC in 2000. In 2004, he was promoted to creative executive, helping to oversee such films as the Academy Award®-nominated Monster House, 30 Days of Night, Vantage Point, starring Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox which grossed more than $150 million worldwide earlier this year, Made of Honor, starring Patrick Dempsey which also grossed $100 million worldwide, The House Bunny, starring Anna Faris and the forthcoming Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera.
Abrahams graduated from Wesleyan University in 2003 and joined Michael De Luca Productions as a development assistant from 2004 through 2006. Since then, she served as Tolmach’s assistant. She is currently serving as the junior executive on the projects Salt starring Angelina Jolie, Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson, Winter’s Discontent and Flash Gordon, among others.
