Bicoastal/international Partizan has added executive producer Sheila Stepanek, who will work out of the shop’s Los Angeles office.
Stepanek assumes the executive producer duties from Partizan’s New York-based president/principal Stephen Dickstein, freeing him to focus more upon talent management. Previously, she worked in the same capacity at Santa Monica-based Backyard Productions, which she joined three and a half years ago (SHOOT, 4/11/97, p. 7).
Partizan’s West Coast and Midwest rep, Michael Di Girolamo, said that finding the right person for the job took a while, but that Stepanek emerged as the best of several candidates.
"We’re trying to build a staff and an administration that really matches the talent, so we can get the best work, creatively," said Di Girolamo. "With Sheila and our directors all in place, I think we have a really great apparatus here now. We’re finally taking off, and she’s that missing link."
When Dickstein approached her, Stepanek related, she was happy in her position at Backyard. But upon talking with him about Partizan, she found herself impressed by his vision and plans for the company.
"Obviously, Partizan has a great reputation in Europe," said Stepanek, "and definitely has had a good presence here. But what most attracted me was that I can help to create a really strong infrastructure to support great talent."
Stepanek said she was also attracted to the high caliber of directorial talent at Partizan, citing its mix of up-and-coming helmers with established stars such as Michel Gondry and the Traktor collective. Stepanek will be involved in day-to-day production for the company’s U.S. directors, which include Dominic Murphy, Barbara McDonough, Jaume and newly signed Aaron Priest (SHOOT, 12/1, p. 1). Traktor maintains its own Santa Monica-based production office.
Stepanek worked out of Backyard’s now-closed Chicago production operation (the company still maintains a sales office there) before subsequently moving to its West Coast premises. Prior to Backyard, she spent several years as executive producer at now defunct Dix Productions.
Besides the aforementioned Di Girolamo, Partizan’s reps are New York-based Geren Lockhart on the East Coast, and Chicago-based Tracy Bernard & Associates, which handles the Detroit market.
At press time, Backyard had not announced a successor to Stepanek.
