Bruce Rosenblum joins Legendary Entertainment

Legendary Entertainment has a new man of steel.

Monday, the closely held entertainment company announced that it has tapped Bruce Rosenblum, the former top television executive at Warner Bros., to be its president of television and digital media.

Thomas Tull, chief executive of Legendary Entertainment, said in a statement that Rosenblum’s hiring would further the company’s efforts to expand its content, including its valuable comic characters, to the small screen, tablets and mobile devices as well as into more international territories.

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The newly minted partnership -- coming less than a month after Rosenblum left his post as head of TV at Warner Bros. after failing to win the top studio job -- also feeds rampant speculation that Tull is preparing his own high-profile split later this year from Warner Bros., after a lucrative co-production and distribution partnership that produced such blockbusters as the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Clash of the Titans,” “The Hangover,” and the recently released “Man of Steel,” which muscled its way to more than $113 million at the weekend box office.

“Bruce has an outstanding track record in the business, and he will be instantly additive to the team in our efforts to continue to make world-class content for consumers, however and wherever they access that content,” Tull said in a statement. “We are pleased to have him join Legendary and look forward to working together to continue to build value for the company.”

Rosenblum has more than 30 years’ experience in television, and was a key member of Warner Bros.’ senior leadership team until an awkward and tense two-plus-year successional battle to replace retiring Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer pitted Rosenblum against two other ranking colleagues, film president Jeff Robinov and digital president Kevin Tsujihara.

Tsujihara in January was named Meyer’s successor, and Tsujihara stepped into the CEO role in March. Being passed over for the chairman job was devastating to Rosenblum, who many believed was the front-runner to run Hollywood’s largest movie and television studio.

Rosenblum announced last month that he was leaving Warner Bros. -- his home for nearly 25 years. The tense corporate bake-off destroyed the relationship between Rosenblum and Robinov, as each jockeyed for position and tried to undercut each other.

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Rosenblum, who received his business degree from USC and his law degree from UCLA, is currently chairman and CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a position he has held since January 2012. While at Warner Bros., he was instrumental in helping to develop D.C. comic characters for the small screen, including “Smallville.”

Legendary Entertainment boasts a film division, Legendary Pictures, and a comics division, Legendary Comics, which play well among the so-called “fandom demographic.”

Legendary Pictures-associated productions, including the “Dark Knight” and “Hangover” series, have generated more than $8 billion worldwide at the box office. The company’s upcoming film slate includes “Pacific Rim,” directed by Guillermo del Toro, and “Seventh Son,” starring Jeff Bridges.

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