Sony Lands Drew Reed, Ace Book Finder & Longest Tenured NY Studio Lit Exec

Mike Fleming Jr
·3 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: Drew Reed has just joined Sony Pictures Entertainment as EVP of Literary Affairs, where he will oversee all literary IP acquisitions for feature adaptation at the studio, effective May 1. He will
He will support all SPE film labels.

Reed comes to SPE after a 17-year run at Fox, where he created the department and served as EVP of Literary Affairs for nearly two decades. With the recent merger of Fox and Disney, he has done the same for Disney’s live action group, but that studio has shown a limited appetite for books as it has leaned on its silos.

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I’d heard that his contract came up, and that this week, several suitors tried to hire him, not surprising as he is considered the gold standard for what he does, which is sleuth and advocate literary properties for films.

He chose Sony, rekindling a long relationship with fellow Fox alums Tom Rothman, who ran the studio for years, Motion Picture Group President Sanford Panitch and Elizabeth Gabler, who championed the adaptation of tastemaker books for years while running Fox 2000, and now is president of Sony-based 3000 Pictures.

Reed was instrumental in landing an extensive roster of book based projects, many of them notable NY Times bestsellers, which includes: Children of Blood and Bone, Gone Girl, The Martian, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hate U Give, Love Simon, Hidden Figures, The Woman in the Window, The Fireman, The Force, Marley and Me, and The Devil Wears Prada. At Fox, he worked across most labels including 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight, Fox Family, and Blue Sky Studios divisions.

Reed brings over his deep relationships with agents, publishers, and producers.

Jake Bauman will continue in his role as Vice President of Literary Development, and he will report to Reed, and helping to scout and source literary IP for all of the motion picture group’s labels.

Said Gabler: “Sanford and I are elated and immensely proud to be reunited with Drew after almost two decades of working with him at Fox. He is one of the most highly respected and innovative Literary executives working in our business and has unparalleled global relationships in every aspect of the publishing, literary, and filmed entertainment communities. He has an innate and unique ability to ascertain adaptable literary material, an extraordinary skill in our extremely content driven business. We are confident he will lead our New York based Literary Department to even greater successes.”

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