HBO Films Chief Exits

LOS ANGELES, October 15: Colin Callender is set to launch a
new entertainment company in 2009, after exiting his role as the president of
HBO Films, where he has ushered in a string of award-winning projects since he joined
the division in 1999.

Upon Callender’s departure, Kary Antholis will become
president of HBO Miniseries and Len Amato will become president of HBO Films.
Both will report to Michael Lombardo, the president of the programming group
and West Coast operations.

“This past year at HBO Films has been nothing less than
extraordinary, and it’s the perfect time for me to move on to a new challenge,”
said Callender. “My career has been shaped by the one constant in this
industry—change—and for some time I’ve had a hankering to return to
my entrepreneurial roots. With the industry in the midst of a major
transformation, and coming off this great year, I can’t think of a better time
to launch my own company.”

Announcing Callender’s resignation, Richard Plepler, the
co-president of HBO, stated: “Colin’s contributions over these many years have
been nothing short of extraordinary. His vision, intelligence and unique talent
are responsible for the widespread acclaim his films and mini-series receive
year after year. We will certainly miss him and hope and expect to have a
continued collaboration with Colin and his new company.”

Callender won his first Emmy in 1983 for producing the
9-hour television adaptation of The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby. That was followed by the launch of The Callender
Company. He joined HBO in 1987 as executive producer of HBO Showcase, later HBO
NYC, and relocated to Los Angeles in 1999 when he became president of HBO
Films.

—By Mansha Daswani