Eric Kops has been elevated to the new role of Lionsgate’s Head of Global Communications & Earned Media in the conglom’s motion picture division.
Kops joined Lionsgate in 2020, working on such No. 1 openers Spiral: From the Book of Saw and The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, as well as American Underdog. He is currently overseeing the publicity campaigns for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4; White Bird: A Wonder Story, the follow up to the 2017 hit; Borderlands, starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jack Black; About My Father, starring Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro; Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the long-awaited adaptation of the Judy Blume classic, among several others.
In his new position, Kops will lead global feature film publicity on all wide theatrical releases, multiplatform releases, and catalog, through the full cycle of their campaigns; he also will oversee strategic communications for the Motion Picture Group as a whole. Kops has been unofficially serving in the role since Liston was promoted to lead the Global Marketing department last year. She previously held the job and Kops will report to Liston.
Said Marisa Liston, Lionsgate’s President of Global Marketing, “Eric could not be more respected for his creativity, intelligence, experience, and leadership skills, which made him the perfect choice to head up the department. His impeccable relationships with talent and representatives, alongside his thorough understanding of every aspect of the job from strategy to media training, have made him an invaluable addition to our overall marketing team.”
Kops’ previously served Summit Entertainment, a Lionsgate company, as SVP of Publicity, overseeing the campaigns for films including The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Hurt Locker, which won six Oscars including Best Picture, and all of the Twilight films.
Kops has been working in entertainment marketing and publicity since 1991. He spent six years at MGM/UA, rising through the ranks to ultimately head up the department as EVP of Worldwide Publicity & Promotions. During his tenure, he oversaw the PR campaigns for films including The Thomas Crown Affair, Igby Goes Down, Hotel Rwanda, and the James Bond films starring Pierce Brosnan. He also orchestrated the PR launch of the Legally Blonde and Barbershop franchises, among other titles.
Next, he moved to Paramount Pictures, where he served as SVP Publicity, heading up U.S. publicity campaigns and working with filmmakers including Cameron Crowe on Elizabethtown, JJ Abrams and Tom Cruise on Mission: Impossible III, and Bill Condon on Dreamgirls, where he oversaw the Oscar-winning campaign for Jennifer Hudson.
Additionally, Kops produced the award-winning independent film Do You Take This Man, starring Anthony Rapp, Jonathan Bennett, Alyson Hannigan, Thomas Dekker and Mackenzie Astin. The film centers around the wedding of a gay couple; the wedding scene was shot the same day the 2015 Supreme Court decision in support of gay marriage came down.