Par's Boland Exiting To Start Indie Venture

Paramount executive Tom Boland is leaving the studio to set sail as an independent producer.

Together with his sister Jennifer Uteda, Boland is launching Cascade Releasing with a focus on family-oriented productions for the big screen and the home entertainment market. Capitalizing on Uteda's existing shingle Reel Pictures, which specializes in marketing and advertising, Cascade plans to later expand into acquisitions.

Development financing for the new venture will come initially through Reel Pictures, with that entity remaining a stand-alone company for the meantime.

Cascade will assemble financing for projects on a package-by-package basis.

During his extended run at Paramount, Boland worked on a number of family-oriented projects, including "Rugrats in Paris," "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Other projects he worked on included "The Core."

Boland most recently was vp creative affairs at Paramount's motion picture department. His departure date has yet to be determined, but he is expected to leave by the end of the summer.