Stephanie Ito Returns To Paramount As President, Post-Production & Innovation – Deadline

Stephanie Ito is returning to Paramount as President, Post-Production & Innovation, a little less than one year after departing the studio. Lee Rosenthal, who serves as President Of Worldwide Physical Production for both Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Studios, made the announcement today in a memo you can read in full below.

Ito joins Paramount from Epic Games Studios, where she served as Head of Production, overseeing production, as well as post-production and VFX. In her return to Paramount, she will oversee post-production, editorial and finishing needs for all of the studio’s theatrical and SVOD titles, while implementing new strategies for production capture and exhibition. Her first day back will be March 16.

Ito departed Paramount in March of 2021, after a 16-year run that she her rise to President of Post-Production, becoming the first woman ever to hold that post at any major studio. During her tenure, she oversaw all aspects of post-production for such franchises as Mission: Impossible, Transformers and Star Trek, Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, Silence and The Wolf of Wall Street, and such additional major titles as A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II, Sonic the Hedgehog, Rocketman, The Big Short, Flight, Interstellar and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Ito began her career in post at DreamWorks and is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Rosenthal’s memo heralding her return can be found below:

Team,

I am thrilled to announce that Stephanie Ito will be returning to Paramount Pictures to join our team as President, Post-Production & Innovation.

 In her new role, Stephanie will be overseeing post production, editorial and finishing needs for all our theatrical and SVOD titles.  She will also be responsible for shepherding in new technology strategies for production capture and exhibition, with an eye to exploring new formats and methods of filmmaking that will keep the studio, and our filmmakers, at the forefront of modern production capabilities. Stephanie will begin on March 16th. 

 I have had the privilege to work with Stephanie over the course of 13 years and on too many movies to count!  She is a trailblazing executive, and a visionary leader who always manages to seamlessly weave together all the elements and nuances of post-production, while earning the confidence and trust of filmmakers, directors, producers, colleagues, and craftspeople. 

 Stephanie joins us from the Epic Games Studios where she recently served as Head of Production, overseeing production, post-production and VFX.  Prior to that, she had a 16-year run at Paramount Pictures where she was the first woman to achieve the rank of President of Post-Production at a major studio.  During her tenure, Stephanie oversaw post-production on franchises including Mission: Impossible, A Quiet Place I & II, Transformers, and Star Trek, as well as awards contenders and prestige films such as Rocketman, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Big Short and Flight.

 We are incredibly fortunate that Stephanie will be at Paramount once again to take on this fresh challenge and bring both her institutional knowledge and cutting-edge technology experience to our productions.  Please join me in extending a warm welcome and congratulations to Stephanie on her new role.