Tuesday, July 29, 2025 - Glenn Gainor, who has
served as the head of physical production for Amazon Original Movies, is poised
to exit Amazon MGM Studios and he’ll soon be launching his own shop, a
diversified film production outfit and consultancy designed to meet the current
moment in global filmmaking.
The new company is called Hollywood Ventures Group and it’s already staffing up. Joining Gainor will be producer, investor and veteran entertainment industry insider Sandy Climan, whose resume includes tenures at MGM, CAA and Universal Studios. For the last 26 years and change, he’s served as founder and CEO of Entertainment Media Ventures, a global entertainment and media advisory firm.
Also on the Hollywood Ventures Group team will be a roster of founding members that includes Nelly Kim, senior vp at Entertainment Media Ventures, Gabriel Jenkinson, vp at Entertainment Media Ventures, and Tejkiran (Kiran) Kaur. The latter executive will serve as manager of partner relations, and she joins Hollywood Ventures Group after working closely with Gainor on his physical production team at Amazon MGM Studios.
Hollywood Ventures Group will maintain headquarters at the iconic Television City, formerly known as CBS Television City, the high-profile studio complex located on Beverly Boulevard in L.A.’s Fairfax District neighborhood. And it promises to be a busy office as Hollywood Ventures Group launches with a mission to develop “premium film and television content, cultivating international creative partnerships and shaping the future of entertainment,” per the company.
But that’s not all. The firm will also maintain a strategic advisory division that will provide media, investment, mergers and acquisitions, studio infrastructure and film production consulting services to governments, studios and corporations across the globe. Gainor and the team plan to collaborate with governments and stakeholders in key film territories “to consult, build, acquire, and invest in a global ecosystem of creative assets” including studio facilities, filmmaker-led production companies, technology platforms, film funds and other film-focused companies.
It may read as ambitious, but isn’t so much when one considers Gainor’s experience. He’s accumulated dozens of credits on Hollywood films dating back more than 25 years, and has led physical production on a long list of high-profile Amazon Originals by overseeing productions filmed across continents and shepherding new efficiencies and inclusive production models. Before Amazon, he served as head of physical production at Screen Gems and co-founded Sony Innovation Studios, where he led advancements in virtual production and sustainable filmmaking. He’s the owner of three Lumiere Awards from the Advanced Imaging Society.
He describes Hollywood Ventures Group as an example of what Hollywood does best: “It allows good ideas to surface and then figures out how to make them a reality.” The “exciting” part for Gainor, Climan and the team is that they can “think tank” an idea but they can also help bring it to fruition, from a local level to the global scale.
“Storytelling transcends entertainment,” Gainor explained. “It empowers voices and shapes our collective future. By partnering with both established and emerging markets, we can leverage innovative technologies to amplify diverse narratives worldwide, ensuring that everyone has a stake in the stories we tell. This involves advising on new global infrastructures, educating communities on effective storytelling, while upholding our highest standards and values.”
Gainor said he’s known Climan for quite some time, and he proved to be the perfect partner because he’s someone who’s always “looking around corners” for what’s to come. “He was one of the few people who understood the multiplicity of my vision that if you are monolithic in the 21st century and only do one thing, you’re limited in today’s evolving world. You have to understand the multiplicity of the industry. Movies aren’t singular anymore. Content is coming at us in many forms — films, television shows, verticals, influencers, etc. — and Sandy gets that.”
Added Climan in a statement: “HVG is dedicated to building the business and creative infrastructure for global, cross-cultural storytelling. We will keep our clients and partners at the cutting edge of technology and best practices for existing and emerging platforms serving audiences around the world.”
Asked how he’s feeling about departing Amazon MGM Studios, Gainor called it bittersweet. “I’ve got so many friends here at Amazon, and at Sony, where I was for 14 years. You like to show up and see friends every day, but friends also like to see their friends be the best version of themselves,” he explained. “The reason Hollywood Ventures Group came about was simply because other people were telling me that with this world of opportunity around me, that I have to scale myself in a different way to help realize the vision of the emerging marketplace and to take advantage of opportunities that exist worldwide. Those opportunities will eventually help studios, the same studios that have supported me for so many years, while also helping the rising voices that are wanting to be heard and should be heard.”
Even the address is intentional. “Being based at Television City is important because it’s the heart of Hollywood. Los Angeles has tremendous value and there are great people working here in the craft. Not just writers, directors and producers but also editors, costume designers, all the dream weavers. Television City represents the past — it’s where the Carol Burnett Show was filmed — but also the future, as shows are still being shot here. It’s standing at the threshold of a changing industry, ready to prepare for what’s next. I’m excited to work with the team there to launch new ideas and opportunities.”
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