Michael Paseornek is a founding member of Lionsgate Entertainment's management team and served as the company's President of Motion Picture Production for over two decades. He played a key role in shaping the studio's film slate, producing, executive producing or presiding over the production of more than 150 films. These films spanned a wide range of genres, including Oscar-winning films like La La Land and Monster's Ball, blockbuster franchises like The Hunger Games and John Wick, and iconic festival indies like American Psycho and Buffalo '66.
Paseornek was instrumental in a groundbreaking partnership with Tyler Perry, offering him a studio platform to turn his plays and characters into theatrical films. He executive produced Perry's first 22 films, all of which opened at or near the top of the box office charts. Paseornek also appeared in the Amazon Prime documentary Maxine's Baby, which follows Perry's inspirational journey and impact on the entertainment industry.
Throughout his career, Paseornek has been an advocate for diversity in front of and behind the camera, producing films that received numerous NAACP and BET awards, including multi-Oscar winner Precious. Prior to Lionsgate, Paseornek helped bridge the gap between independent filmmaking and mainstream Hollywood by opening the doors to indie producer/distributor CFP New York in 1992.
Paseornek is credited on films that have theatrically grossed over $5 billion in worldwide box office. According to film data researcher Stephen Fellows, between 1997 and 2016, Paseornek was among the top 10 most frequently credited producers of the 4,000 highest-grossing movies. Lionsgate achieved critical and box office success during that same period, earning over 130 Academy Award nominations and 30 Oscar wins.
After graduating from NYU in 1974, Paseornek started his career as the writing partner to National Lampoon Magazine editor Michel Choquette. He wrote and script-doctored a number of feature film projects before becoming a producer and studio executive. Among his philanthropic activities, he served on the advisory board of the UCLA Health Care System and the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, the board of Camp del Corazon, and co-chaired the Johns Hopkins/Aspen Foundation Neuro Arts Blue Print Initiative.
Currently, Paseornek is a producer based in New York and Los Angeles, and is a member of the executive branch of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.
