Greenberg Glusker Partner Matt Galsor Named Chair of Entertainment Group

Greenberg Glusker today announced that entertainment transactional attorney Matt Galsor has been named Chairman of the Firm’s Entertainment Group.  Recognized by Variety as one of Hollywood’s top legal dealmakers, Galsor represents a broad range of clients, including Tom Cruise, James Cameron, Ubisoft Entertainment, Tony Danza, Harmony Korine, and Mark Danielewski, among others.

“Matt may be the brightest lawyer I’ve ever dealt with.  He’s certainly the funniest.  It’s an unbeatable combination,” said Bert Fields, who Matt has worked alongside during his tenure at the Firm.

Galsor will lead a team comprised of industry-recognized attorneys who specialize in the representation of talent, independent production companies, video game companies, and technology firms.

“With the convergence of social media, video games, video on demand (VOD), and traditional entertainment and the explosive growth of foreign markets, the business is changing faster than most people can think,” said Galsor.  “The opportunities are endless, and we must continue to identify them to benefit our clients.”

Some of Galsor’s notable, recent deals include:

• Ubisoft Entertainment’s deal with New Regency to launch a tentpole movie franchise based on Assassin’s Creed, one of the best-selling video games of all time
• Structuring Tom Cruise’s franchise deal for Jack Reacher (with the first installment in theatres December 21, 2012) and his deals for Oblivion (in theatres next Spring) and All You Need Is Kill (currently shooting and in theaters the Spring of 2014)
• Representing James Cameron in Lightstorm’s acquisition of the Vanessa Michael Munroe series of novels by Taylor Stevens (which Cameron plans to direct after Avatar 2 and 3, the deals for which Galsor was also involved in), his joint scientific project with National Geographic involving the expedition to the Mariana Trench (the deepest part of the world’s oceans), and his deal with Cirque de Soleil for Worlds Away 3D (in theaters this Christmas)
• Representing Harmony Korine and David Zander in Korine’s director and Zander’s producer deals for Spring Breakers (in theaters Spring Break 2013)
• Representing dancing superstar Michael Flatley in a deal with The Weinstein Company (also a Greenberg Glusker client) to launch the World Dance Awards
• Representing Tony Danza in his return to television in a sitcom The Guys for ABC, with Danza and John Goodman starring, and with Dan Farah (also a Greenberg Glusker client), Vince Vaughn, and Peter Billingsley executive producing
• Representing Mark Z. Danielewski (“America’s most successful experimental fiction writer,” according to the New York Times) in his publishing deal with Pantheon for the just released The Fifty Year Sword.

“Matt represents our next generation of attorneys who are putting their own creative stamp on client opportunities that command attention across the entertainment industry,” said Greenberg Glusker Managing Partner Stephen Smith. “He also embodies the leadership qualities necessary to continue to evolve and expand our transactional entertainment practice.”

Galsor is a graduate of Columbia Law School, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, summa cum laude, from University of California, Los Angeles.