Courtenay Valenti Nears Deal at Amazon, Sources Say

Veteran film executive Courtenay Valenti has found her next post. The Warner Bros. alum is near a deal at Amazon, sources tell The News84Media. Valenti is expected to take a top role at MGM’s film studio, a job that’s been vacant for months.

On Sept. 2, Warner Bros. announced Valenti would be leaving her role as president of production and development at the end of October. She spent 33 years with the studio, rising to her most recent role under former studio head Toby Emmerich.

Her exit came after Emmerich departed his post as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy coming from MGM to run Warners.

In the wake of De Luca and Abdy’s MGM exit, Amazon’s Jennifer Salke gained oversight over the legacy studio’s film and TV output. Amazon acquired MGM in an $8.5 billion deal last March, giving the e-commerce giant franchises such as James Bond (with Eon) and Creed.

During her time at Warners, Valenti, the daughter of the late MPAA president Jack Valenti, oversaw films such as The Lego Moviefour Harry Potter films and Mad Max: Fury Road. Recent projects she oversaw included George Miller’s upcoming Fury Road follow-up, Furiosaas well as Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, Elvis, Barbie and The Color Purple.