Carolyn Blackwood

Carolyn Blackwood runs the show as Chief Operating Officer at Warner Bros. Pictures Group, which is kind of a big deal if you’re into movies that rake in serious cash. She handles everything from production to music to whatever else keeps the lights on at WBPG. Plus, she’s basically the co-captain at New Line Cinema, where she used to be President and Chief Content Officer—so yeah, she’s been around the block. Blackwood even keeps tabs on Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, the studio’s live stage play arm, and she’s got her hands in all the big film buys, too. Thanks to her, New Line Cinema smashed the $1 billion mark at the global box office three years in a row by 2019—no small feat. And if you like getting spooked, she’s the one behind horror juggernauts like “The Conjuring” universe and those creepy “IT” movies. Both of those franchises passed the billion-dollar mark, which is wild for horror. She’s also linked to some epic fantasy stuff, like “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”—that’s right, she helped steer those ships, too. Carolyn’s been with New Line since ‘99, climbing the ladder from legal and business gigs to running the whole operation. Before all this, she worked in business affairs for MDP Worldwide, an indie production outfit. She studied American Studies and Fine Arts at Fordham, grabbed a law degree from Pepperdine, and now sits on some pretty exclusive boards—like the Academy and a kids’ charity called Lollipop. Home base? Los Angeles, with her husband and daughter.