Apple Taps Sony's Tamara Hunter as Head of Casting -

Following an extensive search, Apple has recruited Sony’s Tamara Hunter to serve as its head of casting.

Hunter, who spent the past two years as head of feature casting for Sony Pictures Entertainment, will serve in the same capacity and oversee film and TV projects for Apple. She will report to former Sony Pictures Television duo Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht.

During her tenure at Sony, Hunter oversaw feature film casting for the studio and its Columbia, TriStar, Screen Gems and animation units. She has worked on blockbuster hits including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Venom, The Equalizer 2, Hotel Transylvania and the upcoming Charlie’s Angels, Men in Black, You Are My Friend and Miss Bala.

Before moving to SPE in 2016, Hunter was vp casting at 20th Century Fox, where she worked on Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse and Hidden Figures.

Hunter started her career at Sarah Finn Co., where she spent more than a decade and rose to casting director. While there, she worked on Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla and The Fast and the Furious.

Hunter, who has a bachelor’s from UCLA school of theater, film and TV, becomes the latest Sony exec to move to Apple and joins head of unscripted Kim Rozenfeld, among others.

Hunter was one of several executives from both the film and TV side who had been rumored to be in the mix for the casting job at Apple. Her hiring helps solidify the types of talent that Apple plans on pursuing for its scripted originals. The iPhone maker, which has been aggressive in buying TV and, more recently, film projects, has turned heads with deals for big name creatives and stars. Apple has TV series in the works starring the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Octavia Spencer, Chris Evans and Hailee Steinfeld. The company has yet to reveal how — and when — it plans to roll out its roster of originals, though it is rumored to be summer 2019 and distributed for free via its Apple TV app.

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