Maximum Films Distribution scored two points on Thursday, luring away former Odeon Films president Bryan Gliserman and closing a two-year deal with Lakeshore Entertainment.

Gliserman has stepped in as managing director of the Toronto distributor, reporting to chairman Robert Lantos and taking over for Tony Cianciotta, who has left the company. Cianciotta joined MFD when it formed in August, and while there worked with his daughter Grace Cianciotta, who passed away earlier this month after a battle with breast cancer.

Gliserman will oversee MFD’s distribution efforts across the country and be the main contact between the Toronto company and its suppliers, including Cinetic Media, IFC and, as of Thursday, Lakeshore.

The Beverly Hill-based production house has signed a two-year all-media deal with MFD, which will carry titles including the Luke Wilson vehicle Henry Poole Is Here — which is set to premiere next week at the Sundance festival — the thriller Pathology, and Elegy, the Isabel Coixet-directed drama with Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz.

Previous Lakeshore titles, which have played in Canada through various distributors, include Million Dollar Baby, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the Underworld franchise.

‘Lakeshore has a broad spectrum of films that have both artistic and commercial appeal,’ said Lantos in a statement, adding that Lakeshore chairman Tom Rosenberg ‘and his team have great taste in movies and a gift for finding and nurturing new talent.’

‘We couldn’t be in better hands,’ said Rosenberg.

The deal was worked out by MFD’s Mark Musselman and Lakeshore’s David Dinerstein and Eric Reid. Gliserman was not involved in the talks, according to an MFD spokesperson.

Alliance Films, Odeon’s parent, apparently braced itself for Gliserman’s departure. Earlier this week the distrib announced that it had hired Michael Rudnitsky, a former executive at MGM in Los Angeles and Miramax Films in New York, as EVP of theatrical distribution, putting him in charge of all Canadian theatrical sales for both Alliance and Odeon.

Also, Odeon promoted former head of marketing Mark Slone to SVP, where he will oversee all U.S., Canadian and international theatrical releases, from marketing and publicity to strategy.

The executive shuffle at Odeon also follows the departure late last year of Jim Sherry, who was head of the umbrella division, formerly titled Motion Picture Distribution.

An Odeon spokesperson could not confirm when Sherry left, but denied suggestions that Rudnitsky is his replacement.

‘[Rudnitsky] is not replacing Jim. We needed someone to look after Canadian theatrical sales…Michael was hired to do that,’ the spokesperson says.

With files from Marise Strauss