Veteran Studio Exec Milan Popelka Joins LuckyChap As Partner

Justin Kroll
·4-min read

EXCLUSIVE: Former FilmNation exec Milan Popelka has joined LuckyChap as a partner, joining the company’s current partners Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Margot Robbie.

Popelka, who brings over 15 years of experience as Chief Operating Officer of FilmNation, will oversee business operations and strategic growth across LuckyChap’s expanding portfolio of film, television, and other ventures. He will play a key role in managing the company’s operational and financial strategies, while continuing to advance LuckyChap’s entrepreneurial approach to content creation and production. Popelka’s vast experience in the independent and international sales sectors will be influential as the company looks to ambitiously scale the capabilities of its story-telling platform.

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“We are thrilled to have Milan join our team at LuckyChap in a time when entrepreneurialism is at a premium,” said the partners at LuckyChap. “His experience, expertise, and unwavering commitment to maximizing the potential of every project align perfectly with our filmmaker-first ethos. This is an exciting next step in the evolution of LuckyChap, and we look forward to the impact he will make across the company as we pursue new and diverse ways to empower our creative partners.”

Popelka’s impressive career includes serving as executive producer on many acclaimed projects, including current Academy Award nominated films Anora and Conclave as well as Arrival, which was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, and Promising Young Woman, which won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Other credits include Greyhound, Red Rocket, The Courier and Late Night (Amazon Studios). Throughout his career, Popelka has demonstrated a unique ability to source, negotiate, and manage high-profile partnerships and projects across film, television, and digital media.

At FilmNation, Popelka played a pivotal role in numerous successful ventures, including the creation of the company’s $120M multi-use credit facility, its corporate capital transaction with Australian public company Roadshow Films, its UK scripted television joint venture with Scandinavian public company Viaplay, its dual multi-year development funds across both film and TV with Greek producer/financier Faliro House/Wishmore, and its audio collaborations with both iHeart and Luminary. He has also managed the company’s individual film/TV project financing partnerships, as well as other assorted strategic venture investments.

Having joined at its inception, Popelka was an integral part of FilmNation’s growth journey. During his tenure, the company was involved in films that collectively grossed over $3.5B in worldwide box office, with notable past releases including Arrival, The Big Sick, The King’s Speech, The Imitation Game, Looper, and Magic Mike among many others. His experience also extends to the company’s U.S. and UK television activities, within which he most recently served as an Executive Producer on Chris O’Dowd’s Small Town, Big Story (Sky).

Popelka was active in other story-telling arenas within the company as well. On the digital/audio front, Popelka executive produced many of FilmNation’s recent podcasts, including critical and commercial multi-season hit series Snafu hosted by comedian/actor Ed Helms (iHeart), and Murder On the Towpath hosted by Soledad O’Brien. In the theater space, he was involved with the company’s investment in Empire Street Productions, and assorted individual project investments on both Broadway and London’s West End (Prima Facie, The Band’s Visit).

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A veteran of the entertainment industry, Popelka’s career also includes positions at production financier Samuels Media (Michael Clayton), CAA’s Independent Finance Group, and McKinsey & Company, where he gained valuable expertise in both creative and financial sectors.

Popelka joins LuckyChap at a time when the company is actively expanding its footprint in film, television, and other entrepreneurial endeavors. As a partner, he will be instrumental in scaling the company’s operations while continuing to take an artist-first approach to all of their activities and projects.

LuckyChap is a leading entertainment company that produced the global phenomenon Barbie, which grossed over $1.4 billion at the box office and garnered eight Academy Award nominations.  It also produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning films I, Tonya, Promising Young Woman, and Saltburn, and on the television side, produced the Emmy-nominated limited series Maid, the comedy series Dollface, recently wrapped production on Sirens and will soon begin production on Megan Park’s upcoming drama Sterling Point. LuckyChap’s most recent film, My Old Ass, was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios after rave reviews at Sundance and is currently streaming on Prime Video. LuckyChap is currently in production on Emerald Fennell’s film Wuthering Heights.

LuckyChap is represented by Entertainment 360, CAA and attorney Jeff Bernstein.

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