LOS ANGELES – The National Council on the Arts, which helps manage the National Endowment for the Arts, will have a new high-profile member from Hollywood’s ranks if a nomination from President Obama goes through as expected. The White House announced on Thursday that Thomas E. Rothman, chairman of TriStar Productions, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, has been nominated to the 18-member council, which advises on the endowment’s policies and programs and makes recommendations on grant applications. He must be approved by the Senate before joining the Council.
The movie credentials of Mr. Rothman, a Baltimore native, are many: He previously ran 20th Century Fox, founded the specialty film company Fox Searchlight and sits on the board of the Sundance Institute. The executive was also one of Mr. Obama’s Hollywood bundlers of campaign support in 2008 and 2012. Members of the National Council on the Arts serve six-year terms.
