Matt Brodlie has been named senior vice president of production andacquisitions and Geoff Stier senior vice president of production anddevelopment at Paramount's fast-expanding specialty division.

Brodlie, who joins from TriStar Pictures, and former producerStier will both report to executive vice president of production andacquisitions Amy Israel.

"I am thrilled that we were able to hire two of the finestexecutives in the business," Israel said. "They have incrediblecreative instincts, great filmmaker relationships, and stellarreputations."

Brodlie served as senior vice president of production andacquisitions at TriStar since 2004, overseeing production on Ryan Murphy's RunningWith Scissors,Christophe Gans' Silent Hill and Menna Yapo's Premonition. Prior to that he worked at Miramax Films for 10 years,where he was finally senior vice president of acquisitions and co-productions,overseeing the company's acquisitions operations in Los Angeles, Beijing andSydney.

Stier most recently served as executive producer on Ira Sachs' FortyShades of Blue and priorto becoming an independent producer he worked as a producer at MirageEnterprises from 1999 to 2002 where he developed and produced films including UpAt The Villa and PolishWedding. He was anassociate producer on Sense And Sensibility in 1995.

Under new president John Lesher, the soon-to-be-renamed specialtydivision has made fast moves to build up a slate of films including new titlesfrom Paul Thomas Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Joel & Ethan Coen, Mike White andSean Penn.