Tom Lassally launched hisfilm and television management and production company Kustom Entertainmentyesterday (April 21), naming Marc Forster's recently wrapped Stay as its first feature and announcing a host of talentunder its wing.

Lassally, who shepherdedmore than 25 features including Heat and The Hudsucker Proxyduring his eight-year tenure as executive vice president at Warner Bros, isbacked by San Francisco-based CSI Capital Management and aims to provide aone-stop shop for film-makers through a strong development team.

Lassally has hired managersDavid Flynn, formerly of management and production house Catch 23, and RobynMeisinger, an ex-TriStar development executive who served as executive produceron Twisted, who will also bothserve as producers.

Fred Lidskog, formerly ofKonrad Films, has also joined as feature development executive.

The supernatural thriller Stay, a follow-up to Forster's Monster's Ball and the upcoming J M Barrie's Neverland, stars Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling and Naomi Wattsand will be released by 20th Century Fox in the autumn. Kustom is producing inassociation with Regency.

Kustom's director rosterincludes Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies), Rob Bowman (X-Files The Movie and the upcoming Elektra), Mark Cowen (the upcoming Magnificent Desolation for IMAX) and John Simpson, whose feature FreezeFrame will premiere at the TribecaFilm Festival.

Represented writers includeSarah Thorp (Twisted), JeffreyLieber (Tuck Everlasting) and DonRhymer, who wrote Big Momma's Houseand the upcoming The Honeymooners.

Other projects include thehorror story Town Creek withWarner Bros, thriller First Snowwith El Camino, Jonestown Suckernucks at Senator, comedy Night Girls at Regency, Goodbye To Romance at Dimension and The Translator at Intermedia.

Kustom is also developingthe Joan Hannigan story with producer Allison Owen with Gwyneth Paltrowattached to star, and recently signed a first-look deal with the UK book agencyMulcahy & Viney.

"Having grown up in a studioenvironment, I have learned intrinsically how things get from Point A to PointB," Lassally said in a statement. "I am using those skills on the managementand production side to forward careers and projects that I believe inpassionately."

"Money is tighter than everin the movie business and writers and directors realise that they need more andmore help to insure that their projects are made. I have assembled a top-notchteam to develop ideas and scripts with our clients so that they can stand outin a tough marketplace."