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In the wake of the departure of Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television Evp of Casting Joseph Middleton back in January, the studio has split his job into two, just as Deadline heard, and hired Deborah Aquila and Tricia Wood as EVPs of Casting. Aquila will run point on TV reporting to Paramount President of Television Nicole Clemens, while Wood will oversee film, reporting into Wyck Godfrey, Paramount Motion Pictures Group President.

Aquila and Wood previously had their own firm, Aquila Wood Casting, on behalf of Lionsgate. Aquila recently cast Paramount/Skydance’s Chris Pratt sci-fi movie The Tomorrow War which is currently in post, and she also cast Lionsgate hits, the multi-Oscar winning Lala Land and Wonder. Wood came up under Aquila. The two count over 150 credits on film and TV pilots.

Here is the memo from Clemens and Godfrey about the announcement today:

To: Paramount Employees

From: Nicole Clemens & Wyck Godfrey

Date: May 5th,...

Tricia Wood and Deborah Aquila have been hired as EVPs of Casting for Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television Studios, TheWrap has exclusively learned.

The duo previously headed Aquila Wood Casting on behalf of Lionsgate. They will act as one cohesive team, but Aquila will run point on TV, reporting to Nicole Clemens, President of Paramount Television Studios; Wood will run point for the film side, reporting to Wyck Godfrey, President of Paramount’s Motion Picture Group. Geraldine Leder, Paramount’s Svp of Casting will report to Aquila, while VP of Casting Monika Mikkelsen has transitioned to a new role as the dedicated casting executive for Paramount Animation.

Aquila is a member of the Csa as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Her most recent films include Paramount’s “The Tomorrow War,” “La La Land,” and “Wonder.” She previously worked at...

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