Searchlight's Katie Goodson-Thomas Joins LuckyChap International as President of Film

Katie Goodson-Thomas, executive vice president and co-head of production and development at Searchlight Pictures, is leaving the studio after more than a decade to become president of film at LuckyChap International. She starts in the new year.

The London-based joint venture between LuckyChap and Mediawan was unveiled in late 2025. Goodson-Thomas will run its film slate in partnership with co-managing directors Mona Qureshi and Tanya Qureshi, who joined earlier this year. The trio works alongside LuckyChap's U.S. partners: Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Milan Popelka.

At Searchlight, Goodson-Thomas did what specialty studios rarely manage — she grew the outfit's U.K. presence while shepherding films that collected awards by the shelf. Her credits there include:

• Yorgos Lanthimos' “The Favourite” and “Poor Things”
• Martin McDonagh's “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “The Banshees of Inisherin”
• The upcoming “Wild Horse Nine”
• “All of Us Strangers” and “The Roses”
• Alice Birch's directorial debut “Sweetsick,” starring Cate Blanchett

What does the hire signal?

For a venture barely off the launchpad, poaching a co-head of production from Searchlight reads as a statement of intent. LuckyChap built its name on filmmaker-first bets; Goodson-Thomas spent a decade making exactly those bets pay off.

"We're thrilled to welcome Katie to LuckyChap International," Mona Qureshi and Tanya Qureshi said in a joint statement. "Her career embodies the kind of independent spirit and big-heartedness that inspires us, and her ambition, taste and creative instinct make her a natural fit for what we are building. We can't wait to have her alongside us as a fellow journeywoman!"

Goodson-Thomas, for her part, framed the move as the only thing that could have lured her out. "Searchlight has been such an incredible creative home for me that I always knew it would take somewhere truly special to tempt me away," she said. "The opportunity to join that alongside Mona, Tanya and such a brilliant team was simply too exciting to resist. The U.K. and Europe are full of remarkable talent, and I'm hugely ambitious about what we can find, back and get made together."

Who said what

LuckyChap's U.S. partners — Robbie, Ackerley, McNamara and Popelka — issued their own tribute. "We're in awe of everything Katie has accomplished throughout her career, and we all feel extraordinarily privileged that she is bringing her undeniable creative talents, vision and depth of experience to LuckyChap International," they said. "She's such a kindred spirit culturally, and we've long admired her ability to spot exceptional filmmaking talent and champion their projects from the very beginning all the way through."

Searchlight president Matthew Greenfield kept it gracious, as departing-studio etiquette demands. "Katie has been a wonderful colleague all of these years and LuckyChap International is getting an exceptional and passionate advocate for filmmakers," he said. "We couldn't be happier for her as she takes on this next chapter."

Why it matters

The bet here is obvious. LuckyChap International wants a slate with Searchlight-grade prestige, built from U.K. and European talent, and it has hired the person who helped assemble that very shelf. With co-managing directors already in place and Goodson-Thomas arriving in the new year, the venture's first full development slate now has a name attached to it — and the industry will be watching what she greenlights first.