Lee said he has kept UH president David McClain apprised of his new job, but they have not discussed a ACM transition plan.

Lee said his deal with Legendary lets him continue working with the film school "in some capacity."

"Basically my job was to get the school up and running. I think it will be more important for me now to market the school and raise funds than oversee the day-to-day business."

Legendary turned heads this week by entering into a blockbuster deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, which will invest up to $500 million in matching funds to co-finance 25 films over the next several years. "(Warner Bros.) matching us dollar for dollar means that this is actually a billion-dollar deal," Lee said.

Legendary is headed by venture capitalist Thomas Tull, who most recently served as director and president of the Convex Group, a media and entertainment holding company.

The rest of Legendary's core group of industry veterans includes chief financial officer and chief operating officer Larry Clark, chief marketing officer Scott Mednick, and president of physical production William Fay.

Lee, first contacted about the job in January 2004, said his role as president will be to serve as a creative voice for the company.

Lee, a graduate of Iolani School and Yale University, is the former president of production for TriStar Pictures and Colombia Pictures. His resume includes work on "Jerry Maguire," "Philadelphia," "As Good as It Gets," "The Mask of Zorro," "Stepmom" and many other films.

Lee returned to Hawai'i in 2003 to head the Academy for Creative Media.

In the program's first academic year, 70 students enrolled in classes ranging from film production to video game animation. Several student projects were featured at the Hawaii International Film Festival and other film festivals around the country. In a partnership with Scion Hawai'i, students from the program last semester wrote, directed and produced three TV commercials for the local market.

This year, ACM will operate as its own degree-granting program. As many as 10 new local and Mainland faculty will be added to help teach the 22 courses offered next semester.

"I set out to create this film school, and I wasn't sure what the journey would be like," Lee said. "I'm proud of what we've been able to do and I'm grateful for the support we've been given."