About Us-Phoenix Pictures Inc.

Written by Phoenix Pictures Inc.

Thursday, 10 September 2009 17:10

Phoenix Pictures is one of the premiere entertainment labels in the film business, bringing quality films to audiences around the world. Led by Mike Medavoy and Arnie Messer, two of the industry’s most respected senior executives, Phoenix has established a reputation for consistently developing first-rate projects with some of Hollywood’s top creative talent.

With over 25 feature films to its credit, the company has collaborated with sought after director talents such as Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, Oliver Stone, Milos Forman, Andy Davis, Bryan Singer and Terrence Malick, as well as some of the industry’s biggest stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Travolta, Ben Kingsley, Kate Winslet, John Cusack, Jude Law, Renee Zellwegger, Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Edward Norton, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Williams, Shia LaBeouf, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ewan McGregor, Mark Ruffalo, Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Lopez, Anthony Hopkins, Jamie Foxx, Eva Mendes, Adrien Brody, Woody Harrelson, Nick Nolte, Ian McKellen, Barbra Streisand and Jeff Bridges.

The company was formed in 1995 by Mike Medavoy and Arnie Messer, with partners including Sony Pictures Entertainment, Onex, Fremantle Media and Showtime. Phoenix ’s first three films were The Mirror Has Two Faces, directed by Barbra Streisand, two-time Oscar® winner Milos Forman’s widely acclaimed The People vs. Larry Flynt and Oliver Stone’s U-Turn. In 1997 legendary filmmaker Terrence Malick returned to filmmaking after 19 years with The Thin Red Line for Phoenix Pictures, which went on to receive seven Oscar® nominations: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay based on material previously published, Cinematography, Editing, Score and Sound. That same year, Phoenix produced Urban Legend, which was the fifth top-grossing film released by Columbia/TriStar in 1998.

Phoenix has also produced Dick, Lake Placid, directed by Steve Miner, Whatever It Takes, directed by David Raynr, Mad About Mambo, the sequel Urban Legends: Final Cut, directed by John Ottman, Roger Spottiswoode’s The 6th Day starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Basic, directed by John McTiernan; Holes, based on the award-winning New York Times best selling children’s novel, directed by Andy Davis; In My Country, Stealth, directed by Rob Cohen, and All the King’s Men, directed by Steve Zaillian. In 2007 came the independently financed Miss Potter, directed by Chris Noonan, Pathfinder, directed by Marcus Nispel, Resurrecting the Champ, directed by Rod Lurie, License to Wed, directed by Ken Kwapis and the critically acclaimed Zodiac, by David Fincher.

Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams, will be in theaters in February 2010. Phoenix is currently completing Shanghai for The Weinstein Company, directed by Mikael Hafstrom, starring John Cusack and Gong Li, and will soon be starting on Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman, Winona Ryder and Mila Kunis. Other feature films in development include a remake of RoboCop for MGM, and an adaptation of John Grisham’s best-selling novel Playing for Pizza.

Daniel Forouzan | Creative Executive

DANIEL FOROUZAN serves as a Creative Executive at Phoenix Pictures. Daniel worked as an assistnat to Mike Medavoy and Arnie Messer prior to being promoted to Creative Executive. Daniel currently has a slate of projects in the development stage and is working on his first personal short which will be released in 2012. Daniel attended the Marshal School of Business at the University of Southern California for his undergraduate education. He currently attends Loyola Law School in the evenings and will be graduating law school in late 2011.

Edward McGurn | Vice-President of Production

Written by Phoenix Pictures Inc,

Wednesday, 31 March 2010 14:30

Edward McGurn started at Phoenix Pictures as executive assistant to Brad Fischer in 2007. He was promoted to creative executive in 2009 and to vice-president of production in early 2011. Prior to joining Phoenix, McGurn worked as an assistant director and as a comercial line-producer.

McGurn was born in Paris, France, and is a graduate of Yale University.

Doug McKay | Vice-President of Production

Written by Phoenix Pictures Inc.
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 14:30
DOUGLAS McKAY currently serves as Vice-President of Production where he is actively producing a slate of projects including an adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s “Dandelion Wine.” He’s also Co-Producing the Kirk Jones-directed WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING, starring Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez. In addition, McKay is working as a Production/Development executive on such Phoenix properties as: “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” (director, David Slade); “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag” (writer and director, Alex Proyas); “Absolutely Anything” (writer and director, Terry Jones); and “Playing for Pizza” (based on the novel by John Grisham), among others. Previously, McKay worked as a creative executive for Phoenix, a promotion he received after serving as Medavoy’s executive assistant upon entering the company. His additional feature film credits include Wim Wenders’ “Don’t Come Knocking,” Sebastian Gutierrez’s “Rise” and Kyle Newman’s “The Hollow,” as well as the LionsGate releases “Breaking Dawn” and “The Job.” McKay attended the Graduate School of Cinema/Television and the Annenberg School of Journalism, both at the University of Southern California. He was also awarded a B.A. in English literature from the University of Virginia. His work at both institutions of higher learning earned him accolades and awards. Prior to joining Phoenix, he worked as a reporter for The Associated Press (London), The Cape Argus (Cape Town, South Africa) and The Daily Breeze (Redondo Beach, California).

Mike Medavoy | Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

Written by Phoenix Pictures Inc.
Thursday, 10 September 2009 18:49
Sample some of the best American films over the past thirty-five years and there’s a good chance Mike Medavoy played a role in the success of many of them. From agent to studio chief to producer, he has been involved with over 300 feature films, of which 16 have been nominated and 7 have won Best Picture Oscars®, as well as numerous international film festival awards. Medavoy began his career at Universal Studios in 1964. He rose from the mailroom to become a casting director. In 1965, he became an agent at General Artist Corporation and then vice president at Creative Management Agency. Joining International Famous Agency as vice president in charge of the motion picture department in 1971, he worked with such prestigious clients as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Terrence Malick, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Gene Wilder, Jeanne Moreau, and Jean-Louis Trintignant.
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Arnold Messer | President & Chief Operating Officer

Written by Phoenix Pictures Inc.
Thursday, 10 September 2009 18:49
A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Messer is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He launched his career in the entertainment business as senior counsel at Columbia Pictures Television in 1979. After a stint as vice president of business affairs at Viacom International, Messer returned to Columbia Pictures where he served first as senior vice president and later as executive vice president of worldwide business affairs. In 1983, he was named senior executive vice president of TriStar Pictures and president of its telecommunications group, where he oversaw the business of theatrical production as well as all ancillary marketing and television activities for the company.
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Brad Fischer | Co-President, Production

Written by Phoenix Pictures Inc.
Thursday, 10 September 2009 18:49
Brad Fischer began his career at Phoenix Pictures in August of 1998 as executive assistant to Mike Medavoy, chairman and CEO. He was promoted to director of development in 1999, to vice president of production in 2002, to senior vice president of production in 2004 and to co-president of production in 2007. During his tenure at Phoenix Pictures, Fischer has been instrumental in discovering, developing and producing many high-profile projects including the critically acclaimed David Fincher film Zodiac, which he produced. The film, an “Official Selection” of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, was released by Paramount Pictures (US) and Warner Bros (International) to massive world-wide critical acclaim, and was one of the best reviewed films of the year.
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