Agent: Larry Mirisch: 310-282-9940
Production Credits
Producer, (in development with Ira Deutchman) of Barbara Ehrenreich’s bestseller of undercover reporting on low wage employment, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America.
Producer, (in development with Mark Obenhaus) of James Salter’s stunning novel about mountain climbing, Solo Faces.
Producer, (in development with Kenneth Murphy) Fire on the Beach, based on the book Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers by David Wright and David Zoby. Screenplay by Kenneth Murphy.
Senior Producer, Stage Manger, Marie Curie segment, and Associate Director, The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements, two-hour PBS special directed by Muffie Meyer, Executive Producer Stephen Lyons. Anticipated broadcast 2012.
Coordinating Producer, UPM, The Race 2008, two-hour HD election special for WGBH/Frontline [cancelled after the Democratic national convention due to "lack of journalistic balance" because McCain's campaign had locked out media].
Senior Producer, Associate Director, Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs – Seeing Is Believing, two-hour HD special for ABC and worldwide television. 155 interviews; locations from Pasadena to Paris.
Senior Producer, Associate Director, Peter Jennings Reporting: The Kennedy Assassination – Beyond Conspiracy, two-hour special for ABC, BBC, etc. on the 40th anniversary of the assassination. Production included unique Emmy-awarded 3-D digital animation, 70 interviews in eight states. US Radio-Television News Directors Association’s Edward R. Murrow Award, 2004. British Broadcasting Press Guild Television Awards: Best Single Documentary, 2003.
Executive Producer, (in development) of Jon Spaihts’ chilling science-fiction Shadow 19, with Joel Silver producing at Warner Brothers.
Executive Producer, (in development) of Newbery Medal – winner Paul Fleischman’s young adult novel Whirligig, produced by Bonnie Arnold.
Senior Vice-President, Production, www.Teachscape.com, 2000-01.
Co‑Producer, Woody Allen’s Sweet And Lowdown, 1998 with Sean Penn, Uma Thurman, Samantha Morton, Anthony LaPaglia, and James Urbaniak. Sony Pictures Classics. New York State, City, and New Jersey.
Co‑Producer, Woody Allen’s Celebrity, 1997, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Mantegna, Winona Ryder, Charlize Theron, Judy Davis. Miramax Films. Metropolitan New York City.
Co‑Producer, Woody Allen’s Deconstructing Harry, 1996, with Richard Benjamin, Robin Williams, Woody Allen, Stanley Tucci, Julia Louis‑Dreyfus, Judy Davis, Demi Moore, Billy Crystal, Elisabeth Shue, Tobey Maguire, Amy Irving, Kirstie Alley, Mariel Hemingway. Fine Line Features. Metropolitan New York City.
Producer, Robert M. Young’s Caught, 1995, with Edward James Olmos and Maria Conchita Alonso. Centerpiece premiere at 1996 Sundance Film Festival. Sony Pictures Classics. New Jersey and New York’s Fulton Fish Market. Employed “French hours” during principal photography.
Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, 1992-94. (see Administration/Government, below)
Co‑Producer, Emir Kusturica’s Arizona Dream, 1991, with Jerry Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Johnny Depp, Lilly Taylor, Vincent Gallo. Arizona and New York. Warner Brothers, UGC and Film Finances (completion bond company which took over shut down production and hired me to complete “Part II” of principal photography. Silver Bear, Berlin.
Co‑Producer, Alive From Off‑Center: Susan Marshall’s Contenders, 1991 and The Doug Elkins Dance Company, 1989, directed by Mark Obenhaus for PBS.
Producer, Joe Vasquez’ Hangin’ with the Homeboys, 1990, with John Leguizamo, Doug E. Doug. Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, 1991 Sundance Film Festival; six nominations, 1991 Independent Spirit Awards. New Line Cinema. Bronx, N.Y.
Producing Faculty, Columbia University School of the Arts, M.F.A. film degree program, 1984 – presnt (see Administration/Teaching below).
Producer, Camera Shy, directed by Mark Obenhaus, written by David Feuer, 1986 short for Saturday Night Live, NBC (Lorne Michaels declined to broadcast it)
Production Manager, Robert Benton’s Places in the Heart, 1983, with Sally Field, Danny Glover, John Malkovich and Lindsay Crouse. Ellis County, Texas. Two Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay – Robert Benton; Best Actress – Sally Field
Production Manager, Mike Nichols’ Silkwood, 1982. Produced by Michael Hausman, with Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher. 20th Century Fox . Texas, New Mexico, Washington DC, New York City.
Production Manager, Waris Hussein’s Little Gloria…Happy at Last, 1982, with Bette Davis, Christopher Plummer, Glynis Johns, Martin Balsam, Maureen Stapleton. Network mini‑series. Executive Producer Edgar Sherick for Metromedia. National Emmy nominee: Best Dramatic Program. Florida and New York State.
Associate Producer/Production Manager, Peter Gimbel’s Andrea Doria: The Final Chapter, 1981, feature documentary of saturation diving/salvage (raised the Bank of Rome safe) expedition. National television syndication. The North Atlantic Ocean.
Assistant Unit Production Manager/Location Manager, Milos Forman’s Ragtime, 1980, a Dino De Laurentiis production, Executive Producer Michael Hausman. Distributor: Paramount. Todd A‑O. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut. 8 Academy nominations.
Unit Production Manager, comedy segments directed by Mark Obenhaus in one-hour ABC television pilot All-American Pie, 1980, produced by Kukoff/Harris.
Producer‑Director, Visits with God: Two First Hand Accounts of Near‑Death Experiences, 1980, 25 minute documentary produced with an American Film Institute grant. 1982 John Muir Medical Film Festival, 1981 Athens (Ohio) International Film Festival. California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina.
Production Manager, Michael Roemer’s Pilgrim, Farewell, 1979, dramatic feature for WGBH‑TV (Boston), Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts.
Production Consultant, Different Drummer: Elvin Jones, produced and directed by Edward Gray, 1979
Producer, television commercials for Bob Fosse’s Broadway musicals Dancin’, 1979, and Pippin, 1975 and 1977, directed by Mark Obenhaus. New York City.
Production Manager, Scenes From A Lifetime: Birthdays, 1979 and Moving Up, 1978, produced and directed by Mark Obenhaus for Westinghouse Broadcasting. Florida, Georgia, California.
Producer, curtain call film sequence, directed by Mark Obenhaus, which is part of Bob Fosse’s Broadway musical Dancin’, 1978, and for the National Tour, 1979. New York City.
Associate Producer/Production Manager, The Body Human: The Vital Connection, 1978, Alfred Kelman, producer for Tomorrow Entertainment/Medcom, CBS. Emmy, Peabody, Christopher Awards. Alabama, Iowa, New York.
Associate Producer/Production Manager, The Body Human: The Red River, 1978, Alfred Kelman producer for Tomorrow Entertainment/Medcom, CBS, Emmy, Peabody, Christopher Awards. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Producer, the English language versions of Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata, 1978, and From the Lives of Marionettes, 1980. New York City.
Production Manager, John Lowenthal’s The Trials of Alger Hiss, 1976‑78, theatrical feature, Grand Prix 12th Annual Nyon Film Festival. Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Washington DC, New York.
Production Manager of four one‑hour programs (the Greenberg, George, Pasciak and Stephens families) in Six American Families, 1975‑76 bicentennial series produced by Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting) in association with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. Producer‑director Mark Obenhaus. Gabriel and DuPont/Columbia Awards. Iowa, Illinois, California, New York.
Producer‑Director, Last Stand Farmer, 1975, 25 minute documentary produced for PBS. John Grierson and Blue Ribbon Awards at 1976 American Film Festival; Gold Ducat, Mannheim Internationale Filmwoche, and twenty other international awards. Vermont.
Consulting Producer, Bruce Davidson’s Isaac Singer’s Nightmare and Mrs. Pupko’s Beard, 1973.
Producer‑Director, House Construction Home Movie, 1972, 11-minute time‑lapse documentary with music by Eric Weissberg. Vermont.
Producer‑Director, Conspiracy and the Dybbuk, 1971, 30-minute documentary on the trial of the so‑called “Chicago Eight”, featuring Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Jean Genet, Afeni Shakur, William Kunstler. New York.
Production Manager, Paul Ronder’s Part of the Family, 1970‑71. Executive Producer Chiz Schultz of Harry Belafonte Enterprises in assoc. with the NET Division of the Educational Broadcasting System. PBS and theatrical release at Studio Cujas in Paris by Urulines and at the National Film Theatre in London. Mississippi, Ohio, New York.
Distribution Staff, American Film Academy, Bennington, Vermont, 1968-69. Distributed best foreign, independent and experimental film programs to college film societies throughout eastern United States.
Other Production Credits
Additional Cinematography (William Kunstler at Columbia University, 1970), William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (2009), produced and directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler for ITVS and PBS. Sundance Film Festival, 2009.
Additional Cinematography (Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and William Kunstler at Columbia University, 1970), Chicago 10, directed by Brett Morgen, produced by Participant Productions, (2007)
Boom Operator, Boardwalk, 1978, starring Lee Strasberg, Ruth Gordon, Janet Leigh. Directed by Steven Verona, Brooklyn. Atlantic Releasing.
Sound Recordist, Yudie, 1974, starring Yudie Bank. An elderly Jewish woman born and raised on New York City’s Lower East Side talks about her life. Directed by Mirra Bank, New York.
Sound Recordist, West Point, 1973. Recruiting film for the United States Military Academy at West Point. Produced by Bruce Green for Universal Commercial Industrial Films.
Additional Sound Recordist, Different Drummer: Elvin Jones, produced and directed by Edward Gray, 1979.
Sound Recordist, Panorama, Horizon, Omnibus: The World Around Us: various episodes of three BBC series, 1971-77. Programs include Rhodesia, Namibia, A Strong and Healthy Pound, Ali vs Fraizer, Julia Child, Tomorrow’s World, Margaret Mead, Alex Haley, Legionnaire’s Disease, Nicholas Ray, Fran Lebowitz, The Observer Singlehanded Yacht Race, Assignment Insurance, Walter Cronkite on JFK and dozens of other segments.
Sound Recordist, various national commercials, 1971-77. Products include Good and Plenty, Comtrex, Cie Perfume, Ban Roll-On, Ideal Toys, Sominex, Sears, Burger King, American Petroleum Institute, et cetera.
Assistant Camera and Boom Operator, Maggie Doyle, 1970. Feature film directed by Patrick O’Neal, produced by John Brock and Barry Lane. Southampton, New York.
Consulting
Film Finances, Inc., Miramax; Warner Bros., Sundance Institute, Elvis Presley Estate, Twin Cities Public Television, KCTA-TV, Mt Sinai Medical Center, Julien J. Studley, Inc., et cetera.
Budgets and shooting schedules for James L. Brooks, Peter Bogdanovich, Arthur Penn, Edward R. Pressman, Joan Micklin Silver, David Mamet (Edmond), Herb Gardner, Sarah Kenochan, Michael Hausman, Marcia Nasatir, Uberto Pasolini, Raphael Silver, Dale Smith, Noah Baumbach, Andrew Dominik, Alan Taylor, Rob Fried, National Endowment for the Humanities (Utopian Communities Film Project), The Documentary Group, et cetera.
Administration / Government
Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, 1992‑94. Generally credited with key role in reversing post-boycott perception of New York as non-production friendly. Increased shooting days in New York City by 71%. Relocated MOFTB to expanded offices in CBS’ newly renovated, landmark-designated, Ed Sullivan Theatre building. Closed Times Square for 10 nights for Columbia’s “Last Action Hero.” Major production assistance to “Crooklyn”, “The Cowboy Way”, “Carlito’s Way”, “The Paper”, “Six Degrees of Separation”, “Fresh”, “It Could Happen to You.” Promoted the “new” New York at the Sundance, Berlin, Jerusalem and Cannes Film Festival where Brick hosted a major party on behalf of the City of New York aboard the Savarona, the world’s largest private yacht. Took Mayor David Dinkins to Los Angeles to Warners Brothers to meet with Terry Semel and Robert Daly and to Universal Studios to meet with Lew Wasserman.
University / Teaching
Co‑Chairman/Chairman and Professor, M.F.A.Film Program, School of the Arts, Columbia University, 1987 and 1988. Chaired MFA degree program of 30 faculty and 200 students. Hired Sidney Lumet, Brian DePalma, David Mamet, Emir Kusturica, Frank Perry, Lazlo Benedek, Ralph Rosenblum, Ira Deutchman and Danny Lyon to teach full semester courses. Doubled the number of foreign students. Established annual Columbia University Film Festival of students’ films in 1987, now in its third decade. Initiated the fund raising for main screening room eventually named the Lifetime Screening Room. Established the Brick Company Producing Prize, 2012.
Adjunct Professor, graduate Film Division, School of the Arts, Columbia University, 1984 ‑ 87 and 1989 ‑ present. Teach “Pre-Production of a Motion Picture”.
Lecturer, Beijing Film Academy, September 2009; Yale University, New York University, State University of New York at Purchase, City University of New York, Adelphi University, Independent Feature Project workshops, Boston College, New School for Social Research.Moderator: Panel discussion, “Shooting in New York” at the Berlin Film Festival 1993.
Not-For-Profit
Chairman/Founder, Advisory Board (David Mamet, Mike Nichols, Milos Forman, Robert Benton, Lee Grant, Marcia Nasatir, Sam Cohn, Michael Hausman, Robert Lantz, Barbara Kopple, Arlene Donovan) of the Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award, administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts, 1985 – present. $10,000 fellowship for New York State residents.
Board of Directors, the Independent Feature Project, founding chapter (1979) of national service organization of 10,000 independent filmmakers, 1985‑2001, Chairman, 1995-97. Moved IFP offices from West 86th Street to expanded, modern offices at 104 West 29thStreet, Manhattan; helped create the Gotham Awards, primary fundraising annual event.
Emir Kusturica’s Kustendorf Film Festival, Official Guest 2010; Juror 2011. Mokra Gora, Serbia.
Targowa Street Film and Music Festival, The Leon Schiller Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre, President of Jury, 2012. Lodz, Poland
Vermont Film Commission, Advisory Board, 2006 – present.
Education
MFA, Columbia University, 1971
BA, New York University, 1968
Memberships
Directors Guild of America, 1981 to present; nominated (as UPM) for DGA Best Picture Award for Places in the Heart, 1984; Eastern AD-UPM Council 2002-2009 and 2011-2013, as First Vice- Chair, 2006-09 ; Eastern AD/UPM Council Executive Committee, 2003-10, 2011-13; Eastern AD/UPM Council’s Sustainable Production Committee Chair 2003-10, 2011-2013; Delegate, DGA conventions, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011; PAC Leadership Council 2005 – present; General Safety Passport/IIPP, DGPTP Safety, ADTP-NY Safety Certifications, 2011; National Negotiating Committee, 2010-11; Nominated for Frank Capra Award, 2012.
Producers Guild of America, 1998 to present.
New York Production Alliance, 2011 to present
National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Local 15, 1971-80; Chair, Sound Department and Executive Board 1975-76.
Publications
Columbia University School of the Arts “Oral History Interview with Richard Brick”, pp.3-5, (Spring 1998)
Film Culture “Interview with John Whitney” (Spring 1972, Nos. 53‑55)
Film Comment “John Whitney Filmography” (Fall 1970, Vol. 6. No. 3)
Grants
American Film Institute, Independent Filmmakers Grant, 1977
Vermont Council on the Arts, Grant‑in‑Aid, 1974
Vermont Council on the Humanities and Public Issues, Re-grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1974
Awards
Edward R. Murrow Award of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, 2004, shared.
British Broadcasting Press Guild Television Awards: Best Single Documentary, 2003, shared.
Motion Picture Bookers Club Award, 1993
Best Feature nomination, Independent Spirits Awards, for “Hangin’ with the Homeboys”, 1991
Directors Guild of America, Best Picture nomination as UPM for “Places in the Heart”, 1984
John Grierson Award, American Film Festival, 1976
Blue Ribbon, American Film Festival, 1976
Gold Ducat, Mannheim Internationale Filmwoche, 1975
Silver Boomerang Award and the Victorian Government’s Prize, Melbourne Film Festival, 1977
Diplome d’Excellence, Festival International de Cinema en 16mm de Montreal, 1972
DuArt Award and Special Merit Award, Athens (Ohio) International Film Festival, 1976
Cash Award, Ninth Bellevue (Washington) Film Festival, 1975
Cash Award, Sinking Creek (Tennessee) Film Celebration, 1975
Documentary/Social Impact Award, Refocus Fall Film Festival (Iowa), 1975
Screenings
LAST STAND FARMER
Museum of Modern Art (New York), 1975
22nd Annual Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, 1976
National Endowment for the Humanities National Conference of Program Directors, Aspen 1975
Broadcasts over PBS’ Eastern Educational Television Network, B.R.T. Flemish Network, KQED-TV (San Francisco), ZDF (Germany)
Green Mountain Film Festival, Montpelier, Vermont, 2010
White River Indie Film Festival, White River Junction, Vermont, 2011
Vermont Folklife Center, Visions of Place, Middlebury, Vermont , 2011
THE CONSPIRACY AND THE DYBBUK
The Jewish Museum (New York) “A Contemporary Lens on Jewish Experience: Political Activisim”, 1988
VISITS WITH GOD: TWO FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
Center for Positive Living, Calgary, Canada. Raymond Moody and Kenneth Ring Seminar, February 19, 1983
John Muir Medical Film Festival, Walnut Creek, California, 1982
Baltimore International Film Festival, 1981
National Educational Film Festival, Oakland, California,, 1981
Sinking Creek Festival, 1981
Columbus (Ohio) Film Festival, 1981