Marc Abraham
Encyclopedia
Marc Abraham is an American
film producer
, and president of Strike Entertainment
, a production company he launched in early 2002 with a multi-year, first look arrangement with Universal Pictures
.
Abraham brought to the big screen Flash of Genius (film)
, released by Universal Pictures
in Fall 2008, which marked his directorial debut and stars Greg Kinnear
and Lauren Graham
. Based on a true story, this David vs. Goliath tale tells the story of a small time inventor who takes on the Detroit automakers. Also for Universal Pictures
, Abraham is producing Trouble is My Business, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler
's detective-noir classic, starring Clive Owen
. He produced the remake of The Thing for Strike Entertainment alongside Eric Newman.
As Executive Producer
which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
as best picture in 1992 and also went on to win four BAFTA awards; and Keith Gordon
's A Midnight Clear
, starring Ethan Hawke
. In a co-venture with Turner Pictures, Abraham executive produced David Mamet
's A Life in the Theatre
. Beacon also produced Sugar Hill (1994 film)
, starring Wesley Snipes
; Princess Caraboo (film)
, starring Phoebe Cates
and Kevin Kline
; The Road to Wellville (film)
, directed by Alan Parker
and starring Anthony Hopkins
; and The Baby-Sitters Club (film)
, based on the best-selling series of books from Scholastic.
in New York City after graduating from the University of Virginia
. He left advertising to pursue a full time writing career and worked as a freelance sportswriter for several newspapers and magazines. He also wrote two books on the International Olympic Games for Universal Press.
Abraham's entry into film began with the documentary, Playing to Win, an inside look at the Cuban athletic system. He wrote several screenplays for studios and networks including 20th Century Fox
, Warner Bros.
and CBS
. He also wrote for the popular series 21 Jump Street
and Moonlighting (TV series)
.
and the Violence Policy Center
. He has been honored with the Spirit of Chrysalis Award, which recognized Abraham for his outstanding commitment to helping change lives through jobs, and helping thousands of disadvantaged and homeless individuals and families in Los Angeles
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and president of Strike Entertainment
Strike Entertainment
Strike Entertainment is an American production company founded in 2002 by Marc Abraham, Thomas Bliss and Eric Newman. Strike's films are distributed through Universal Studios...
, a production company he launched in early 2002 with a multi-year, first look arrangement with Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
.
Biography
Previously, he was a founding partner at Beacon Communications, a financing and production company founded in 1990.Abraham brought to the big screen Flash of Genius (film)
Flash of Genius (film)
Flash of Genius is a 2008 American biographical film directed by Marc Abraham. The screenplay by Philip Railsback, based on a 1993 New Yorker article by John Seabrook, focuses on Robert Kearns and his legal battle against the Ford Motor Company when they developed an intermittent windshield wiper...
, released by Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
in Fall 2008, which marked his directorial debut and stars Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
and Lauren Graham
Lauren Graham
Lauren Helen Graham is an American actress and producer. She is best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on the WB Network dramedy series Gilmore Girls and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood.-Early life:...
. Based on a true story, this David vs. Goliath tale tells the story of a small time inventor who takes on the Detroit automakers. Also for Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, Abraham is producing Trouble is My Business, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
's detective-noir classic, starring Clive Owen
Clive Owen
Clive Owen is an English actor, who has worked on television, stage and film. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for portraying the lead in the ITV series Chancer from 1990 to 1991...
. He produced the remake of The Thing for Strike Entertainment alongside Eric Newman.
Filmography
As Producer:- A Thousand AcresA Thousand Acres (film)A Thousand Acres is an American motion picture drama directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jason Robards....
(1997) - Air Force OneAir Force One (film)Air Force One is a 1997 American action-thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close, and also features Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle...
(1997) - The Family ManThe Family ManThe Family Man is a 2000 drama film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. Cage's production company, Saturn Films, helped produce the film....
(2000) - Bring it OnBring It On (film)Bring It On is a 2000 teen comedy film about two competing high school cheerleading squads, starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union...
(2000) - Spy GameSpy GameSpy Game is a 2001 American spy film directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. The film grossed $62,362,785 in the United States and $143,049,560 worldwide.-Plot:...
(2001) - The Emperor's ClubThe Emperor's ClubThe Emperor's Club is a 2002 drama film that tells the story of a prep school teacher and his students. Based on Ethan Canin's short story "The Palace Thief," the film is directed by Michael Hoffman and stars Kevin Kline. The film is set at a fictional boys' prep school, St. Benedict's Academy,...
(2002) - Tuck EverlastingTuck Everlasting (2002 film)Tuck Everlasting is a 2002 film based on the children's book of the same title by Natalie Babbitt published in 1975. This Disney version was directed by Jay Russell.- Plot summary :...
(2002) - The RundownThe RundownThe Rundown is a 2003 American action comedy film starring The Rock and Seann William Scott about a bounty hunter who must head for Brazil to retrieve his employer's renegade son. It was directed by Peter Berg...
(2003) - Dawn of the DeadDawn of the Dead (2004 film)Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...
(2004) - Children of MenChildren of MenChildren of Men is a 2006 science fiction film loosely adapted from P. D. James's 1992 novel The Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In 2027, two decades of human infertility have left society on the brink of collapse. Illegal immigrants seek sanctuary in England, where the last...
(2006) - Let's Go to PrisonLet's Go to PrisonLet's Go to Prison is an American comedy that was released in theatres November 17, 2006, starring Dax Shepard, Will Arnett and Chi McBride, and directed by Bob Odenkirk....
(2006) - Slither (2006)
- Flash of GeniusFlash of geniusThe Flash of Genius Doctrine or Flash of Genius Test was a test for patentability used by the United States Federal Courts for over a decade, circa 1941. The doctrine was formalized in Cuno Engineering v. Automatic Devices., which held that the inventive act had to come into the mind of an...
(2007) - The Last ExorcismThe Last ExorcismThe Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage horror film directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, and Louis Herthum....
(2009) - In TimeIn Time (film)In Time, previously titled Now and I'm.mortal, is a 2011 dystopian science fiction-thriller film starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Galecki, and Vincent Kartheiser...
(2011) - The Man with the Iron Fists (2011)
- Creature From The Black LagoonCreature from the Black LagoonCreature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...
(2012)
As Executive Producer
- The HurricaneThe Hurricane (1999 film)The Hurricane is a 1999 biographical film directed by Norman Jewison, and starring Denzel Washington. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from the books Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton and The Sixteenth Round by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.The film...
(1999) - For Love of the GameFor Love of the Game (film)For Love of the Game is a 1999 American drama sports film based on the novel of the same title by Michael Shaara...
(1999) - End of Days (1999)
Beacon Communications
During its first few years, Beacon Communications produced award-winning films like The Commitments (film)The Commitments (film)
The Commitments , the soundtrack for the film, was released on 13 Aug 1991. "Mustang Sally" was released as a single. Most of the songs on the album are performed by the cast band, but two are by Irish singer Niamh Kavanagh.-Track listing:-Chart positions:-The Commitments, Vol...
which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
as best picture in 1992 and also went on to win four BAFTA awards; and Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon
Keith Gordon is an American actor and film director.-Life and career:Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Barbara, an actress, and Mark Gordon, an actor and stage director. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family and was inspired to become an actor at the age of twelve, after seeing James...
's A Midnight Clear
A Midnight Clear
A Midnight Clear is a 1992 American war film directed by former actor Keith Gordon with an ensemble cast featuring Ethan Hawke, Gary Sinise, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, and Arye Gross...
, starring Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
. In a co-venture with Turner Pictures, Abraham executive produced David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
's A Life in the Theatre
A Life in the Theatre
A Life in the Theatre is a 1977 play by David Mamet.It focuses on the relationship between two actors, the play's only characters. One, Robert, is a stage veteran while John is a young, promising actor...
. Beacon also produced Sugar Hill (1994 film)
Sugar Hill (1994 film)
Sugar Hill is a 1994 American crime film starring Wesley Snipes and Michael Wright as brothers Roemello and Raynathan Skuggs. The film focuses on the two brothers, who are major drug dealers in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.-Plot:...
, starring Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
; Princess Caraboo (film)
Princess Caraboo (film)
Princess Caraboo is a 1994 British-American historical comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Michael Austin, based on the real-life 19th-century character Princess Caraboo, who passed herself off in British society as an exotic princess who spoke a strange foreign language; she is portrayed...
, starring Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates
Phoebe Cates is an American film actress, model, and entrepreneur known for her roles in several teen films, most notably Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Gremlins.-Early life:...
and Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
; The Road to Wellville (film)
The Road to Wellville (film)
The Road to Wellville is a 1994 American comedy-drama film adaptation of T. Coraghessan Boyle's novel of the same name, which tells the story of the doctor and clean-living advocate John Harvey Kellogg and his methods as employed at the Battle Creek Sanitarium at the start of the 20th Century...
, directed by Alan Parker
Alan Parker
Sir Alan William Parker, CBE is an English film director, producer, writer and actor. He has been active in both the British cinema and American cinema and was a founding member of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.-Life and career:...
and starring Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
; and The Baby-Sitters Club (film)
The Baby-Sitters Club (film)
The Baby-Sitters Club is a 1995 family film directed by Melanie Mayron. It is based upon The Baby-sitters Club series of novels and is about one summer in the girls' lives in the fictional town of Stoneybrook, Connecticut...
, based on the best-selling series of books from Scholastic.
Early career
Abraham began his career as a copywriter for Young & RubicamYoung & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
in New York City after graduating from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. He left advertising to pursue a full time writing career and worked as a freelance sportswriter for several newspapers and magazines. He also wrote two books on the International Olympic Games for Universal Press.
Abraham's entry into film began with the documentary, Playing to Win, an inside look at the Cuban athletic system. He wrote several screenplays for studios and networks including 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. He also wrote for the popular series 21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,...
and Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
.
Awards and affiliations
Abraham is a member of the Writer's Guild, the Producer's Guild, and on the board of the Virginia Film FestivalVirginia Film Festival
The Virginia Film Festival is hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, held usually in late October/ early November.- Themes :The Virginia Film Festival has historically had a different theme each year...
and the Violence Policy Center
Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center is a national 501 organization working to prohibit gun ownership in the United States, especially in relation to gun politics...
. He has been honored with the Spirit of Chrysalis Award, which recognized Abraham for his outstanding commitment to helping change lives through jobs, and helping thousands of disadvantaged and homeless individuals and families in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Further reading
- Carr, Sara, "Flash of Genius director Marc Abraham talks to Greyhound", The Greyhound, Loyola CollegeLoyola College in MarylandLoyola University Maryland is a Roman Catholic, Jesuit private university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges...
, Section: Arts & Society, Baltimore, Maryland, September 23, 2008.