Rick Schwartz
Encyclopedia
Rick Schwartz is an independent producer and financier whose credits include The Departed
, Black Swan
, Gangs of New York
, The Aviator and The Others
.
Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey
, Schwartz grew up in a Modern Orthodox Jewish
home and graduated from the Moriah School and the Frisch School
. He has been a resident of Englewood, New Jersey
.
In 2006, Schwartz partnered with film financier Graham King, helping to develop strategic relationships with Martin Scorcese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Nicole Kidman. Together, they produced “The Aviator” as well as the Academy Award winning film, “The Departed”, directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson.
In 2008, Schwartz announced the launch of his new film company, Overnight Productions. The first film to be released under the new banner was The Lucky Ones
, directed by Neil Burger
and starring Rachel McAdams
, Tim Robbins
, and Michael Peña
. The film had its world premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
and was released in 2009 by Lionsgate Films.
In 2009, Schwartz produced the thriller "13", a remake of the award-winning French film "13 Tzameti. Directed by Gela Babluani, the film stars Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone, Alexander Saarsgard, 50 Cent and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The film will be released theatrically in November 2011 by Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Schwartz and his Overnight banner also financed and produced the $10m action movie "Machete", an independent feature co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan and Danny Trejo. The North American distribution rights were acquired by Fox Entertainment in January 2010 for $9m. "Machete" went on to gross over $40m worldwide, along with $14m in DVD sales; Rodriguez and Schwartz recently announced plans for a sequel.
Schwartz's success continued in 2010 with the Academy Award nominated, "Black Swan", directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey. The $13m movie went on to gross over $320m worldwide, with Portman winning an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Future projects include "Spectre", a supernatural thriller to star Nicole Kidman and be directed by James Wan ("Saw", "Insidious"); "Southbound'", to be directed by Jonathan Jakubowitz and starring Matthew McConaughey
, Eva Mendes
and Liv Tyler
; "Goree Girls" to be produced with Jennifer Aniston who is also starring; and “Who Gets The Dog?”, a romantic comedy to star Eva Longoria.
Throughout his career Schwartz’s eye for material and strong relationships with leading talent have produced an impressive resume of commercial and critically successful films. The films in which Schwartz has been involved have grossed over $1 billion dollars in worldwide box office sales.
Schwartz is active in numerous charities, including The Robin Hood Foundation, United Jewish Appeal, and Amfar. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, as well as a published writer.
The Departed
The Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
, Black Swan
Black Swan
The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...
, Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York is a 2002 historical film set in the mid-19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. The film was inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 nonfiction book, The Gangs of New...
, The Aviator and The Others
The Others (2001 film)
The Others is a 2001 psychological horror film by the Spanish-Chilean director Alejandro Amenábar, starring Nicole Kidman. It is inspired partly by the novella The Turn of the Screw....
.
Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, Schwartz grew up in a Modern Orthodox Jewish
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
home and graduated from the Moriah School and the Frisch School
Frisch School
The Frisch School, founded in 1972 by Rabbi Menachem Meier and Alfred Frisch, is a coeducational yeshiva secondary school located in Paramus, New Jersey, which adheres to the tenets and practices of Modern Orthodox Judaism...
. He has been a resident of Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
.
Film career
Schwartz began his career at Miramax under Harvey and Bob Weinstein, eventually serving as the company’s Senior Vice President of Production. During his tenure at Miramax, Schwartz was entrusted to oversee the development and production of some of Miramax’s most high profile, big budget projects; producing credits include “The Others”, directed by Alejandro Amenabar, starring Nicole Kidman and produced in conjunction with Tom Cruise; “Gangs of New York”, directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day Lewis and Cameron Diaz.In 2006, Schwartz partnered with film financier Graham King, helping to develop strategic relationships with Martin Scorcese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp and Nicole Kidman. Together, they produced “The Aviator” as well as the Academy Award winning film, “The Departed”, directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Nicholson.
In 2008, Schwartz announced the launch of his new film company, Overnight Productions. The first film to be released under the new banner was The Lucky Ones
The Lucky Ones (film)
The Lucky Ones is a 2008 American dramedy film with a road movie plot directed by Neil Burger. The screenplay by Burger and Dirk Wittenborn focuses on three United States Army soldiers who find themselves drawn together by unforeseen circumstances.-Plot:...
, directed by Neil Burger
Neil Burger
Neil Burger is an American film director who has filmed the pseudo-documentary, Interview with the Assassin , the period drama, The Illusionist, and the 2011 thriller Limitless.-Life and career:...
and starring Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
, Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the former longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
, and Michael Peña
Michael Peña
Michael Anthony Peña is an American film and television actor. He is probably best known for his roles in the films Crash, World Trade Center, Observe and Report, 30 Minutes or Less and Tower Heist...
. The film had its world premiere at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and was released in 2009 by Lionsgate Films.
In 2009, Schwartz produced the thriller "13", a remake of the award-winning French film "13 Tzameti. Directed by Gela Babluani, the film stars Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Ray Winstone, Alexander Saarsgard, 50 Cent and Emmanuelle Chriqui. The film will be released theatrically in November 2011 by Anchor Bay Entertainment.
Schwartz and his Overnight banner also financed and produced the $10m action movie "Machete", an independent feature co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan and Danny Trejo. The North American distribution rights were acquired by Fox Entertainment in January 2010 for $9m. "Machete" went on to gross over $40m worldwide, along with $14m in DVD sales; Rodriguez and Schwartz recently announced plans for a sequel.
Schwartz's success continued in 2010 with the Academy Award nominated, "Black Swan", directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey. The $13m movie went on to gross over $320m worldwide, with Portman winning an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Future projects include "Spectre", a supernatural thriller to star Nicole Kidman and be directed by James Wan ("Saw", "Insidious"); "Southbound'", to be directed by Jonathan Jakubowitz and starring Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
, Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes is an American actress.She began acting in the late 1990s, and after a series of minor roles and performances in several smaller films such as Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror and Urban Legends: Final Cut , she broke into the mainstream, appearing in leading roles in Hollywood...
and Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
; "Goree Girls" to be produced with Jennifer Aniston who is also starring; and “Who Gets The Dog?”, a romantic comedy to star Eva Longoria.
Throughout his career Schwartz’s eye for material and strong relationships with leading talent have produced an impressive resume of commercial and critically successful films. The films in which Schwartz has been involved have grossed over $1 billion dollars in worldwide box office sales.
Schwartz is active in numerous charities, including The Robin Hood Foundation, United Jewish Appeal, and Amfar. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, as well as a published writer.