Brent Montgomery

Last updated

Brent Montgomery is an American businessman who is CEO of Wheelhouse Entertainment, a media group he launched in 2018. [1] [2] Under the Wheelhouse banner also is Spoke Studios, [3] the content arm of Wheelhouse Entertainment, which creates programming across a variety of platforms and genres. [4]

Contents

Montgomery also serves as strategic advisor to ITV America. [5] Montgomery was named CEO of ITV America in 2015 following the 2014 acquisition of his company, Leftfield Entertainment, for $360 million by UK-based, multi-national media company ITV. [6] Under Montgomery's leadership, in 2017 ITV America's revenue [7] increased by 33%. [8]

Career

Montgomery began his television career working for Texas CBS affiliate KBTX, which subsequently paid for the majority of his tuition at Texas A&M. [9] He later moved to New York and worked on The Bachelor , Wife Swap and Blind Date . [10]

Montgomery started his first production company, Leftfield Pictures, in 2002 with $10,000. [11] Leftfield Pictures initially shot wedding videos while developing its entertainment content and clientele, and eventually sold its first series, The Principal’s Office, in 2008. [10] Montgomery developed the concept for Leftfield Pictures’ flagship series Pawn Stars while in Las Vegas for a bachelor party. [12] Struck by the number of pawn shops in the city, Montgomery set out to locate a shop with the right setting and staff around which to build a television series. [13] [11] Ultimately, Montgomery negotiated a deal with Gold & Silver Pawn Shop co-owner Rick Harrison, and pitched the show to the History Channel. [14] In 2009, Pawn Stars premiered on History as a top rated series for the network, highlighting the “hidden treasures” genre of programming. [15]

Montgomery grew Leftfield Pictures rapidly [16] with other series soon added to Leftfield's roster. [17] In addition to Pawn Stars, other Leftfield Pictures series and Montgomery credits include Alone , [18] American Restoration and Counting Cars for History; [10] American Grit for Fox; [19] Bethenny & Fredrik for Bravo, [20] and National Geographic Channel’s specials Billy the Kid: The New Evidence (executive produced by Kevin Costner) [21] and Brain Surgery Live. [22]

In 2013, Montgomery established parent company Leftfield Entertainment (LFE), and assumed the role of CEO, in conjunction with acquiring production company Sirens Media. [23] He then launched additional production companies under the LFE umbrella – Loud TV [24] and Outpost Entertainment [25] – before selling 80% of the company for $360 million to ITV in 2014. [26] At the end of 2015, Montgomery completed a deal through which ITV acquired all of the Leftfield Entertainment group. As part of that process, he became CEO of newly formed production group ITV America, [17] encompassing original Leftfield Entertainment companies Leftfield Pictures, Sirens Media, Outpost Entertainment, Loud TV; plus ITV Entertainment, Gurney Productions, High Noon Entertainment and Thinkfactory Media. [10] Collectively, they produce series including FOX's The Four: Battle for Stardom [27] and Hell’s Kitchen ; HGTV's Fixer Upper , Netflix's Queer Eye [28] and Girls Incarcerated, [29] A&E's Duck Dynasty and The First 48, [30] History's Pawn Stars, Alone and Forged in Fire. [31] Bravo's The Real Housewives of New Jersey, [32] [33]

During Montgomery's tenure as CEO of ITV America, the company made production and talent deals with TV personalities and celebrities Michael Strahan, [34] WWE star John Cena, [35] Bethenny Frankel, [36] Good Morning America co-host Lara Spencer, [37] Grammy award-winner Timbaland and author/actress La La Anthony. [38]

In January 2018, Montgomery founded Wheelhouse Entertainment and its production company Spoke Studios. [39] He currently serves as CEO of Wheelhouse Entertainment.

Honors and affiliations

Montgomery was featured on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter on January 30, 2019, focusing on his new business, the Wheelhouse Group, and highlighting his contributions to reality TV. [40]

In June 2016, Montgomery was inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame as Producer Extraordinaire. [41]

In 2014 Montgomery became a founding member of the Non-Fiction Producers Association (NPA), the first professional body created to service the non-fiction TV business in the United States, and serves on its executive committee. [42] In 2017 the NPA merged with PactUS to create NPACT, on whose board and executive committee Montgomery also sits. [43] In 2018, he received NPACT's “Inspiration Award for Outstanding Achievement In Nonfiction [44] ” as part of the organization's inaugural NPACT Impact Awards.

Montgomery is a member of Lincoln Center Corporate Fund's newly launched Media and Entertainment Council, [45] and a member of the Paley Media Council. [46]

Related Research Articles

Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and is currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California, United States. In addition to its flagship Lionsgate Films division, the company contains other divisions such as Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate Interactive. It owns a variety of subsidiaries such as Summit Entertainment, Debmar-Mercury, and Starz Inc.

Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is owned by Australian media company of the same name. It has produced over 100 films since its establishment in 1986 including, as co-productions with Warner Bros., The Matrix series, the Sherlock Holmes series, the Happy Feet series, the Ocean’s series, The Lego Movie and Joker. The films in the Village Roadshow library have achieved 34 number one U.S. box office openings and received 50 Academy Award nominations, 19 Academy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imagine Entertainment</span> American film and television production company

Imagine Entertainment, also known simply as Imagine, is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard.

ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is based in 12 countries across 60 production labels, with local production offices in the UK, US, Belgium, Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, France, Spain and Scandinavia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legendary Entertainment</span> American film studio

Legendary Entertainment is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull along with co-founders Scott Mednick and William Fay in 2000. The company has collaborated with the major studios, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Paramount Pictures as well as streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu. Since 2016, Legendary has been a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group and Apollo.

Marc Shmuger is an American entertainment executive and film producer. From 1998 to 2009 he was working for Universal Pictures, where he became chairman in 2006. From February 2016 to December 2017 he was the CEO of EuropaCorp.

Tonko Soljan is a Croatian American film and television producer known best for the PBS acquired documentary film Beyond Our Differences and the broadly distributed feature film Adrift in Manhattan starring Heather Graham, William Baldwin, Dominic Chianese and Victor Rasuk. Soljan is also a key player in the launch of Discovery Channel's series Storm Chasers and MTV's Teen Mom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Entertainment</span> American entertainment company

DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and was based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that manages its DC Comics units and characters in other units, as they work with other Warner Bros. units. It also delves into those units within their flagship the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Bruckheimer Films</span> American film production company

Jerry Bruckheimer Films Inc. (JBF) is an American independent film production company of Jerry Bruckheimer, formed in 1995, after cutting his ties with film producer Don Simpson, before his subsequent death in 1996. It produced blockbuster films such as the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entertainment One</span> Canadian entertainment company

Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is a Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television series. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange before it was acquired by Hasbro on December 30, 2019.

Open Road Films, LLC is an American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Eric Hohl on March 26, 2011, as a joint venture between the two largest American theatrical exhibitors, AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group, which both owned the company until it was bought out by Tang Media Partners, a media company owned by Donald Tang, in August 2017. After Tang's purchase, both companies Open Road and IM Global merged and formed "Global Road Entertainment". In September 2018, Open Road declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The bankruptcy did not affect TMP, IM Global or IM Global TV. On November 6, 2018, Open Road agreed to be purchased by Raven Capital Management. Raven completed its acquisition in February 2019.

<i>Counting Cars</i> American reality television series

Counting Cars is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series, which is the third spinoff of Pawn Stars, is filmed in Las Vegas, where it chronicles the daily activities at Count's Kustoms, an automobile restoration and customization company owned and operated by Danny Koker a.k.a. The Count, who previously appeared as a recurring expert on Pawn Stars. In a format similar to another Pawn Stars spinoff, American Restoration, the series follows Koker and his staff as they restore and modify classic automobiles and motorcycles. Counting Cars debuted on August 13, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annapurna Pictures</span> American independent media company

Annapurna Pictures is an American independent media company founded by Megan Ellison on April 2, 2011 and based in Los Angeles, California. It is active in film, television and theatrical production, film distribution, and video game publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portal A Interactive</span> Digital content company

Portal A is a digital content company that creates branded and original entertainment. Portal A was founded by three childhood friends, Nate Houghteling, Kai Hasson, and Zach Blume. Portal A is independently owned with offices in SoMa and Downtown Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bleecker Street (company)</span> American film company

Bleecker Street is an independent American film company that specializes in film distribution. The company is based in New York City and named after 65 Bleecker Street, the street address of founder Andrew Karpen's prior company Focus Features. Founded in 2014, the studio was established with the goal to distribute “smart house” films that combine the entertainment of studio blockbusters with the artistic indie allure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DC Studios</span> American entertainment company

DC Studios is an American film, television, and animation studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, among them is their flagship franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). James Gunn and Peter Safran assumed control of the company, on November 1, 2022. Previously, Walter Hamada was the president of DC Films from 2018 until his departure in October 2022.

Amblin Partners American entertainment company

Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company, which succeeded the live-action counterpart of DreamWorks and is led by Steven Spielberg. It develops and produces films under the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, as well as television series through Amblin Television. The company's investment partners include Reliance Group's Reliance Entertainment, Hasbro's Entertainment One, Alibaba Group's Alibaba Pictures and NBCUniversal/Comcast's Universal Pictures. Films produced by Amblin Partners are primarily distributed by Universal in North America and select international territories and by third-party distributors through Mister Smith Entertainment in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1091 Pictures</span> American film studio

1091 Pictures is an American film studio based in New York City and Los Angeles. The company was founded as the film and television division subsidiary of The Orchard in 2015. The company is best known for the Oscar-nominated films Life, Animated and Cartel Land. Sony divested the company and its catalogue of over 4,000 in 2019, with the company adopting the name 1091 Media. In 2020, the company rebranded as 1091 Pictures and announced that its parent company rebranded as Streamwise, the name of its new technology platform in development.

References

  1. ↑ White, Peter (2018-01-29). "Former ITV America CEO Brent Montgomery Launches Wheelhouse Entertainment". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  2. ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (2018-01-29). "Producer Brent Montgomery Unveils Wheelhouse Entertainment, Spoke Studios Ventures". Variety. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  3. ↑ "Leadership in Place for Brent Montgomery's Spoke Studios - TVUSA". TVUSA. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  4. ↑ "Montgomery names Spoke's leadership team – TBI Vision". tbivision.com. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  5. ↑ "Brent Montgomery sets Spoke Studios executive team" . Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  6. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2015-12-03). "Brent Montgomery Named CEO of ITV America". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  7. ↑ "ITV 2017 Profit Drops, New CEO Carolyn McCall Focuses on "Strategic Refresh"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  8. ↑ White, Peter (2018-02-28). "ITV America Doubles Down On Digital Focus After Scoring 'Dark Web' Order For Netflix". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  9. ↑ "Broadcasting & Cable". www.broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Barraclough, Leo (2015-10-28). "'Pawn Stars' Creator Brent Montgomery To Lead ITV Studios U.S. Group". Variety. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  11. 1 2 "RSL '14: Leftfield's Montgomery recounts route to the top" . Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  12. ↑ "Brent Montgomery - San Antonio Magazine - January 2013 - San Antonio, TX". www.sanantoniomag.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  13. ↑ "'Pawn Stars' creator eyeing S.A." San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  14. ↑ "Banff World Media Festival: Pawn Stars creator Brent Montgomery says the key to great reality TV is the 'cast'". Calgary Herald. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  15. ↑ Marechal, AJ (2012-10-17). "Leftfield Pictures expands to L.A." Variety. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  16. ↑ "Brent Montgomery - Reality TV: THR's 50 Most Powerful List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  17. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (2015-12-03). "Brent Montgomery Named CEO of ITV America". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  18. ↑ Petski, Denise (2016-04-20). "'Alone' Survival Series Renewed For Season 3 By History". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  19. ↑ Holloway, Daniel (2016-07-29). "John Cena's 'American Grit' Renewed for Season 2 by Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  20. ↑ "Bravo Media tackles home renos in "Bethenny & Fredrik"" . Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  21. ↑ "Kevin Costner to Take On Billy the Kid Mystery for National Geographic (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  22. ↑ "National Geographic to Air First Live Brain Surgery on TV (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  23. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2013-03-20). "Leftfield Pictures Acquires 'Real Housewives Of NJ' Producer Sirens Media". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  24. ↑ "Nick Rigg Partners With Brent Montgomery for Loud TV | Broadcasting & Cable". www.broadcastingcable.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  25. ↑ "Leftfield, Jodi Flynn partner for Outpost Entertainment" . Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  26. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2014-05-07). "ITV Studios Acquires 80% Of 'Pawn Stars' Producer Leftfield Entertainment For $360M". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  27. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (2018-04-16). "'The Four': Fox Brings Back Original Host & Judges For Season 2, Sans Charlie Walk; June Premiere Set". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  28. ↑ "'Queer Eye' Producers on How the Netflix Update Shifts Its Focus to Red State America". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  29. ↑ "Loud TV, Plum Pictures tackle teen incarceration for Netflix" . Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  30. ↑ "Exclusive: ITV Entertainment options Armoza's "The Bubble"" . Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  31. ↑ Petski, Denise (2015-04-27). "Bladesmiths Cut To The Chase In New Competition Series On History". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  32. ↑ Petski, Denise (2018-02-20). "Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh Named President Of ITV America's Sirens Media". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  33. ↑ "ITV America | An ITV Studios Company". itv-america.com. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  34. ↑ Petski, Denise (2017-05-23). "Michael Strahan Inks Overall Deal With ITV America". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  35. ↑ Calvario, Liz. "John Cena Inks Deal With Leftfield Entertainment To Create TV Content | IndieWire". www.indiewire.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  36. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2015-12-01). "Bethenny Frankel Launches Production Company, Inks Deal with Leftfield Entertainment". Variety. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  37. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2016-06-01). "'Good Morning America's' Lara Spencer Inks Production Deal with Leftfield Entertainment". Variety. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  38. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (2016-01-27). "Timbaland & La La Anthony Developing Hip Hop Docuseries". Variety. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  39. ↑ "Brent Montgomery Launches Wheelhouse Entertainment". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  40. ↑ "This Guy Made $360M in Reality TV — Now He Wants Real Money". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-02-22.
  41. ↑ "Brent Montgomery to enter Realscreen Awards Hall of Fame" . Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  42. ↑ Robb, David (2016-10-06). "Nonfiction Producers Association Expands Membership & Exec Committee". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  43. ↑ Robb, David (2017-06-05). "Reality TV Trade Organizations Merge, Form NPACT". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  44. ↑ Turchiano, Danielle (2018-04-27). "NPACT Announces Inaugural NPACT Impact Awards, Books Bob Saget as Host (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  45. ↑ "Lincoln Center Corporate Fund Members". www.lccorporatefund.org. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  46. ↑ "Page 3 | The Paley Center for Media". The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.