Jonathan Schwartz (producer)

Last updated
Jonathan Schwartz
Alma mater University of California, Berkeley (B.A.)
George Washington University Law School (J.D.)
Occupation Film producer

Jonathan Schwartz (born 1969/1970) [1] is an American film producer and former entertainment lawyer, known for producing independent features. Schwartz's credits include Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006), Douchebag (2010), Like Crazy (2011), Smashed (2012), Nobody Walks (2012), Breathe In (2013), Imperial Dreams (2014), and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017). Through his production label, Super Crispy Entertainment, most of Schwartz's works have screened, won awards and secured distribution at the Sundance Film Festival. Throughout his career, he has collaborated extensively with producer Andrea Sperling, director Drake Doremus and actor-producer Logan Lerman.

Contents

Early life and education

A Los Angeles native, Jonathan Schwartz attended University of California, Berkeley, where he received his degree in rhetoric. [1] He attended George Washington University Law School, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor. He was subsequently involved in the sports business by working as a sports researcher for companies like HBO and NBC Sports, which led him to become acquainted with Minnesota Vikings owners Zygi and Audrey Wilf. [2] He moved back to Los Angeles and became a junior lawyer for the ICM Partners talent and literary agency. Schwartz subsequently worked for Real World Studios, answering to English singer-songwriter and cinemaphile Peter Gabriel. [3]

Career

Schwartz founded his film production company, Crispy Films, in 2004. [1] Utilizing his connections established through his career at HBO, NBC, ICM and Real World Studios, Schwartz managed to establish a number of major studio projects, including an adaptation of Thomas Hauser's novel Mark Twain Remembers, with James Franco attached to star. However, said production fell into a state of development hell, prompting Schwartz to pursue smaller, independent productions. The studio's breakthrough came with Wristcutters: A Love Story , a black comedy road movie that premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. [4] In 2007, Schwartz co-produced Funny Games , an American remake of the 1997 Austrian psychological thriller of the same name. [5]

In 2008, Schwartz was introduced to a number of his future long-term collaborators, including fellow film producer Andrea Sperling, following the recommendation of a sales agent with Creative Artists Agency. Schwartz and Sperling became producing partners and Crispy Films was subsequently renamed Super Crispy Entertainment, with the Wilfs financing their projects. [1] That same year, an agent also arranged for Schwartz to be introduced at a Starbucks coffee shop to the up and coming director Drake Doremus. Schwartz's next two projects included Doremus' comedy-drama films Spooner, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2009, as well as Douchebag , which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. [2] Schwartz and Sperling executive produced the science fiction mystery fantasy comedy film Kaboom , which premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and was awarded the first Queer Palm award. [6] [7]

Schwartz collaborated again with Sperling as his producing partner and Doremus as director on the film Like Crazy , which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film won the festival's Grand Jury Prize and helped launch the careers of Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence. [8] [9] At the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Schwartz and Sperling were awarded the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing. [10] The final collaboration to date between Schwartz and Doremus was Breathe In , which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently released by the Cohen Media Group. [6] [11]

Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling partnered up with Greg Ammon to produce the drama Bleeding Heart , starring Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, which was shot in late 2013. [12] It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival two years later, resulting in it being acquired and released by Gravitas Ventures. [13] At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Schwartz premiered the crime-drama Imperial Dreams , directed by Malik Vitthal and starring John Boyega - which led the actor to be cast as Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. [14] [15] At South by Southwest three months later, the next film produced by Schwartz, the Portland-based drama All the Wilderness premiered, featuring Danny DeVito, having been supported during development by Glenn Howerton and the other leads of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia . The film was acquired and released by Screen Media Films the following year. [16] Schwartz collaborated with Oscar-winning writer & director Shawn Christensen, to produce The Vanishing of Sidney Hall , which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by A24 in 2018. [17]

Schwartz partnered with Logan Lerman, the lead actor and executive producer of The Vanishing of Sidney Hall, to produce reportedly numerous subsequent films. The partnership began with Press Play , written and directed by Greg Björkman, which was released in June 2022. [18] [19] [20] Schwartz and Lerman were announced to be executive producers on the film Rothko, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, and set to begin production in summer 2021. [21] In June 2023, Lerman and Schwartz were announced as producers alongside Andrea Iervolino & Monika Bacardi on the Hollywood thriller Skincare, directed by Austin Peters. [22]

Filmography


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Lerman</span> American actor

Logan Wade Lerman is an American actor. He is known for playing the titular role in the fantasy-adventure Percy Jackson films. He appeared in commercials in the mid-1990s, before starring in the series Jack & Bobby (2004–2005) and the movies The Butterfly Effect (2004) and Hoot (2006). Lerman gained further recognition for his roles in the western 3:10 to Yuma, the thriller The Number 23, the comedy Meet Bill, and 2009's Gamer and My One and Only. He subsequently played d'Artagnan in 2011's The Three Musketeers, starred in the coming-of-age dramas The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Indignation (2016) and The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017), and had major roles in the 2014 films Noah and Fury. In 2020, he returned to television with the series Hunters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. J. Cutler</span> American film director

R. J. Cutler is an American filmmaker, documentarian, television producer and theater director.

Amy Ferguson is an American actress and model. Ferguson is also a singer-songwriter who goes by the stage name of "Grandma Dirt."

Andrea Sperling is an independent film producer based in Los Angeles. The films she has produced include Totally Fucked Up, But I'm a Cheerleader, D.E.B.S. and Itty Bitty Titty Committee and the Sundance Top Prize-winning Like Crazy.

<i>Douchebag</i> (film) 2010 American film

Douchebag is a 2010 film directed by Drake Doremus. The film is a black comedy set in Los Angeles, focusing on Alex Barradas, his older brother Sam Nussbaum and Sam's fiancée Steph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake Doremus</span> American film director

Drake Doremus is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing the films Like Crazy (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, Douchebag (2010) which was in Dramatic competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, and Equals (2015).

<i>Like Crazy</i> 2011 romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus

Like Crazy is a 2011 American romantic drama film directed by Drake Doremus and starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, and Jennifer Lawrence. Written by Doremus and Ben York Jones, the film tells the story of Anna, a British exchange student who falls in love with an American student, Jacob, only to be separated from him when she is denied re-entry into the United States after staying in the country longer than her student visa allows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Ponsoldt</span> American film director, actor and screenwriter

James Adam Ponsoldt is an American film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed the drama films Off the Black (2006) and Smashed (2012), the romantic comedy-drama The Spectacular Now (2013), and the dramas The End of the Tour (2015) and The Circle (2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boyega</span> British actor (born 1992)

John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega, known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in Britain for his role as a teenage gang leader in the comedy horror film Attack the Block (2011), and had his international breakthrough playing Finn in the Star Wars sequel trilogy films The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He received the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2016, and the Trophée Chopard at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Ben York Jones is an American screenwriter and film actor best known for writing and co-starring in Like Crazy (2011) which won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

James Belfer is an American independent film and TV producer. He is the founder and CEO of Cartuna, the founder and CEO of Dogfish Pictures, and the founder and managing director of Dogfish Accelerator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Toland Krieger</span> American film director and screenwriter (born 1983)

Lee Toland Krieger is an American film director and screenwriter best known for the films The Vicious Kind (2009), Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) and The Age of Adaline (2015).

<i>Smashed</i> (film) 2012 film directed by James Ponsoldt

Smashed is a 2012 American drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Ponsoldt and Susan Burke, and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Aaron Paul. Winstead and Paul play a married couple, Kate and Charlie Hannah, both alcoholics. After a series of embarrassing incidents caused by her drinking habit, Kate decides to get sober with the help of a coworker and a sponsor from Alcoholics Anonymous.

<i>Bleeding Heart</i> (film) 2015 American film

Bleeding Heart is a 2015 American drama film written and directed by Diane Bell and starring Jessica Biel, Zosia Mamet, Joe Anderson and Edi Gathegi. The film was produced by Jonathan Schwartz, Andrea Sperling, and Greg Ammon.

Shawn Christensen is an American musician, filmmaker, podcaster and artist. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration and graphic design. Christensen was the frontman of the indie rock band Stellastarr. In 2013, he won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for his short film Curfew.

<i>Imperial Dreams</i> 2014 film directed by Malik Vitthal

Imperial Dreams is an American drama film written and directed by Malik Vitthal. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2014. It won the Audience Award at the festival. The film was released as a Netflix original film on February 3, 2017 but removed in February 2023.

<i>The Vanishing of Sidney Hall</i> 2017 American mystery drama film by Shawn Christensen

The Vanishing of Sidney Hall is a 2017 American mystery drama film directed and co-written by Shawn Christensen and starring Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning, Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Lane and Kyle Chandler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Jonigkeit</span> American actor (born 1983)

Evan Jonigkeit is an American actor known for his roles in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Bone Tomahawk, and Easy.

<i>The Boy Downstairs</i> 2017 American film

The Boy Downstairs is a 2017 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Sophie Brooks, in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Zosia Mamet, Matthew Shear, Deirdre O'Connell, Sarah Ramos and Diana Irvine. The film was released in the United States on February 16, 2018, by FilmRise.

<i>Shirley</i> (2020 film) 2020 film by Josephine Decker

Shirley is a 2020 American biographical drama film directed by Josephine Decker and written by Sarah Gubbins, based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Susan Scarf Merrell, which formed a "largely fictional story" around novelist Shirley Jackson during the time period she was writing her 1951 novel Hangsaman. The film stars Elisabeth Moss as Jackson, with Michael Stuhlbarg, Odessa Young, and Logan Lerman in supporting roles. Martin Scorsese serves as an executive producer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Fernandez, Jay A.; Miller, Daniel (January 17, 2012). "Producers to Know". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Lebowitz, Steven (November 11, 2011). "'Like Crazy' interview with producer Jonathan Schwartz". AXS TV . Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  3. ↑ Weinstein, Joshua L. (April 2, 2012). "10 Producers Who Will Change Hollywood in 2012". TheWrap . Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  4. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (November 8, 2011). "Schwartz: Independent thinker". Variety . Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  5. ↑ Elley, Derek (October 20, 2007). "Funny Games". Variety . Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Cox, Gordon (May 21, 2010). "IFC picks up 'Kaboom,' 'What We Are'". Variety . Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ "UPDATE: "Kaboom" Claims First Queer Palm". IndieWire . May 23, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ Grant, Olly (July 31, 2011). "Felicity Jones: rising star". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  9. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (January 16, 2013). "Sundance 2013: 'Like Crazy' Producer Jonathan Schwartz on How to Master the Indie Game". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  10. ↑ "2012 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards". Sundance Institute. January 29, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  11. ↑ Knegt, Peter (March 14, 2013). "Cohen Media Group Takes Drake Doremus' 'Breathe In'". IndieWire . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  12. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (October 7, 2013). "Jessica Biel, 'Girls' Star Zosia Mamet Set for Super Crispy's 'Shiva & May' (Exclusive)". TheWrap . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  13. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (September 11, 2015). "'Bleeding Heart' Tribeca Thriller With Jessica Biel & Zosia Mamet Lands At Gravitas Ventures". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  14. ↑ Waxman, Sharon (January 21, 2014). "Sundance Reveals New Talent John Boyega in 'Imperial Dreams'". TheWrap . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  15. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 19, 2016). "Watch The Teaser For 'Imperial Dreams', The Sundance Pic That Got John Boyega 'Star Wars'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  16. ↑ Baker, Jeff (February 16, 2015). "'All the Wilderness,' made-in-Portland movie with Danny DeVito and Kodi Smit-McPhee, opens Feb. 20". The Oregonian . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  17. ↑ Romano, Nick (January 10, 2018). "Kyle Chandler uncovers The Vanishing of Sidney Hall in new trailer". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  18. ↑ Brzeski, Patrick (October 7, 2019). "Busan: CJ Entertainment to Produce Romantic Drama 'Press Play' With Clara Rugaard, Lewis Pullman (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ Grobar, Matt (November 5, 2021). "The Avenue Acquires Rights To CJ ENM's Romantic Drama 'Press Play' Starring Lewis Pullman, Clara Rugaard, Danny Glover And Matt Walsh". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  20. ↑ Howard, Courtney (June 23, 2022). "'Press Play' Review: Turning Back The Clock Through Music Doesn't Bring Back That Lovin' Feelin'". Variety . Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  21. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (March 5, 2021). "'Rothko': Sam Taylor-Johnson To Direct Art-World Drama With Russell Crowe, Aisling Franciosi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, More — EFM Hot Package". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  22. 1 2 Grobar, Matt (June 26, 2023). "Elizabeth Banks To Topline Austin Peters' Thriller 'Skincare'; Lewis Pullman, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Luis Gerardo Méndez & Nathan Fillion Also Set". Deadline. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
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.