Marc Platt (producer)

Last updated

Marc Platt
Born (1957-04-14) April 14, 1957 (age 67)
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
NYU School of Law
Occupation(s)Film, television and theatre producer
Known for Filmography
Spouse Julie Beren
Children5, including Ben
AwardsTwo Tony Awards
Two Primetime Emmy Awards
BAFTA Award Winner

Marc E. Platt (born April 14, 1957) is an American producer who has worked in film, theatre, and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards.

Contents

Early life

Platt was born and raised in a Conservative Jewish home [1] [2] [3] in Pikesville, Maryland, the son of Sue Ellen (née Sezzin), a schoolteacher, and Howard Platt, who worked in the retail shoe business. [1] [4] He has an older brother and a younger sister. [4] He graduated from Pikesville High School in 1975 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1979, where he was a member of the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law and began his career as an entertainment attorney. [5]

Career

Marc Platt Productions
Industry Film Production
Television
Stage
Founded2001
FounderMarc Platt
Headquarters,
U.S.
Key people
Marc Platt (Principal)
Adam Siegel (President)
Website marcplattproductions.com

Platt started producing in theatre, before moving into film. He has served as president of production for three movie studios: Orion Pictures, TriStar Pictures, and Universal Studios. Platt has since formed his own production company, Marc Platt Productions, within the Universal realm and continues to pursue creative projects. His company is responsible for the Legally Blonde films and the HBO miniseries Empire Falls . [6]

Platt has produced a variety of feature films beginning with the 1987 comedy Campus Man . His films include Legally Blonde (2001), Wanted (2008), Rachel Getting Married (2008), Nine (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Drive (2011), The Girl on the Train (2016), and Cruella (2021). He also produced critically acclaimed films such as Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies (2015), Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land (2016), and Aaron Sorkin's legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), all of which earned him Academy Award for Best Picture nominations.

He was executive producer of the two-part docudrama The Path to 9/11 , shown on ABC on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 on September 10 and 11, 2006. The film was controversial and accused of having a political agenda and fictionalizing the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks, especially those involving the Clinton administration.

He collaborated with Walt Disney Pictures producing numerous musicals for the studio including Into the Woods (2014), Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Aladdin (2019, as an executive producer), The Little Mermaid (2023) and the upcoming Snow White (2025), as well as Universal's Wicked films (2024–2025). In 2021 he produced a film adaptation of the musical Dear Evan Hansen (2021) which featured a leading performance from his son Ben Platt, who originated the title role on Broadway. This casting, however, led to accusations of nepotism against them for having Ben, at age 27, reprise his role as the teenage title character in the film. [7] [8] For his work on television he produced Grease Live! (2016), Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018), and Rent: Live (2019) as well as the HBO projects Empire Falls (2005), and Oslo (2021).

Platt has produced numerous productions on the Broadway stage with his first official credit being Wicked earning his first Tony Award for Best Musical nomination. He was also nominated for Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for Pal Joey in 2009 and Tony Award for Best Play for Indecent in 2017. He won the Tony Award for Best Musical for The Band's Visit in 2018 and for A Strange Loop in 2022. [9] He will also produce the upcoming stage adaptation of La La Land. [10]

Personal life

Platt and his wife Julie (née Beren) also a Penn graduate and trustee of the university, [11] live in the Los Angeles area. They funded the construction of a performing arts rehearsal and performance space on the campus, the Platt Student Performing Arts House. Platt is a Penn Glee Club alumnus and supporter. His company has taken at least one Penn student intern a year since its inception. [12]

The Platts have five children, including actor and singer Ben Platt and Henry Platt.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

YearFilmCreditNotes
1987 Campus Man Executive producer
2001 Josie and the Pussycats
Legally Blonde
2003 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Honey
2005 Happy Endings Co-producer
The Perfect Man
2007 The Seeker
2008 Wanted
Rachel Getting Married
2009 Legally Blondes Direct-to-video
The Other Woman
Nine
2010 Cop Out
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Charlie St. Cloud
2011 Drive
Honey 2 Executive producer
2013 Evidence
2 Guns
2014 Song One
Winter's Tale
We'll Never Have Paris Executive producer
Lost River
Mockingbird
Into the Woods
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks Executive producer
2015 Ricki and the Flash
Bridge of Spies
2016 La La Land
Honey 3: Dare to Dance Executive producerDirect-to-video
The Girl on the Train
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
2018 Hotel Artemis
Nappily Ever After
Mary Poppins Returns
2019 Aladdin Executive producer
2020 The Trial of the Chicago 7
2021 Thunder Force
Cruella
Dear Evan Hansen
2022 Better Nate Than Ever
Babylon
2023 The Little Mermaid
2024 Players
Wicked
2025 Snow White
How to Train Your Dragon
Wicked Part Two
As an actor
YearTitleRole
2022 Babylon Producer
Thanks
YearFilmRole
1991 The Addams Family Special thanks
2013BananasSpecial thanks; short film
2016 The Comedian The producers wish to thank the following for their assistance
Cameo appearances
YearFilmNotes
2001Inside 'Legally Blonde'Documentary
2003The Hair That Ate Hollywood
2004Wicked: The Road to Broadway
2007ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
2020 Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall Concert film
2024Wicked: The Real StoryDocumentary

Television

YearTitleCreditNotes
2002 MDs Executive producer
2003Mr. AmbassadorTelevision film
Legally BlondeTelevision pilot
2005 Empire Falls
Once Upon a Mattress Television film
2006 The Path to 9/11
2009−10 Taking the Stage
2016 Grease: Live Television special
2017 A Christmas Story Live!
2018 Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
A Very Wicked Halloween
2019 Rent Live!
2021 Oslo Television film
2023 Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
As an actor
YearTitleRole
2017 Curb Your Enthusiasm Musical Director
Thanks
YearTitleRole
2020 Saturday Night Seder Special thanks
2024Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on WickedWith gratitude
Cameo appearances
YearTitleNotes
2001Backstage Pass
2004Broadway: The American MusicalEpisode: "Putting It Together"
2008Max on Set: WantedDocumentary
2024Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on WickedTelevision special

Theatre

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryProduction / RoleResult
2015 Academy Award Best Picture Bridge of Spies Nominated
2016 La La Land Nominated
2020 The Trial of the Chicago 7 Nominated
2004 Tony Award Best Musical Wicked Nominated
2009 Best Revival of a Musical Pal Joey Nominated
2017 Best Play Indecent Nominated
2018Best Musical The Band's Visit Won
2022 A Strange Loop Won
2023 Best Revival of a Play Topdog/Underdog Won
2005 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Miniseries Empire Falls Nominated
2016 Outstanding Special Class Program Grease Live! Won
2018 Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert Won
2019 Rent: Live Nominated
2021 Outstanding Television Movie Oslo Nominated
2021 People's Choice Awards Drama Movie of the Year Cruella Won
2022 North Dakota Film Society Best Picture Babylon Nominated

Related Research Articles

Michael Frank Park is an American actor, best known for his roles as Jack Snyder on As the World Turns, Larry Murphy in the original Broadway cast of Dear Evan Hansen (2016), and reporter Tom Holloway in the third season of the Netflix series Stranger Things (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Chbosky</span> American writer and director (born 1970)

Stephen Chbosky is an American film director, screenwriter, and author. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999), as well as for writing and directing the 2012 film adaptation of the book. Most recently, he directed the 2017 drama Wonder and the 2021 film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen. His first psychological horror novel, Imaginary Friend, was published in October 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasek and Paul</span> American songwriting duo

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Paul</span> American composer and lyricist

Justin Paul is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing songs for films such as La La Land (2016) and The Greatest Showman (2017), and the stage musical Dear Evan Hansen, all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Benj Pasek. With Pasek, Paul became the 20th/21st person to win the EGOT, an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Val Emmich</span> American singer-songwriter

Val Matthew Emmich is an American writer, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has had roles on HBO's Vinyl, NBC's 30 Rock, Showtime's The Big C, and ABC's Ugly Betty. He is the author of The New York Times bestselling YA book Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel and the adult novel The Reminders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Lacamoire</span> American composer

Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.

Taylor Hunt Trensch is an American stage and film actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Platt</span> American actor and singer (born 1993)

Benjamin Schiff Platt is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015), rising to prominence for originating the title role in the Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, a Daytime Emmy, and a Grammy Award. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical, produced by his father. He then played Leo Frank in the 2022 New York City Center Gala production of Parade, which transferred to Broadway in 2023 and earned him another Tony nomination and another Grammy nomination.

David Stone is an American theater and film producer.

<i>Dear Evan Hansen</i> 2015 American musical by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Dear Evan Hansen is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Bay Jones</span> American actress and singer

Rachel Bay Jones is an American actress and singer. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in Dear Evan Hansen. The latter earned her an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, and the 2017 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She emerged as one of few artists to have received three of the four major American entertainment awards.

<i>Dear Evan Hansen: Original Broadway Cast Recording</i> 2017 cast album of the stage musical Dear Evan Hansen

Dear Evan Hansen: Original Broadway Cast Recording is the cast album to the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The recording stars Ben Platt, Rachel Bay Jones, Laura Dreyfuss, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Michael Park, Mike Faist, Will Roland and Kristolyn Lloyd. The album was produced by Alex Lacamoire, Pasek and Paul, and featuring musicians include Rob Jost, Adele Stein, Justin Smith, Ben Cohn, Jamie Eblen, Dillon Kondor, Justin Goldner, Christopher Jahnke and Todd Low. The album was released by Atlantic Records on January 27, 2017, and featured at #8 on the Billboard 200, making the highest debut for a cast album after Camelot (1961). It also topped the Internet Albums chart. It further received the Best Musical Theater Album award at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.

Oslo is a play by J. T. Rogers, recounting the true-life, previously secret, back-channel negotiations in the development of the pivotal 1990s Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The play premiered Off-Broadway in June 2016 and then transferred to Broadway in April 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Levenson</span> American playwright and television writer

Steven Levenson is an American playwright and television writer. He won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Dear Evan Hansen.

"Waving Through a Window" is the second song from Act 1 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics for the song, which serves as the main protagonist Evan Hansen's "I Want" song. It has since become the signature tune of the character, one of the musical's most famous songs and an anthem for those who have felt depressed and alone and show a desire for connection.

"You Will Be Found" is the Act 1 finale of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.

<i>Dear Evan Hansen</i> (film) 2021 American coming-of-age musical film by Stephen Chbosky

Dear Evan Hansen is a 2021 American coming-of-age musical film directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Steven Levenson, based on the 2015 stage musical of the same name by Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Ben Platt plays the title role, reprising the performance that he originated on stage six years earlier. The cast also includes Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Danny Pino, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams.

"Sincerely, Me" is a song from Act 1 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song, whose title takes its name from the phrase with which the musical's main protagonist, Evan Hansen, ends his daily letters to himself.

"Only Us" is a song from Act 2 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Hansen</span> Character from the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen

Evan Hansen is the titular character and main protagonist of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. A bullied 17-year-old high schooler with social anxiety and depression, who lives with his single mother Heidi Hansen after she divorced from his father Mark Hansen ten years before, he attempts to find the acceptance and love he has been lacking in his life. On his journey to be found, he discovers the consequences of risking it all for the chance to be heard.

References

  1. 1 2 Berrin, Danielle (February 23, 2016). "Producer Marc Platt: The man behind "Wicked" and "Bridge of Spies" aspires to great art". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles . Platt grew up in an observant Conservative home in Maryland, where his family kept a kosher home, celebrated Shabbat and went to shul often.
  2. Bloom, Nate (February 25, 2016). "The tribe at the Oscars, 2016". Times of Israel .
  3. Wolfsiz, Francine (February 27, 2017). "La La Land: Who knew it was so Jewish". Times of Israel .
  4. 1 2 "On April 25, 2019, Sue Ellen Platt (née Sezzin); loving wife of Howard Platt; cherished mother of Dr. Jeffrey (Pamela) Platt, Marc (Julie) Platt, & Wendy (Scott) Newberger;". The Baltimore Sun . April 26, 2019.
  5. Hughes, Samuel. "COVER STORY: Passion Plays". Pennsylvania Gazette . May/June 2006.
  6. Empire Falls cast biography. HBO Films.
  7. "Ben Platt Is Facing Backlash Over His Latest Comments About The "Dear Evan Hansen" Film". BuzzFeed . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  8. "Dear Evan Hansen: Ben Platt, 27, hits back at 'rando jerks' after he's mocked with memes for portraying a teenager". The Independent. May 19, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  9. Jacobs, Julia (June 12, 2022). "Tony Awards 2022 Live Updates: 'A Strange Loop' Wins Best Musical". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  10. Galuppo, Mia (February 7, 2023). "'La La Land' to Become a Broadway Musical". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  11. "UPenn Trustees". University of Pennsylvania.
  12. "Lead Gift Creates a Permanent Home for Student Performing Arts at Penn" Archived 2017-06-16 at the Wayback Machine . University of Pennsylvania (September 2005); accessed April 30, 2017.