Siskel/Jacobs Productions

Last updated
Siskel/Jacobs Productions
Industry Motion pictures/Television
Founded2005
FounderJon Siskel and Greg Jacobs
Headquarters,
Key people
Jon Siskel
Greg Jacobs
Website www.siskeljacobs.com

Siskel/Jacobs Productions is a Chicago, Illinois-based documentary and film-production company.

Contents

History

Siskel/Jacobs Productions was founded in 2005 by filmmakers Jon Siskel and Greg Jacobs. [1] Siskel is the nephew of film critic Gene Siskel. [2]

Works

The company produced the History Channel special 102 Minutes That Changed America , which premiered on September 11, 2008 [3] and became the second-most watched program in the network's history. [4] The company has also produced a special for Discovery Channel and an episode for the National Geographic Channel's Naked Science series. In 2008, SJP is worked on its first feature documentary, Louder Than a Bomb , which follows four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they compete in the world's largest youth slam. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Siskel</span> American film critic (1946–1999)

Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune who co-hosted movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert.

<i>UHF</i> (film) 1989 film by Jay Levey

UHF is a 1989 American comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Bowe, Fran Drescher, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, Stanley Brock, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Anthony Geary, Emo Philips and Trinidad Silva in his final film role; as Silva died before filming wrapped, the film is dedicated to his memory. Directed by Jay Levey, Yankovic's manager, who also co-wrote the screenplay with him, the film was originally released by Orion Pictures and became owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after their takeover in 1997. Yankovic and Levey struggled to find a production company to finance the film, but eventually secured Orion's support after agreeing to a $5 million budget. Principal photography took place around Tulsa, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Roeper</span> American writer and film critic (born 1959)

Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's successor. From 2010 to 2014, he co-hosted The Roe and Roeper Show with Roe Conn on WLS-AM. From October 2015 to October 2017, Roeper served as the host of the FOX 32 morning show Good Day Chicago.

<i>At the Movies</i> (1986 TV program) Movie review television program

At the Movies was an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share their opinions of newly released films. Its original hosts were Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, the former hosts of Sneak Previews on PBS (1975–1982) and a similarly titled syndicated series (1982–1986). After Siskel died in 1999, Ebert worked with various guest critics until choosing Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper as his regular partner in 2000.

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harpo Productions</span> American multimedia production company

Harpo Productions is an American multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. The name "Harpo" is "Oprah" spelled backwards and it was also the name of her on-screen husband in the film The Color Purple (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A&E Networks</span> American media company

A&E Television Networks, LLC is an American multinational corporation and broadcasting company.

Tribune Entertainment was a television production and broadcast syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Broadcasting. It was started in 1964 as a subsidiary of WGN-TV in Chicago. Many programs offered from Tribune Entertainment have been broadcast on the company's television stations.

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

Participant Media, LLC was an American independent film and television production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company financed and co-produced film and television content, as well as digital entertainment through its subsidiary SoulPancake, which the company acquired in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITVS</span>

ITVS is a service in the United States which funds and presents documentaries on public television through distribution by PBS and American Public Television, new media projects on the Internet, and the weekly series Independent Lens on PBS. Aside from Independent Lens, ITVS funded and produced films for more than 40 television hours per year on the PBS series POV, Frontline, American Masters and American Experience. Some ITVS programs are produced along with organizations like Latino Public Broadcasting and KQED.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Neff</span> American film executive

Thomas Linden Neff -, known as Tom Neff, is an American film executive, director and producer, born in Chicago, Illinois. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Donna Deitch is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, and actor best known for her 1985 film Desert Hearts. The movie was the first feature film to "de-sensationalize lesbianism" by presenting a lesbian romance story with positive and respectful themes.

<i>A Simple Plan</i> (film) 1998 American film

A Simple Plan is a 1998 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith, based on Smith's 1993 novel. The film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda. Set in rural Minnesota, the story follows brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob Mitchell (Thornton), who, along with Jacob's friend Lou, discover a crashed plane containing $4.4 million in cash. The three men and Hank's wife Sarah (Fonda) go to great lengths to keep the money a secret but begin to doubt each other's trust, resulting in lies, deceit and murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leanne Pooley</span> New Zealand-Canadian filmmaker

Leanne Pooley ONZM is a Canadian filmmaker based in Auckland, New Zealand. Pooley was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she immigrated to New Zealand in the mid-1980s and began working in the New Zealand television and film industry before moving to England where she worked for many of the world's top broadcasters. She returned to New Zealand in 1997 and started the production company Spacific Films. Her career spans more than 25 years and she has won numerous international awards. Leanne Pooley was made a New Zealand Arts Laureate in 2011 and an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year's Honours List 2017. She is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Bob Sarles is an American documentary filmmaker, film editor and radio host based in San Francisco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thea Flaum</span> American television producer

Thea Flaum is an American television producer best known as the creator of Sneak Previews, the movie review show featuring Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. She is the president of the Hill Foundation for Families Living with Disabilities, a nonprofit organization founded by Flaum and her husband, Robert A. Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Nearing</span> American filmmaker

Daniel Nearing is a Chicago, Illinois-based director, screenwriter, and independent filmmaker. Hogtown, his "period-less" American film, has been called "the most original film made in Chicago about Chicago to date" and named one of the 10 Best Films of 2016 by Ben Kenigsberg, who reviewed the film for The New York Times. Nearing was named the inaugural Filmmaker in Residence for the City of Chicago and Chicagoan of the Year for Film (2016–17) by the Chicago Tribune

Lindsey Dryden is a British film director, producer and writer.

The School Project is an independent cross-platform media project. It explores what a healthy public education system looks like through the lens of Chicago Public Schools. It focuses on issues including standardized testing, charter schools, privatization, and school closings. It is a collaboration between Kartemquin Films, Siskel/Jacobs Productions, Free Spirit Media, Kindling Group, Media Process Group, and several freelancers. Its media partners include Catalyst Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times, and WTTW/Channel 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Anderson (director)</span> American film director, producer, and writer (born 1954)

John Anderson is an American documentary film director, producer, editor and writer. His primary subjects are rock, blues and folk musicians. Anderson often makes films about musicians he admires, such as Brian Wilson, the American singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded The Beach Boys. His interest in film-making began when he saw Richard Lester’s “A Hard Day's Night” at the age of 10. Some of Anderson's inspirations are the works of many filmmakers, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Murray Lerner and Jerry Lewis. He is an alumnus of Northwestern University School of Communication, where he studied Radio/TV/Film and Music Theory & Composition.

References

  1. "Former Kurtis and Towers producers open their own docs-for-cable network company", ReelChicago.com (February 20, 2005).
  2. "BrewsterConnections" (PDF). Brewster Academy. Spring 2010. p. 10. Retrieved 11 October 2012. A friend of [my uncle Gene Siskel] had just been made president of the Travel Channel and [Uncle Gene] suggested that I push my stories to him. …[I got hired] and I moved to L.A. ... .[ dead link ]
  3. David Hinckley (September 11, 2008). "'102 Mins.' of the city's longest day", New York Daily News.
  4. Bill Gorman (September 15, 2008). "History Attracts Record Audience for 9/11 Special", TV by the Numbers blog.
  5. "About Us Archived 2008-07-03 at the Wayback Machine ". Siskel/Jacobs Productions.