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Jerry Bruckheimer

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Jerry Bruckheimer
Born
Jerome Leon Bruckheimer
OccupationProducer
Years active1972 - present

Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1945), better known by his professional name Jerry Bruckheimer, is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Without a Trace, Cold Case, and The Amazing Race. His best known movies include Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, The Rock, Con Air, Crimson Tide, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean, King Arthur, and National Treasure.

Many of his films were produced by Paramount Pictures and the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, while many of his TV series were co-produced by Warner Bros. Television.

Early life

Bruckheimer was born in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Mumford High School in Detroit until moving to Arizona for college at age 17. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Arizona with an algebra minor. He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity. A film buff at an early age with an interest in photography, Bruckheimer would take snapshots when he had the opportunity. After college, Bruckheimer moved to Chicago where he worked in the mail room of an advertising agency. Eventually, Bruckheimer segued into commercial producing when he got wind of an opportunity to produce a motion picture. Subsequently, Bruckheimer moved to Los Angeles.

Film production

As of 2007, Bruckheimer has produced over 30 feature films, and is regarded in the industry as one of the most successful movie producers of all time.

Bruckheimer started producing films in the 1970s, after leaving his job in advertising, with director Dick Richards. They had worked together on the films The Culpepper Cattle Company, Farewell, My Lovely, and March or Die. Bruckheimer then worked with Paul Schrader on two movies, American Gigolo and Cat People, which began to give him notice in Hollywood.

During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a co-producer with Don Simpson of a string of highly successful Hollywood films for Paramount Pictures. He originally met Don at a screening of (1973's) "The Harder They Come" at Warner Brothers. The two worked together and created Bruckheimer's first big hit, 1983's Flashdance, which brought in $95 million, an incredible sum for an R-rated movie[1]. He had a number of other hits including the Beverly Hills Cop films, Top Gun, and Days of Thunder.

While working with Simpson, Bruckheimer became known as "Mr. Outside" because of his experience with film making, while Simpson became known as "Mr. Inside" because of his film industry contacts. The Rock was the last film in which Bruckheimer collaborated with Simpson, due to Simpson's untimely death. Bruckheimer stipulated that The Rock be dedicated to the memory of Simpson (this fact is mentioned at the end of the movie).

Despite the setback of the untimely death of Simpson in 1996, Bruckheimer has continued to produce a large number of action movies often working with director Michael Bay for several hits including Armageddon. His other hit movies produced include Remember the Titans, Black Hawk Down and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

One of his well-known trademarks is that his films often feature a car being flipped over during an action sequence.

He has also aquired the rights to produce a movie based on the popular roleplaying game by Palladium Books, Rifts.

Television production

Early in his career, Bruckheimer produced television commercials, including one for Pepsi. Since 1997 he has branched out into television, creating a number of police dramas of which CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has been the most successful. He has also produced the reality game show The Amazing Race.

Bruckheimer currently has seven television shows on the air: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Without A Trace, Cold Case, The Amazing Race and Eleventh Hour.

At one point, three of his TV series ranked among the top 10 in the ratings—a unique feat in television[2].

In May 2008 CBS announced it had picked up Bruckheimer's newest series, Eleventh Hour, for the 2008–2009 broadcast television season. The sci-fi drama follows a government agent and a professor as they investigate strange scientific and medical activity.

Financial success

One of the most successful producers of all time, Bruckheimer has been nicknamed "Mr. Blockbuster", due to his track record of commercially successful, high-grossing films. Overall, his films have brought in over $13 billion to Hollywood[3], and have launched the careers of numerous actors and directors.

In 2007 he was ranked #39 on Forbes Celebrity 100 List, up from #42 in 2006. With reported annual earnings of $120 million[4], he was the 10th highest money-earner on the 2006 Forbes Celebrity 100 List.

Notable box-office grosses

In July 2003, Bruckheimer was honored by Variety magazine as the first producer in Hollywood history to field the top two highest-grossing movies in a single weekend, the buddy-cop fender-bender Bad Boys II and the Disney theme-park spin-off, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

The Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, produced through Walt Disney Pictures was enormously profitable, and demonstrates Bruckheimer's ability to create lucrative projects. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first film in the franchise, was released on July 9, 2003. A surprisingly popular box office hit, it was well-received by critics and moviegoers alike. After the unexpected success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was released on July 7, 2006. The sequel proved to be very successful, breaking records worldwide the day of its premiere. In the end it acquired a total of $1,066,179,725 at the worldwide box office, becoming the third and fastest film to reach this staggering amount. The last film in the trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released worldwide on May 25, 2007. Altogether, the film franchise has grossed over $2.79 billion worldwide.

For 19 years, the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop (estimated earnings $234 million) stood as Bruckheimer's highest-grossing film until August 12, 2003, when it was pushed to the Number Two spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, then to number 3 spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and then to number 4 spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Professional honors and awards

The editors of Entertainment Weekly named Bruckheimer the #1 most-powerful person in Hollywood in 2003. He was ranked #10 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list, and had also ranked #10 on the 2005 list. He ranked #19 on Premiere's 2003 annual Hollywood Power List, and had ranked #22 in 2002.

His projects have been honored with 35 Academy Award nominations (five wins), eight Grammy Award nominations (five wins), 23 Golden Globe nominations (four wins), 30 Emmy Award nominations (six wins), eight People's Choice nominations (four wins), and numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade[3].

Bruckheimer received the ShoWest Producer of the Year Award in 1998 and in 2000 the Producers Guild honored him with the David O. Selznick Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In May 2006, he was honored with a doctor of fine arts degree (DFA) from the University of Arizona's College of Fine Arts.

Views on cinema

When asked about his favorite films, he named (1972's) "The Godfather", (1971's) "The French Connection", (1997's) "Good Will Hunting", and "The 400 Blows"[2].

  • "We are in the transportation business. We transport audiences from one place to another." - Jerry Bruckheimer on the film industry's obligation to its audience.
  • "If I made films for the critics, or for someone else, I'd probably be living in some small Hollywood studio apartment.” - Jerry Bruckheimer on why he makes movies[5].

Personal life

Bruckheimer has been married twice. His first wife was Bonnie Bruckheimer. The couple had one son, Blake Dallan Makar (b. 27 May 1988). He currently lives in Burbank with his second wife, novelist Linda Bruckheimer. He also has one stepdaughter, Alexandra. The couple also owns a 110-acre (0.45 km2) farm in Bloomfield, Kentucky, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Louisville, Linda Bruckheimer's hometown, as well as another in Ojai, south of Santa Barbara. As a teenager, Linda moved from Kentucky to Los Angeles, where she has been a writer, producer and West Coast editor for Mirabella, and where she married Jerry Bruckheimer. She regularly spends time as a preservation activist, restoring and preserving historic buildings in small rural U.S. towns.[6]

His film company, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, is located at 1631 10th Street in Santa Monica, California.

Religion

When asked by a reporter about his spirituality, Bruckheimer stated that God is "important" to him, and is an "overseeing quality that we all need and have to look up to." He also stated that his novelist-wife Linda keeps him "spiritually grounded."[7]

Philanthropic activities

Bruckheimer's philanthropic activities have included publicly supporting the fight against multiple sclerosis via his work with The Nancy Davis Foundation for MS. He has additionally pledged to help various causes by establishing the Jerry Bruckheimer Foundation[5]. However, according to one source, the last time the Jerry Bruckheimer Foundation made a contribution was in 1995, when it gave $9,350 to Van Nuys prep school[8].

Bruckheimer has aided in the repair and restoration of the historic clipper ship Cutty Sark, which is similar to the ships seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. A collection of photos taken by Bruckheimer went on display in London in November 2007 to help raise money for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project. The exhibition featured more than thirty pictures taken on set during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End[9].

Political contributions

Bruckheimer is one of the few Hollywood personalities who supported President George W. Bush outspokenly. He donated funds to John McCain's 2008 presidential election campaign. In 2007 it was reported the he donated 29% of his $20,700 in political contributions to Republican candidates[10]. He gave $5,000 to a joint fundraising committee on John McCain’s behalf. [1] Bruckheimer has donated more than $50,000 to Republican campaigns and committees. [11]

Sports ownership

Bruckheimer has been named as one of the investors of a new sports arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and has been rumored to be the leading choice by the National Hockey League to own an expansion hockey team that would play in the proposed arena.[12]

Filmography (producer)

Films

Upcoming:

Released:

Television

TV movie

Reality television

Comedy

Drama

Pilots

  • The Legacy was shot for UPN's 2002-2003 season, written by Simon Kinberg and directed by Jim Gillespie.[13] The Legacy is a science fiction drama that tells the story of a young assistant District Attorney Sam (Matthew Marsden) who inherits superpowers and must juggle the responsibility with his existing job and girlfriend Jess.
  • Bruckheimer is currently working on a new TNT drama pilot, Dark Blue. The show, which follows a squad of undercover LAPD officers, will star Dylan McDermott.[14]

References

  1. ^ Jerry Bruckheimer - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - New York Times
  2. ^ a b Jerry Bruckheimer, producer
  3. ^ a b Jerry Bruckheimer @ Filmbug
  4. ^ #39 Jerry Bruckheimer - Forbes.com
  5. ^ a b AskMen.com - Top 49 Men: Jerry Bruckheimer
  6. ^ You Can Go Home Again
  7. ^ YouTube - Jerry Bruckheimer Talks About Spirituality
  8. ^ The Smoking Gun: Celebrity Charity Review
  9. ^ Cutty Sark - Press & Publicity > 23 Nov 07 Cutty Sark's Hollywood photo exhibition
  10. ^ Progressive Values: There's A few Surprise Republican Leaning Celebrity Donors Out There
  11. ^ http://newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Jerry_Bruckheimer.php
  12. ^ lasvegassun
  13. ^ "The Legacy". IMDb.
  14. ^ Pilot News: Dylan McDermott Gets in Line for TNT" TV Guide. November 7, 2008. Retrieved on November 7 2008.
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