Teddy Schwarzman

Teddy Schwarzman
Born Edward Frank Schwarzman
(1979-05-29) May 29, 1979
New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality American
Occupation Film producer, lawyer
Spouse(s) Ellen Marie Zajac (m. 2007; 3 children)
Parent(s) Stephen A. Schwarzman
Ellen Philips Katz

Edward Frank "Teddy" Schwarzman (born May 29, 1979) is an American film producer and former corporate lawyer. He is the founder, president and chief executive of Black Bear Pictures, whose productions include the 2014 film The Imitation Game.

Life and career

Teddy Schwarzman was born to a Jewish family[1] in 1979 in New York City to Stephen A. Schwarzman, the founder, chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, and Ellen Katz (née Philips), a trustee of Northwestern University and the Mount Sinai Medical Center.[2] He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English before completing a law degree at Duke University.[2][3]

Schwarzman was a corporate lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a New York–based firm, where he specialized in real estate and corporate restructuring.[2][4] He left Skadden to work in the film industry; his first job was as a personal assistant on The Other Woman, which was produced in 2009 and released in 2010. He later said of the experience: "It was one of those situations that you had to prove that you actually want to be in this business."[3] He went on to work for John Sloss's film advisory company, Cinetic Media, where he was involved in raising funds to produce the 2011 films Bernie and The Loneliest Planet.[3]

Schwarzman left Cinetic in 2011 to found his own production company, Black Bear Pictures, of which he is the president and CEO. There, the first film he produced was At Any Price (2012), followed by the 2013 films Broken City, A.C.O.D. and All Is Lost.[5] His fifth and most successful film was The Imitation Game, a 2014 biopic about Alan Turing, which he produced alongside Nora Grossman and Ido Ostrowsky. Schwarzman bought Graham Moore's screenplay when Warner Bros. sold it in 2012, beating 30 other producers who wanted to acquire the script.[3] The Imitation Game received many accolades, including Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Picture and Best British Film, respectively. Schwarzman, Grossman and Ostrowsky were also nominated for a Producers Guild of America Award.[6]

Personal life

Schwarzman married Ellen Marie Zajac, a New York lawyer whom he met at Duke University, in November 2007 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.[2] They have three children.[3]

Filmography as producer

References

  1. Jewish Business News: "The Jews of Oscar" January 15, 2015
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ellen Zajac and Teddy Schwarzman". The New York Times. November 11, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Next Gen 2014: Hollywood's New Class". The Hollywood Reporter. November 4, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  4. "Teddy Schwarzman". Black Bear Pictures. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  5. "Teddy Schwarzman". Variety. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  6. "Theatrical Motion Picture, Animated Theatrical and Long-Form TV Nominations Announced" (Press release). Producers Guild of America. January 5, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
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