JERRY BRUCKHEIMER (Producer) Even if you miss the signature lightning bolt that identifies every one of his productions, and whether you’re in a dark theatre looking up at a 70-foot screen or your own home watching a 27" picture, you know when you’re looking at a Jerry Bruckheimer Production. One of the most successful producers of all time, he is a filmmaker and now a television mogul who loves telling a story, respects his audiences and delivers a visual feast unmistakably his own.
Bruckheimer’s films have worldwide revenues of over $12.5 billion in box office, video and recording receipts; and this season three of his network series were simultaneously listed in the Top 10, a feat heretofore unprecedented by any television producer.
Always a storyteller, Bruckheimer learned early how to keep a story moving. He had to. His first films were the 60-second tales he created as an award-winning commercial producer in his native Detroit. One of those mini-films, a parody of Bonnie and Clyde he created for Pontiac, was noted for its brilliance in Time magazine. It also brought the 23-year-old producer to the attention of world-renowned ad agency BBD&O, which lured him to New York.
Four years on Madison Avenue gave him the experience and confidence to tackle Hollywood, and, not yet 30, he was at the helm of memorable films like Farewell, My Lovely, American Gigolo and 1983’s Flashdance, which changed Bruckheimer’s life by becoming a sleeper hit (grossing $100 million in the U.S. alone) and pairing him with an old acquaintance, producer Don Simpson, who would be his partner for the next 13 years.
One of the most prolific partnerships in recent motion picture history, Bruckheimer and Simpson produced films that were honored with 15 Academy Award® nominations, two Oscars® for Best Song, four Grammys, three Golden Globes, two People’s Choice Awards for Best Picture and the MTV Award for Best Picture of the Decade.
Industry acclaim followed the box office success. In both 1985 and 1988, the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) named Bruckheimer Producer of the Year. And, along with Simpson, the Publicists Guild of America chose him as 1988’s Motion Picture Showman of the Year, a tribute he received again in 2003 when the Publicists Guild honored him for Showmanship in Television.
By 1995, the team was producing one hit after another. In that year alone, Bruckheimer was responsible for Bad Boys, the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence film that was Columbia Pictures’ highest grossing movie of the year; Michelle Pfeiffer’s acclaimed Dangerous Minds and Crimson Tide, the Denzel Washington/Gene Hackman adventure that, with Dangerous Minds, topped Hollywood Pictures’ box office slate.
In 1996, Bruckheimer produced The Rock starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. The film broke new ground and continued established Bruckheimer traditions with a box office gross of nearly $350 million worldwide. It also set the video rental record as the most-ordered film in history. His casting of the film re-established Connery as an action star and created that same image for the intellectual Cage. The Rock, named Favorite Movie of the Year by NATO, was Bruckheimer’s last movie with Simpson, who died during production.
Now on his own, Bruckheimer followed in 1997 with Con Air, a film that elevated Cage to the pantheon of international action heroes, and grossed over $230 million. It also earned a Grammy and two Oscar® nominations and brought its producer once more to the attention of the international industry, when, in 1999, he was awarded the ShoWest International Box Office Achievement Award for unmatched foreign grosses.
In 1998, Touchstone Pictures released Armageddon starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler and Steve Buscemi. The outer space adventure, directed by Michael Bay, was the biggest movie of 1998, with combined revenues of nearly $560 million worldwide. Its soundtrack album reached multi-platinum status and spawned the #1 single "I Don’t Want to Miss A Thing," which was honored with an Academy Award® nomination.
Bruckheimer’s second hit of 1998 was the psychological thriller Enemy of the State starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Both a critical and box office hit, Enemy earned over $225 million worldwide.
The year 2000 began with an acknowledgment of the highest order from his own peers as Bruckheimer received the David O. Selznick Award for Lifetime Achievement in Motion Pictures from the Producers Guild of America.
On the heels of this accolade, Bruckheimer released three films. The first, Gone in 60 Seconds starring Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Delroy Lindo and Robert Duvall, was released in June and brought Bruckheimer his biggest non-holiday opening ever. This update of the 1974 cult classic went on to blockbuster status, grossing over $230 million worldwide. Later that summer came Coyote Ugly, a romantic comedy from Touchstone Pictures about a young songwriter’s wild adventures in Manhattan. Its hit soundtrack album, with songs written by Diane Warren and performed by LeAnn Rimes, has spent over two years on the Billboard chart. The single "Can’t Fight the Moonlight" has sold over 500,000 copies and the album went triple platinum in 2002.
In fall 2000, Walt Disney Pictures released Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington. Inspired by the true story of the integration of a Virginia high school football team, the film touched audiences with its sensitive portrayals and moving story and earned the film the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, and Washington the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture. It also won nominations for People’s Choice Awards as Favorite Dramatic Film, Favorite Movie and Best Actor and grossed over $115 million in domestic box office receipts.
Over Memorial Day Weekend 2001, Disney opened the eagerly anticipated Pearl Harbor directed by Michael Bay and starring Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Kate Beckinsale and Alec Baldwin. Hailed by World War II veterans and scholars as a worthy re-creation of the shock and horror of the surprise attack that brought the United States into the war, the film was nominated for three Academy Awards® including Best Original Song for "There You’ll Be," Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound and was the recipient of the Academy Award® for Best Sound Editing. Pearl Harbor amassed over $450 million in worldwide box office receipts and its $250 million in DVD and video sales increases daily.
Black Hawk Down, the story of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu adapted from the best-selling book by Mark Bowden and starring Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore and Sam Shepard, opened to rave reviews and multiple award nominations. Director Ridley Scott was not only nominated for an Academy Award® for his work, but also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Directors Guild Award and an A.F.I. Award. The film itself garnered nominations from the A.F.I. and the National Board of Review as well as the History Channel. Editor Pietro Scalia won the Academy Award® and was recognized with nominations from BAFTA and A.F.I. The picture was honored with the Best Sound Oscar® as well as an Oscar® nomination for Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak.
On June 7, 2002 Touchstone Pictures released Bad Company starring Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. The action/comedy, directed by Joel Schumacher, chronicles the efforts of a veteran CIA agent to transform a sarcastic, streetwise punk into a sophisticated and savvy spy in order to replace his murdered twin brother for a highly dangerous mission.
Kangaroo Jack, a raucous comedy set in the Australian Outback, starring Jerry O’Connell, Anthony Anderson, Estella Warren and Christopher Walken, was Bruckheimer’s first collaboration with Castle Rock Pictures and reunited him with director David McNally. The hit family film was given an award for excellence by the National Film Advisory Board and was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for "Virtual Performance."
As Time magazine recently stated, "The most successful producer in film history…is on his way to becoming the most successful producer in the history of TV." Bruckheimer brought the power of the lightning bolt to the small screen. The show "C.S.I." starring William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger as members of an elite forensic crime scene investigation unit in Las Vegas quickly won the loyalty of both critics and viewers and is currently the number one show on television. In 2001, "C.S.I." was honored with the TV Guide Award for Best New Drama, nominations for a Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award for Best Dramatic Series, as well as four Emmy nominations. In 2002, "C.S.I." was honored with six Emmy nominations including Outstanding Drama as well as a Golden Globe nomination. In 2003, "C.S.I." was the most-watched show on television, an honor CBS has held only twice before in its history with "Gunsmoke" and "Dallas."
In addition to mega-hit "C.S.I.," JBTV introduced two new dramas on CBS in the fall of 2002. The first, "C.S.I.: Miami," starring David Caruso, is a spin-off of "C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation." The second is "Without a Trace" starring Anthony LaPaglia as the leader of the FBI Missing Person’s Unit in New York City. "C.S.I.: Miami" and "Without a Trace" are the number one and two new dramas this season. Also produced by JBTV and currently picked up for a fourth season on CBS, "The Amazing Race," a reality show in which twelve couples are sent around the world, has developed a loyal following on Wednesday nights.
His ability to leverage his power in the film business to the advantage of his television projects is unmatched and in the fall of 2003, Jerry Bruckheimer Television will premiere three new dramas: "Skin" for Fox Television, "Fearless" for The WB and "Cold Case" for CBS. "Skin" stars Ron Silver and introduces Olivia Wilde and DJ Cottrona as two young lovers who are forced to navigate between their feuding families. "Fearless" explores the life of a young FBI agent born without the gene for fear. Rachel Leigh Cook stars along with Eric Balfour. And Kathryn Morris stars as a Philadelphia homicide detective seeking justice for unsolved murders, each filed away and labeled as a "Cold Case." That puts JBTV at the top of the heap with a record six hours of weekly primetime television programming on the air.
Among Bruckheimer’s recent releases is Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a swashbuckling tale of a daring rescue mission aimed at reversing an ancient curse. An irreverent wink at the popular Disney theme park attraction, the film stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and is directed by Gore Verbinski. Later this year, Bruckheimer has Veronica Guerin the biography of the heroic Irish journalist gunned down by Dublin crime lords, starring Cate Blanchett and directed by Joel Schumacher.
Filming is currently underway in Ireland on King Arthur, a gritty revisionist take on the Arthurian legend penned by David Franzoni. The film stars Clive Owen as Arthur opposite Pirates headliner Keira Knightley as Guinevere and is directed by Antoine Fuqua.
Bruckheimer will again team with Nicolas Cage on the Jon Turtletaub-directed National Treasure, a fast-paced action comedy set to begin production this August.
What these and the other projects on Jerry Bruckheimer’s slate have in common is what his concepts have always shared: great characters playing out great stories. When the films reach the screen, they will embody what his films have always given us: stories told with visual style and passion, cinematic adventures that engage audiences worldwide.
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