Laurence Mark is an American film and television producer. His works include The Greatest Showman (2017), Julie & Julia (2009), Dreamgirls (2006), I, Robot (2004), As Good as It Gets (1997), and Jerry Maguire (1996).
Laurence Mark | |
|---|---|
 Mark in 2004 | |
| Born | c. 1949 (age 74–75) New York, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Wesleyan University New York University |
| Occupations |
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Life and career
editMark's production of The Greatest Showman, the movie musical starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Zendaya and directed by Michael Gracey, grossed over $425 million worldwide. It has achieved the highest domestic gross of any live-action original movie musical of all time.
Mark most recently produced the film Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022), based on the novel by D. H. Lawrence. This Netflix/Sony adaptation stars Emma Corrin and Jack O’Connell and is directed by Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre with a script written by David Magee.
He also served as one of the executive producers of Vivo, an animated movie musical with original songs and the voice of another executive producer Lin-Manuel Miranda in the title role. Directed by Kirk DeMicco, the movie was released earlier this year by Netflix in conjunction with Sony Pictures Animation, and it was one of Netflix’s strongest performers, the fifth longest running movie in 2021 on the streamer’s Top Ten List.
Mark previously produced Last Vegas (2013), starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, and directed by Jon Turteltaub; Flatliners (2017), starring Elliot Page, Diego Luna, Nina Dobrev and directed by Niels Arden Oplev; and Julie & Julia (2009), starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams and written and directed by Nora Ephron.
For television, Mark was an executive producer of When We Rise, the limited series created and written by Dustin Lance Black and starring Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker and Rachel Griffiths which aired early in 2021 on ABC.
With Bill Condon, Mark served as producer of the Hugh Jackman-hosted 81st Academy Awards, which earned him an Emmy nomination. The show itself received ten Emmy nominations and won four.
Before that, Mark produced Dreamgirls (2006), starring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles and Eddie Murphy and directed by Bill Condon. The film won three Golden Globe Awards, including one for Best Picture. It also received eight Academy Award nominations, the most of any movie in its year, and won two of them, including one for Jennifer Hudson as Best Supporting Actress.
Mark received an Academy Award nomination for producing Best Picture nominee Jerry Maguire, and he executive-produced two other Academy Award nominees for Best Picture, As Good as It Gets and Working Girl.
Mark garnered an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination as executive producer of Political Animals, a limited series created by Greg Berlanti and starring Sigourney Weaver which aired in 2012 on the USA Network.
He is also an executive producer of The Art of More starring Dennis Quaid, Kate Bosworth, Cary Elwes and Christian Cooke which streamed for two seasons on Sony's Crackle.
Mark also produced Romy and Michele's High School Reunion , Last Holiday, and The Lookout, which won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. In addition to these films, Mark produced Finding Forrester, The Object of My Affection, Anywhere but Here, The Adventures of Huck Finn, Black Widow and Center Stage (plus its two sequels).
Laurence Mark Productions is headquartered at Sony Pictures Entertainment where the company has a long-term production arrangement with Columbia Pictures.[1] Mark's other producing credits include Sister Act 2, True Colors, Bicentennial Man, Simon Birch, Riding in Cars with Boys, Glitter, and How Do You Know.
Prior to producing, Mark held several publicity and marketing posts at Paramount Pictures, before being appointed Vice President of West Coast Marketing. He then moved into production, and as Vice President of Production at Paramount and Executive Vice President of Production at Twentieth Century Fox, he was closely involved with the development and production of such films as Terms of Endearment, Trading Places, Falling in Love, The Fly and Broadcast News. By 1986, he left Fox in order to start off Laurence Mark Productions, with a three-year, non-exclusive, first-look agreement at the Fox studio.[2]
Mark was born in New York City and educated at Eaglebrook School, The Hotchkiss School, and Wesleyan University, from which he graduated in 1971. He holds a Masters of Arts degree in Film from New York University.
He currently resides in Los Angeles and New York.
Films
editHe was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
edit| Year | Film | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Black Widow | Executive producer |
| 1988 | My Stepmother Is an Alien | |
| Working Girl | ||
| 1989 | Cookie | |
| 1990 | Mr. Destiny | Executive producer |
| 1991 | True Colors | |
| One Good Cop | ||
| 1993 | The Adventures of Huck Finn | |
| Gunmen | ||
| Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | Executive producer | |
| 1995 | Tom and Huck | |
| Cutthroat Island | ||
| 1996 | Jerry Maguire | |
| 1997 | Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | |
| As Good as It Gets | Executive producer | |
| 1998 | Deep Rising | |
| The Object of My Affection | ||
| Simon Birch | ||
| 1999 | Anywhere but Here | |
| Bicentennial Man | ||
| 2000 | Hanging Up | |
| Center Stage | ||
| Finding Forrester | ||
| 2001 | Glitter | |
| Riding in Cars with Boys | ||
| 2004 | I, Robot | |
| 2006 | Last Holiday | |
| Dreamgirls | ||
| 2007 | The Lookout | |
| 2008 | Center Stage: Turn It Up | |
| 2009 | Julie & Julia | |
| 2010 | How Do You Know | |
| 2013 | Last Vegas | |
| 2014 | Date and Switch | |
| 2017 | Flatliners | |
| The Greatest Showman | ||
| 2021 | Vivo | Executive producer |
| 2022 | Lady Chatterley's Lover | |
| 2023 | Spinning Gold |
- Miscellaneous crew
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Assistant: David V. Picker |
- Thanks
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Spanglish | Special thanks |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Sweet Bird of Youth | Executive producer | Television film |
| 1997 | Oliver Twist | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2001 | These Old Broads | Executive producer | Television film |
| Kiss My Act | Executive producer | Television film | |
| 2009 | 81st Academy Awards | Television special | |
| 2012 | Political Animals | Executive producer | |
| 2015−16 | The Art of More | Executive producer | |
| 2016 | Center Stage: On Pointe | Executive producer | Television film |
| 2017 | When We Rise | Executive producer |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Academy Awards | Best Picture | Jerry Maguire | Nominated |
| 2005 | Black Reel Awards | Best Film | I, Robot | Nominated |
| 2006 | Producers Guild of America Awards | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Dreamgirls | Nominated |
| 2007 | Black Reel Awards | Best Film | Dreamgirls | Won |
| 2008 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best First Feature | The Lookout | Won |
| 2012 | Emmy Awards | Outstanding Miniseries or Movie | Political Animals | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ Cox, Chris; Petrikin, Chris (April 24, 1998). "'Good' producer to make Mark on Columbia Pix lot". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
- ^ "Mark Forfeits Fox Title for Indie Deal; Expect Rudin Hike". Variety. June 11, 1986. p. 3.
External links
edit- Laurence Mark at IMDb
- Hollywood.com biography at archive.today (archived 2013-01-25)