Brad Alan Grey (born December 29, 1957) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
,
television producerThe primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, and former
talent managerA talent manager, also known as an artist manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
currently working as the CEO of
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
.
Grey was born in the Bronx, the youngest child of a garment district salesman. He majored in business and communications at the
State University of New York at BuffaloState University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university which has multiple campuses located in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, USA...
. While attending the university, he became a gofer for a young
Harvey WeinsteinHarvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films...
who was then a concert promoter. Grey would also travel to Manhattan on weekends to look for young comics at the Improv. Grey brought comedian
Bob SagetRobert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and filmmaker. Although he is best known for his past roles in the family-oriented shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, Saget is known outside of television for his starkly blue stand-up routine...
to New York thus making Saget his first client.
Grey's career soon took off in 1984 when he met talent manager
Bernie BrillsteinBernard J. "Bernie" Brillstein was an American film and television producer and executive producer.-Life and career:...
in
San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
at a television convention.
Brad Alan Grey (born December 29, 1957) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
filmA film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies. The producer initiates, co-ordinates, supervises and controls matters such as fund-raising, hiring key personnel and arranging for distributors...
,
television producerThe primary role of a television producer is to control all aspects of production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, and former
talent managerA talent manager, also known as an artist manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
currently working as the CEO of
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
.
Grey was born in the Bronx, the youngest child of a garment district salesman. He majored in business and communications at the
State University of New York at BuffaloState University of New York at Buffalo, commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university which has multiple campuses located in Buffalo and Amherst, New York, USA...
. While attending the university, he became a gofer for a young
Harvey WeinsteinHarvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films...
who was then a concert promoter. Grey would also travel to Manhattan on weekends to look for young comics at the Improv. Grey brought comedian
Bob SagetRobert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American actor, stand-up comedian, television host, and filmmaker. Although he is best known for his past roles in the family-oriented shows Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, Saget is known outside of television for his starkly blue stand-up routine...
to New York thus making Saget his first client.
Grey's career soon took off in 1984 when he met talent manager
Bernie BrillsteinBernard J. "Bernie" Brillstein was an American film and television producer and executive producer.-Life and career:...
in
San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
at a television convention. Having convinced Brillstein that he could deliver fresh talent, he was taken on as a partner and the Bernie Brillstein Company was re-christened
Brillstein-Grey EntertainmentBrillstein-Grey Entertainment is a film and television production company formed by the 1991 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Company, founded by Bernie Brillstein in 1969.-The Brillstein Company:...
. Grey began producing for television in 1986 with the
ShowtimeShowtime is a subscription television brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world, but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United States...
hit,
It's Garry ShandlingGarry Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
's Show. With his success, he went on to produce the HBO
seriesA television program , television programme , or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television...
The Larry Sanders ShowThe Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that originally aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV...
. He also produced the
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
nightly talk show
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.
Grey also ventured into film by producing the
Adam SandlerAdam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, musician, screenwriter and film producer. He is the founder of Happy Madison Productions, a film production company that also developed the television series Rules of Engagement.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, he went on to...
hit,
Happy GilmoreHappy Gilmore is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler as the title character. This film is number 97 on Bravo's 100 funniest movies.-Plot:...
. He continued to produce successful television with several high profile and successful shows developed in the 1990’s:
NewsRadioNewsRadio is an American television sitcom. The show was created by executive producer Paul Simms, and was taped in front of a studio audience at CBS Studio Center. Some episodes were taped at Sunset Gower Studios...
and
Just Shoot Me!Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
for
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
,
Mr. ShowMr. Show was a sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/comedy actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross. It aired on HBO from November 3, 1995, to December 28, 1998.-Description:Each episode of Mr...
for HBO,
Good SportsGood Sports is an American sitcom that aired on the CBS network in . The series starred Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal.-Synopsis:The show featured the two main characters, a once-famous former football player gone to seed and an ex-Miss America , as mismatched anchors on an all-sports cable...
for
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
and
The Steve Harvey ShowThe Steve Harvey Show is an American sitcom that aired for six seasons from August 25, 1996 to February 24, 2002 on The WB Television Network. It was directed by Stan Lathan.-Synopsis:...
for the WB all fell under the Brillstein-Grey banner. He also helped shepherd the critically acclaimed HBO
dramaDrama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective...
,
The SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created and produced by David Chase. It premiered on the premium cable network HBO in the United States on January 10, 1999 and ended its original run of six seasons and 86 episodes on June 10, 2007. The show has also been broadcast on A&E in...
. Grey earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama in 1999 for his producing efforts. His feature projects, however, failed to match the success of his television ventures:
BulletproofBulletproof is a 1996 American action comedy film directed by Ernest Dickerson, and starring Damon Wayans, Adam Sandler, James Caan and Jeep Swenson.-Plot synopsis:...
(1996),
The Replacement KillersThe Replacement Killers is a 1998 American action film, directed by Antoine Fuqua in his directorial debut. It stars Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino...
(1998),
ScrewedScrewed is a 2000 comedy film starring Norm Macdonald, Dave Chappelle and Danny DeVito, and written and directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski....
(2000) and
What Planet Are You From?What Planet Are You From? is a 2000 comedy film starring Garry Shandling and Annette Bening. It was directed by Mike Nichols.-Plot:A denizen of a faraway planet occupied only by highly evolved males is ordered to find a female human, impregnate her and bring the baby back to the planet...
(2000) were typical film projects. Only
The Wedding SingerThe Wedding Singer is a 1998 film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci. Set in the 1980s, the film stars Adam Sandler as Robbie Hart, a wedding singer and Drew Barrymore as Julia Sullivan, the object of his affections....
(1998) and
Scary MovieScary Movie is a 2000 film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, as part of Wayans Bros. Entertainment. It is an American dark comedy which parodies the horror, slasher, and mystery genres...
(2000) proved to be financially successful.
In 1996, Brillstein sold his shares of the Brillstein-Grey company to Grey, giving Grey full rein over operations; the company's television unit was subsequently rechristened "Brad Grey Television". In 2002, Grey formed
Plan BPlan B Entertainment is a film production company founded by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.Brad Pitt became the sole owner of Plan B Entertainment in 2006, but the company currently has a release deal with Paramount Pictures, as well as with Warner Bros...
with
Brad PittWilliam Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. He has been cited as one of the world's most attractive men, a label that entices the media to report on his off-screen life...
and
Jennifer AnistonJennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress. She became famous in the 1990s for her role as Rachel Green in the US sitcom Friends, a role for which she won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award....
, with a first-look deal at Warner Bros. After Pitt and Aniston separated, Grey and Pitt moved the company to
Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is a Worldwide American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the world's oldest existing American film studio; it is also the last...
, where Grey had become CEO after
Sherry LansingSherry Lansing is a former actress and American film studio executive. She is former CEO of Paramount Pictures, and when president of production at 20th Century Fox was the first woman to head a Hollywood studio In 1996 she became the first woman named Pioneer of the Year by the Foundation of...
left.
While Grey's new CEO duties forced him to divest himself from both Brillstein-Grey and Plan B in 2005, it is unclear to what extent he maintains former personal management ties to non-entertainment entities, most notably Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. Recent DreamWorks releases have included
Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers is a American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis...
,
Letters from Iwo Jimais a 2006 war film, directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
and
DreamgirlsDreamgirls is a American musical film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements beginning December 15, 2006, with a nationwide release on December 25, 2006 and a home video...
. Holdover releases from Lansing and Dolgen's regime before Grey took over constitute most of the rest of Paramount's major releases, including
War of the WorldsWar of the Worlds is a live action science fiction film adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel of the same name, directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Josh Friedman and David Koepp. It stars Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a dock worker estranged from his wife and children and living separately from them...
,
Mission: Impossible IIIMission: Impossible III a 2006 action film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt....
and
Charlotte's WebCharlotte's Web is a live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E.B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The Kerner Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies...
.
In the late 1990s Grey's client
Garry ShandlingGarry Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
sued Grey for breach of duties and related claims. Shandling complained that his TV show lost its best writers and producers when Brad Grey got them deals to do other projects, and that Grey commissioned these other deals, while Shandling did not benefit from them.