Frank Yablans
Encyclopedia
Frank Yablans is an American
film producer
and screenwriter
The son of a Brooklyn cab driver and brother to fellow film producer Irwin Yablans
, Yablans' first employers in the film business included Warner Bros.
, The Walt Disney Company
and Filmways
. He became Executive Vice President of Sales for Paramount Pictures
in the late 1960s; in that position, his expert marketing of the film Love Story
led to his appointment as Paramount Studios' President in 1971, a position he held until 1975. Followng his presidency at Paramount, he became an independent producer, working primarily through Paramount and 20th Century Fox
. He was executive producer of such films as Congo (1995), Silver Streak
(1976), and The Other Side of Midnight
(1977) and wrote and produced Mommie Dearest
(1981). Yablans was then recruited by Kirk Kerkorian to head his troubled and debt-laden film company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
. While Yablans' reorganization of MGM and United Artists (UA)
into a single entity as MGM/UA served to reduce costs and overhead, the company continued to lose value, and Yablans' tenure was equated to the demise of the studio in Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM, a book by Peter Bart
, presently the editor of Variety
, who was hired by Yablans as MGM's senior vice president for production in 1983.
In 2003, Yablans founded Promenade Pictures, a production company committed to the production of "family-friendly" entertainment, with their most ambitious project the "Epic Stories of the Bible" series of CGI-animated features, inaugurated with The Ten Commandments
and Noah's Ark: The New Beginning
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
The son of a Brooklyn cab driver and brother to fellow film producer Irwin Yablans
Irwin Yablans
Irwin Yablans is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry.-Biography:...
, Yablans' first employers in the film business included Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and Filmways
Filmways
Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff in 1958...
. He became Executive Vice President of Sales for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
in the late 1960s; in that position, his expert marketing of the film Love Story
Love Story (1970 film)
Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal and based on his novel Love Story. It was directed by Arthur Hiller. The film, well known as a tragedy, is considered one of the most romantic of all time by the American Film Institute , and was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story...
led to his appointment as Paramount Studios' President in 1971, a position he held until 1975. Followng his presidency at Paramount, he became an independent producer, working primarily through Paramount and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. He was executive producer of such films as Congo (1995), Silver Streak
Silver Streak (1976 film)
Silver Streak is a 1976 comedy-thriller film about murder on a Los Angeles-to-Chicago train journey. It stars Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Pryor, Patrick McGoohan and Ned Beatty and is directed by Arthur Hiller. The film score is by Henry Mancini...
(1976), and The Other Side of Midnight
The Other Side of Midnight (film)
The Other Side of Midnight is a 1977 American film directed by Charles Jarrott and starring Marie-France Pisier, John Beck and Susan Sarandon...
(1977) and wrote and produced Mommie Dearest
Mommie Dearest (film)
Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American biographical drama film about Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway. The film was directed by Frank Perry. The story was adapted for the screen by Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and Frank Yablans, based on the 1978 autobiography of the same name by...
(1981). Yablans was then recruited by Kirk Kerkorian to head his troubled and debt-laden film company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. While Yablans' reorganization of MGM and United Artists (UA)
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
into a single entity as MGM/UA served to reduce costs and overhead, the company continued to lose value, and Yablans' tenure was equated to the demise of the studio in Fade Out: The Calamitous Final Days of MGM, a book by Peter Bart
Peter Bart
Peter Benton Bart is an American journalist and film producer. He perhaps best known for his lengthy tenure as the editor of Variety, an entertainment-trade magazine....
, presently the editor of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, who was hired by Yablans as MGM's senior vice president for production in 1983.
In 2003, Yablans founded Promenade Pictures, a production company committed to the production of "family-friendly" entertainment, with their most ambitious project the "Epic Stories of the Bible" series of CGI-animated features, inaugurated with The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (2007 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 2007 American computer animated film directed by John Stronach and Bill Boyce. The film was released to theaters on October 19, 2007 and on DVD on February 5, 2008.-Cast:*Ben Kingsley as Narrator*Elliott Gould as God...
and Noah's Ark: The New Beginning
Noah's Ark: The New Beginning
Noah's Ark: The New Beginning is an upcoming animated film featuring an ensemble voice cast. It is a retelling of the Biblical story of Noah's Ark, told from the point of view of the animals on the ark, and is the second in the Promenade Pictures Epic Stories of the Bible film series, following on...
.