Mark Burg is an American

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. He is the co-founder of

Evolution Entertainment Evolution Entertainment is an American independent entertainment management and film production company. The company was founded in 1998 by Mark Burg and Oren Koules and is best known for executive producing the ''Saw'' film series. History Gr ...

and produced the ''Saw'' film series as well as the CBS television series ''

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

''.

Biography

Burg graduated from the

Roy H. Park School of Communications The Roy H. Park School of Communications is one of five schools at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York, United States. The school is named after media executive Roy H. Park, who lived in Ithaca and who served on the board of trustees at Ithaca C ...

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and ...

in 1981. In the 1990s, Burg worked for Island Pictures and Palm Pictures, producing such films as ''Basketball Diaries'' (1995), '' The Sandlot'', ''

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

'', and '' Strictly Business'' (1991). In 1998, Burg founded

along with his producing partner Oren Koules. In 2003, Burg and Oren Koules saw a seven-minute teaser of a film written by Australian screenwriters,

Leigh Whannell Leigh Whannell (; is an Australian screenwriter, actor, film producer, and film director. He is best known for writing films directed by his friend James Wan, including ''Saw'' (2004), ''Dead Silence'' (2007), '' Insidious'' (2010), and '' Insi ...

and

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the '' Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjur ...

, and agreed to produce the film. The film would later become the original '' Saw'' film that was released in 2004. The budget for the film was $1.2 million with $1 million of the funding coming direct from Burg and Koules. Production was done under a newly formed subsidiary of Evolution Entertainment called

Twisted Pictures Twisted Pictures is an American production company and a division of Evolution Entertainment that specializes in horror and thriller movies. The company was founded by Evolution's Mark Burg, Oren Koules, and Gregg Hoffman in 2004. The compa ...

. The film turned in the ''Saw'' franchise with the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

released in 2005 and the franchise making $420 million at the box office by 2007. Evolution Entertainment was also responsible for the production of ''

'' starting in 2003. Burg became the sole-owner of Evolution Entertainment in 2011, buying out co-founder Oren Koules. He also became an advisor for Forest Road, a

special-purpose acquisition company A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC; ), also known as a "blank check company", is a shell corporation listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company, thus making it public without going through the traditional ...

, in 2020. Burg also co-produced

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...

and retail sales as of 2021. He has received a ShoWest Awards,

People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...

, and has been nominated for four

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As an actor ;Miscellaneous crew ;Thanks

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burg, Mark Living people American male television actors Television producers from New York (state) People from Hartsdale, New York Year of birth missing (living people)