Barry Josephson (born April 2, 1956) is an American
film producer and former
music manager.
Life and career
After attending the McBurney School in New York City, Josephson graduated from
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
, Washington DC in 1978, and was an active member of its
American University School of Communication Alumni program. Josephson served as vice president, then President, of Production for
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
from 1991 to 1997, and produced films and television for studios and networks such as
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
,
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
,
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
, and
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
from 1997 onward.
Josephson began his career in entertainment at Landers/Roberts Productions, overseeing the music division's interest in feature film and television programming and there was involved with the popular sequel, ''
Death Wish II'' (1982). Josephson later worked for Gallin/Morey & Associates, managing the careers of such performers as
Paula Abdul,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
,
Morris Day, and
Whoopi Goldberg (including production work on her Grammy-winning album "Direct from Broadway"). During this time, Josephson also helped found Sandollar Films, whose production has included several of
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
's made-for-TV movies and specials; ''Tidy Endings'', an HBO adaptation of
Harvey Fierstein's play, ''Safe Sex''; and such feature films as ''
Gross Anatomy
Gross anatomy is the study of anatomy at the visible or macroscopic level. The counterpart to gross anatomy is the field of histology, which studies microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy of the human body or other animals seeks to understand the ...
'' and ''
True Identity'' (both 1989). Before moving to Columbia, Josephson worked with
Joel Silver
Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer.
Life and career
Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School ...
of
Silver Pictures on ''
Die Hard 2'' and ''
Predator 2
''Predator 2'' is a 1990 American science fiction film, science fiction action film written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, directed by Stephen Hopkins (director), Stephen Hopkins, and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, Rubén Bla ...
'' (both 1990), earned executive producer credit on both ''
Ricochet'' and ''
The Last Boy Scout'' (both 1991), and oversaw production of 14 episodes of the HBO series, ''
Tales from the Crypt''.
In 1991 he became Vice President of Production for
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
, where his diverse background in film, TV, and music production came to bear upon the projects he oversaw. He remained at the studio for six years, serving the last three as President of Production. During his tenure at Columbia, Josephson was responsible for such popular films as ''
In the Line of Fire'' (1993), ''
Bad Boys'' (1995), ''
Men in Black
In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...
'', ''
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...
'', ''
The Fifth Element
''The Fifth Element'' () is a 1997 English-language French science-fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, and co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, an ...
'', and ''
Anaconda'' (all 1997).
In 1997, Josephson, resigning as president at Columbia, entered into a partnership with director
Barry Sonnenfeld
Barry Sonnenfeld (born April 1, 1953) is an American filmmaker and television director. He originally worked as a cinematographer for the Coen brothers before directing films such as '' The Addams Family'' (1991) and its sequel '' Addams Family ...
. The two joined
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...
(
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures was an American film distribution label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured ...
) as Sonnenfeld Josephson Worldwide Entertainment for a three-year production term. During this period they produced numerous film and television shows, including ''
Wild Wild West'' (1999), the ''
Fantasy Island'' (1998) and ''
The Tick'' (2001) TV series, ''
Big Trouble'' (2002), ''
The Crew'' (2000) and ''
Secret Agent Man'' (2000).
In 2001 he joined
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
under Josephson Entertainment. There he produced the critically acclaimed ''
Enchanted'', which garnered two Golden Globe nominations, four Critics' Choice Awards and three Academy Award nominations, and won a Critics' Choice Award for Best Family Film and a Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Live Action Family Film. Other films he has produced include ''
Hide and Seek'' (2005), ''Pat Croce: Moving In'' (2004) TV series, and ''
Like Mike'' (2002). He acquired the rights in 2011 to make a film based on
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
's autobiography.
Assange declassified: biopic in works
/ref>
Josephson was executive producer of the television series '' Bones'' (2005-2017). Most recently, he initiated the television adaptation of '' Washington's Spies'', Alexander Rose's historical account of espionage during the American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. Josephson, along with writer Craig Silverstein, executive-produced the adaptation, '' Turn: Washington's Spies'', for AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
. The series premiered in April 2014.
The producer was a founding member of Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
, the charitable organization which produces comedy concerts hosted by Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg in order to raise funds to help America's homeless and others in need. Josephson has also played pivotal roles in the creation of the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival, the Commitment to Life Benefit (supporting AIDS Project Los Angeles), and the Heart of Austin Film Festival.
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
;Thanks
Television
;As an actor
;As writer
;Miscellaneous crew
;Thanks
References
External links
*
Barry Josephson Bio at Fancast
Josephson Alumni at American University, Washington D.C.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josephson, Barry
1956 births
American film producers
American animated film producers
Living people
American University School of Communication alumni
Sony Pictures Animation people