William Hunt Block (born April 2, 1954) is an American film producer who was CEO of

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

from April 2017 to October 2023. His producing credits include '' W.'' (2008), ''

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand ...

'' (2009), '' Fury'' (2014), '' Bad Moms'' (2016), '' Dirty Grandpa'' (2016), ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' (2018), and '' Halloween Kills'' (2021).

Early life

Block was born in New York City, where he attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and later became a supporter of the school's film program.

Career

Block began his career as a literary agent before founding the Intertalent Agency in 1988, where he represented artists such as Kim Basinger, Samuel L. Jackson,

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal ( ; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, martial artist, and musician. A 7th-Dan (rank), dan Black belt (martial arts), black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instru ...

Charlie Sheen Carlos Irwin Estévez (born September 3, 1965), known professionally as Charlie Sheen, is an American actor. He is known as a leading man in film and television. Sheen has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award as well as ...

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...

Sam Raimi Samuel M. Raimi ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the first three films in the ''Evil Dead'' franchise (1981–present) and the ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007). He also directed the super ...

Roland Emmerich Roland Emmerich (; born 10 November 1955) is a German-American filmmaker. Emmerich is widely known for his science fiction and disaster films and has been called a "master of disaster" within the movie industry. His films, most of which are Eng ...

and

William Friedkin William David Friedkin (; August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in doc ...

. In 1992, he joined International Creative Management as head of West Coast Operations. Block founded

Artisan Entertainment Artisan Entertainment (formerly known as U.S.A. Home Video, International Video Entertainment (IVE) and LIVE Entertainment) was an American film studio and home video company. It was considered one of the largest mini-major film studios until i ...

, an independent film studio that produced films including ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a " found footage" pseudo-docume ...

''; '' The Buena Vista Social Club'';

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...

's '' Pi'' and '' Requiem for a Dream''; ''

The Limey ''The Limey'' is a 1999 American crime film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman, Nicky Katt, and Peter Fonda. The plot concerns an English care ...

'' directed by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

; '' The Ninth Gate'' starring

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

and directed by

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

; and David Koepp's '' Stir of Echoes'' and '' Made'' starring

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

and

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...

. In 2002, Block founded film finance, production and sales company

QED International QED International is a Los Angeles-based independent film production studio, financier and international distributor. It is best known for financing and producing '' District 9'', '' Fury'', and '' Dirty Grandpa''. History Bill Block formed Q ...

. He was CEO of QED for 12 years, producing films including Neill Blomkamp's ''

'' and ''

Elysium Elysium (), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields (, ''Ēlýsion pedíon''), Elysian Plains or Elysian Realm, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cult ...

'', Oliver Stone's '' W.'' and

David Ayer David Ayer (born January 18, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his action work, writing films such as ''Training Day'' (2001), '' The Fast and the Furious'' (2001), and '' S.W.A.T.'' (2003), and directing films such as '' End ...

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

thriller '' Fury'' starring

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

. In 2014, after Media Content Capital took a controlling interest in QED, Block left the company to launch Merced Media with producer Kevin Frakes. From 2015–17, he was managing director of Bill Block Media, producing the commercially successful '' Bad Moms'' starring Mila Kunis and

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...

, and '' Dirty Grandpa'' starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and

Zac Efron Zachary David Alexander Efron (; born October 18, 1987) is an American actor. Efron began acting professionally in the early 2000s and rose to prominence as a teen idol for his leading role as Troy Bolton in the ''High School Musical'' film ...

. In November 2015, he settled a legal dispute with QED, after his former company filed a federal lawsuit alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition concerning the rights to ''Dirty Grandpa''. He was named CEO of

in April 2017. He left the studio in October 2023 following the lapse of his contract with them, forming another production company, BlockFilm, later that month. Producer

Jonathan Glickman Jonathan Glickman (born May 18, 1969) is an American film producer who served as the President of the MGM Motion Picture Group from 2011 to 2020 and has been the CEO of Miramax since April 2, 2024. Personal life and education Glickman was born in ...

subsequently replaced Block as CEO of Miramax on April 2, 2024.

Personal life

Block lives in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

with his wife, Eugenia Kuzmina, a model, actress and comedian, his two sons and a daughter.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;Production manager ;Thanks

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Bill Living people 1954 births Businesspeople from New York City Columbia University alumni Film producers from New York City American talent agents American chief executives in the mass media industry Miramax people American film studio executives