Cary Granat is an American film producer and studio executive. He was co-founder and CEO of

Walden Media Walden Media, LLC is an American independent studio that develops, produces and finances feature films and television series for the U.S. and global markets. Its films focus on stories of courage drawn from biographies, historical events, and li ...

from 2000 to 2009, and president and COO of

Miramax Films 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, ...

’

Dimension In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...

Division from 1995 to 2000. While at Walden Media, Granat secured the rights to

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

’ ''

Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, ...

'' series and oversaw production on the first film of the franchise, '' The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe''. Granat's other films include ''Scream'', ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'', ''

Scary Movie ''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon Wayans, Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon ...

'', ''Amazing Grace'', and ''

Spy Kids ''Spy Kids'' is an American media franchise centered on a series of spy action comedy films created by Robert Rodriguez. The plot follows children siblings, who discover that their respective parents are spies and become involved in an espionag ...

''.

Education

Granat went to Tufts University from 1986-1990. Granat helped to establish the Communications and Media Studies School and is on its board.

Career

Granat worked at MCA/

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

first as director of development from 1992 to 1995. He worked on films such as ''

Babe Babe may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People * Babe (nickname), a list of people * Jerome Babe (1837–1893), American inventor and miner * Thomas Babe (1941–2000), Ame ...

'' and ''Casino'', as well as acquired the original ''Meet the Parents'', a Gregg Glienna film, for

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

. While working in the film group under

Hal Lieberman Hal Lieberman is an American producer and former president of production for Universal Pictures. Born and raised in Bronx, New York, Lieberman has a B.A. from SUNY at Stony Brook and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Lieberman began his ...

and

Casey Silver Casey Silver (born Andrew Silver; May 5, 1955) is an American film executive and producer. Formerly the chairman and chief executive officer of Universal Pictures, he began his career in the motion picture industry as a screenwriter. After serving ...

, Granat also found himself evaluating corporate deals for the company. After Universal, Granat joined Dimension Films as head of creative and then later as president and COO from 1995 to 2000. Granat worked closely with and for

Bob Weinstein Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company (TWC), all of which he co-founded with his older brother, H ...

to build Dimension. This includes the ''Scream'' franchise, the Wayans' ''Scary Movie'' franchise and Dimension's launch of Robert Rodriguez's ''Spy Kids'' franchise. During this time Dimension re-established the studio system of the 1930s and '40s, with

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

, Robert Rodriguez,

Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter and producer. Amongst his Wes Craven filmography, prolific filmography, Craven worked primarily in the Horror film, horror genre, particularly sla ...

, Kevin Williamson,

Ehren Kruger Ehren Kruger (born October 5, 1972) is an American film screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing three of the five installments in the original ''Transformers'' film series: '' Revenge of the Fallen'', '' Dark of the Moon'', and ' ...

, and

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

. In addition to films, Dimension established the alliance of

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and Capitol/

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in the formation of Miramax/

Dimension Records Dimension Records was a record label founded in 1962 in New York City by Don Kirshner and Al Nevins, owners of Aldon Music. It concentrated on the girl group sound and showcased songs by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Their composition "The Loco ...

. In 2000, Granat co-founded Walden Media. He served as CEO from 2000 to 2009. As CEO, Granat gained the rights to C.S. Lewis’ ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series and oversaw production on the first film of the franchise, ''The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe''—one of the highest-grossing films of 2005. The ''Narnia'' franchise has generated over $1.62 billion in theatrical gross on its first three installments. In addition to the ''Chronicles of Narnia'', Granat produced the ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' franchise, ''Charlotte’s Web'',

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

’s ''

Aliens of the Deep ''Aliens of the Deep'' is a 2005 American documentary film directed in part by James Cameron alongside fellow cameraman and friend Steven Quale, who served as second unit director on Cameron's ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'' (1997) and later ''A ...

'', ''

Ghosts of the Abyss ''Ghosts of the Abyss'' (also known as ''Titanic 3D: Ghosts of the Abyss'') is a 2003 American Documentary film, documentary film produced by Walden Media. It was directed by James Cameron after his 1997 film ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic''. Du ...

'', ''Bridge to Terabithia'', ''Holes'', and over 50 other children's films and books. Granat built out Walden's film, educational, and faith activities locally in the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and other foreign markets. In addition to his duties as CEO, Granat was appointed in April 2004 as president of Anschutz Film Group, whereby the company acquired Crusader Entertainment and supervised the completion of the biography ''Ray'' and the

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

film, ''Sahara''. In 2005, Granat received the P.T. Barnum Award from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

for his exceptional work in the field of media and entertainment. After Granat and team produced ''Amazing Grace'', he and company co-founder Michael Flaherty earned the

John Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a Philanthropy, philanthropic organization founded by John Templeton in 1987. Templeton became wealthy as a Contrarian investing, contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in relig ...

Epiphany Prize. From 2010 to 2014, Granat was a partner at Reel FX/Granat Ent. The production and development company, Granat Entertainment, merged with animation studio Reel FX in order to create a new live-action/animation studio. The company forged partnerships with

Andrew Adamson Andrew Ralph Adamson (born 1 December 1966) is a New Zealand film director, producer, screenwriter and animator. He is best known for directing the DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks animated film ''Shrek'' (2001), which is based on the Shrek!, ...

, Guillermo Del Toro, James Cameron,

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

Fox Film The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox. It was the corporate successor to his earlier Greater Ne ...

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...

and others while producing ''

Free Birds ''Free Birds'' is a 2013 American animated Thanksgiving science fiction film, science fiction comedy film directed by Jimmy Hayward, who co-wrote the screenplay with the film's producer Scott Mosier. The film stars the voices of Owen Wilson, Wo ...

'', '' The Book of Life'', ''World Away'', and ''The Hive''. In 2012, Granat co-founded and launched Immersive Artistry, an entertainment business. The company is a participatory experience considered the newest evolution in media placing you inside the movie, rather than watching it. The company will be launching its first locations in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and throughout the world in 2019. Granat serves as the company CEO. In 2014, Granat founded EMH Consulting Group, Inc., a Consultancy and Film Operations group that represent Foreign Governments in their effort to build and/or rebuild their film and television operations.

Activism

Granat is a board member of the World Information Transfer of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and organizes an annual conference on Children's Health and the Environment every December. In 2004, Granat co-founded The Forgotten Dog Foundation, a dog rescue foundation specializing in emergency medical needs.

Awards

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

Award.

Filmography

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granat, Cary American chief executives in the mass media industry Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Tufts University alumni Living people Film producers from California