David A. Permut (born March 23, 1954) is an American film producer. He has worked on dozens of films over 40 years, and has received both
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
and
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nominations.
Early life and education
Permut was born in
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...
to a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family, the son of entrepreneur Lee Permut.
His father moved the family from Manhattan to Los Angeles while he was a teen.
While a youth, he sold
maps to the Hollywood homes of the stars and later mixed with them at the Palm Springs Racquet Club and the Tennis Club, after his father purchased a second home in Palm Springs in the 1970s.
He was introduced to producer
Bill Sargent through his father who employed Permut, tasking him with soliciting agents to secure casting for a stage play he wanted to film; the project never came to fruition.
Permut then went to work as a
gofer for
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
while he was taking classes at UCLA and later accepted a job at an independent talent agency in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
.
Career
Feature films
Early in his career, Permut produced the 1975 film ''
Give 'em Hell, Harry!''
He went on to produce the 1987 films ''
Dragnet'' and ''
Blind Date''. In 1986, he then signed a production agreement with
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
, where he is planning on to produce films like an adaptation of the 1950s TV show ''
Highway Patrol
A highway patrol is a police unit, detail, or law enforcement agency created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways within a jurisdiction. They are also referred to in many countri ...
'', but it never came to fruition. He later produced the
John Woo
John Woo Yu-sen ( zh, t= ; born 22 September 1946) is a Hongkongers, Hong Kong film director known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre. The recipient of various accolades, including a Hong Kong Film Awards, Hong Kong Film Award ...
film ''
Face/Off
''Face/Off'' is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary. It stars John Travolta as an FBI agent and Nicolas Cage as a terrorist, who undergo an experimental surg ...
''.
He has produced a number of other films, including 1991's ''
The Marrying Man'' and ''
29th Street'', 1992's ''
Captain Ron'' and ''
Consenting Adults'', 1993's ''
The Temp'', 1994's ''
Surviving the Game'', and others.
29th Street (1991) released by
Twentieth 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 ...
, Permut worked with
Bob Saget on the ''
March of the Penguins
''March of the Penguins'' ( French ''La Marche de l'empereur''; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary d ...
'' parody film ''
Farce of the Penguins'' in 2007. He produced the 2016 film ''
Hacksaw Ridge'', which was premiered at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
. It was met with quality reception.
In addition to studio films, Permut has produced a number of independent films including ''
Charlie Bartlett'', ''
Youth in Revolt'', ''
Struck by Lightning'', and ''
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...
''.
David was the co-producer alongside
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...
of the 2009 documentary ''
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story'', and later ''
The Fabulous Allan Carr''. He is slated to produce the film ''Chippendales'', based on the all-women's nightclub of the same name. He is already producing a documentary about Chippendales.
Television
His television credits include 1984's ''Love Leads the Way'', 1991's ''
A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story'', 1992's ''Breaking the Silence'', 2009's series ''
Prayers for Bobby'', 2014's ''The Color of Rain'', and 2023's ''Lawman: Bass Reeves''.
Theatre
He has done theatre production, including the stage production of ''
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts''. He is slated to produce the
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
stage production ''
Behind the Candelabra
''Behind the Candelabra'' is a 2013 American Biographical film, biographical comedy drama television film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Richard LaGravenese, based on the Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, 1988 book by ...
''.
Personal life
, Permut has lived in
Westwood, California. He has a second home in
Palm Springs
Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
with his partner, John Seiber.
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
;Camera and electrical department
;Miscellaneous crew
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Permut, David
1954 births
Film producers from California
20th-century American Jews
Television producers from California
Businesspeople from Palm Springs, California
Living people
21st-century American Jews