Escape Artists Productions, LLC, commonly known as Escape Artists, is an independently financed motion picture and television production company with a first look non-exclusive deal at

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

, headed by partners

Steve Tisch Steven Elliot Tisch (born February 14, 1949) is an American film producer and businessman. He is the chairman, co-owner and executive vice president of the New York Giants, the NFL team co-owned by his family, as well as a film and television pro ...

, Todd Black, and Jason Blumenthal. The company's production office is located in the Astaire Building on the

Sony Pictures Studios The Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and ...

lot in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

History

In 2001, Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal's Black & Blu merged with the Steve Tisch Company to form Escape Artists. The first produced movie under the Escape Artists banner was ''

A Knight's Tale ''A Knight's Tale'' is a 2001 American medieval adventure comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Brian Helgeland. The film stars Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, a peasant squire who poses as a knight and competes in tournaments, win ...

'', starring

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

in May 2001. In the fall of 2005, Escape Artists released ''

The Weather Man ''The Weather Man'' is a 2005 American dark comedy-drama film directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Steve Conrad, and starring Nicolas Cage in the lead role, Michael Caine and Hope Davis. It tells the story of a weatherman in the midst of a m ...

'', directed by

Gore Verbinski Gregor Justin "Gore" Verbinski (born March 16, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and musician. He is best known for directing '' The Ring'', the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, and '' Rango''. He won the Academy Awar ...

and starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various ac ...

and

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

. Their next film, ''

The Pursuit of Happyness ''The Pursuit of Happyness'' is a 2006 American biographical drama film directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a homeless salesman. Smith's son Jaden Smith co-stars, making his film debut as Gardner's son, Christ ...

'', directed by

Gabriele Muccino Gabriele Muccino (; born 20 May 1967) is an Italian film director. He has worked his way from making short films only aired on Italian television to become a well-known and successful American filmmaker. He is the elder brother of actor Silvio Mu ...

and starring

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

, was released in December 2006 and earned over $300 million in worldwide ticket sales, as well as best actor

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

and

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nominations for Will Smith. '' Seven Pounds'', another Gabriele Muccino-directed film starring Will Smith, was released in December 2008. In 2009, Escape Artists released the

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' I, Robot'' (2004), ...

thriller '' Knowing'', starring Nicolas Cage, and '' The Taking of Pelham 123'', directed by

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

and starring

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

and

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...

. Their latest project entitled, '' The Upside'' directed by Neil Burger and starring

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning s ...

was released through

STX Entertainment STX Entertainment is a mini-major American entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projects. In April 2020, STX announced that it would mer ...

and Lantern Entertainment on January 11, 2019 in the United States. In February 2013, 12-year veteran David Bloomfield was promoted to partner Escape Artists. In October 2014, the company inks its first-look pact with

FX Productions FX Productions (FXP) is an American television and in-house production company owned by FX Networks (and jointed with Disney Television Studios), a division of the Walt Disney Television unit of The Walt Disney Company. The studio currently prod ...

. In August 2019,

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

inks its first-look deal with Escape Artists.

List of films

Columbia Pictures

*''

'' (2001) *''

'' (also with

Overbrook Entertainment Overbrook Entertainment is an American production company based in Culver City, California. It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998, around the same time production for ''Wild Wild West'' (1999) was started. The name " ...

) (2006) *'' Seven Pounds'' (also with

) (2008) *'' The Taking of Pelham 123'' (also with

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

and

Scott Free Productions Scott Free Productions is an independent film and television production company founded in 1970 by filmmakers and brothers Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. They formed the feature film development company Percy Main Productions in 1980, naming the ...

) (2009) *'' Hope Springs'' (also with

and Mandate Pictures) (2012) *''

Sex Tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to em ...

'' (2014) *'' The Equalizer'' (also with

Village Roadshow Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is o ...

) (2014) *''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially ...

'' (also with

and

) (2016) *'' Roman J. Israel, Esq.'' (2017) *''

The Equalizer 2 ''The Equalizer 2'' (sometimes promoted as ''The Equalizer II'' or ''EQ2'') is a 2018 American vigilante action film directed by Antoine Fuqua. It is the sequel to the 2014 film ''The Equalizer'', which was based on the TV series of the same n ...

'' (2018) *'' A Journal for Jordan'' (2021) *'' The Man from Toronto'' (also with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

) (2022) *''

The Equalizer 3 ''The Equalizer 3'' is an upcoming American vigilante action film directed by Antoine Fuqua. It is the sequel to the 2018 film '' The Equalizer 2'', which was based on the TV series of the same name. The film stars Denzel Washington and Dako ...

'' (2023)

Others

*'' Alex & Emma'' (with Warner Bros. Pictures and Franchise Pictures) (2003) *''

'' (with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

) (2005) *'' Knowing'' (with

Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summ ...

) (2009) *'' The Back-up Plan'' (with

CBS Films CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019. CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and prod ...

) (2010) *'' Unfinished Business'' (with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

and

Regency Enterprises Regency Enterprises (commonly referred to as Regency onscreen and copyrighting as Regency Entertainment (USA), Inc. in the U.S. and Monarchy Enterprises S.á.r.l. overseas) is an American entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was fou ...

) (2015) *'' Southpaw'' (with

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prio ...

) (2015) *'' Fences'' (with

) (2016) *'' The Upside'' (with

and Lantern Entertainment) (2017) *''

Troop Zero ''Troop Zero'' is a 2019 American comedy-drama film, directed by British female duo Bert & Bertie, from a screenplay by ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' co-writer Lucy Alibar and inspired by Alibar's 2010 play ''Christmas and Jubilee Behold The M ...

'' (with

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed t ...

) (2020) *'' Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' (with

) (2020) *''

Being the Ricardos ''Being the Ricardos'' is a 2021 American biographical drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, about the relationship between ''I Love Lucy'' stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as Ball and Arnaz, ...

'' (with

) (2021) *''

Emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchi ...

'' (with

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

) (2022) *''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

'' (with

and

Mattel Films Mattel Films is the film production division of Mattel originally formed on October 16, 2013, as Mattel Playground Productions as part of Mattel Global Brands, a unified media structural and strategy unit. On March 31, 2016, Mattel placed the ...

) (TBA)

List of television shows

*''

Perpetual Grace, LTD ''Perpetual Grace, LTD'' is an American neo-noir thriller television series that premiered on Epix on June 2, 2019. The series is produced by MGM Television, with co-creators Steven Conrad and Bruce Terris writing each episode. The main cast fea ...

'' (

Epix Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American Pay television, premium cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment Limited liability company, LLC subsidiary of Metro- ...

) (with

, Chi-Town Pictures and Elephant Pictures) (2019) *''

Servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

'' (

) (with

Blinding Edge Pictures Blinding Edge Pictures is an American film production company, founded on August 2, 1998 by M. Night Shyamalan, which is known for producing films written and directed by Shyamalan like ''Unbreakable'', '' Signs'', '' The Village'', '' The Happen ...

and Dolphin Black Productions) (2019–present) *'' Dr. Death'' (

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

) (with

Universal Content Productions Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal. History Universal Cable Productions In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions was split off ...

, Wondery and Littleton Road Productions) (2021)

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Film production companies of the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Culver City, California American companies established in 2001 Entertainment companies established in 2001 2001 establishments in California American independent film studios