Paul Bernon is an American businessman and film producer. His film '' Best Kept Secret'' was awarded a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

in 2014.

Education and real estate career

Bernon studied film in college, earning a BS from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. He went on to receive a graduate degree in real estate from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. Bernon is the founder and Managing Partner of PMB Ventures, an investment company based in Boston that focuses on investments in real estate, entertainment, venture capital and sports. The company’s current portfolio includes Rubicon Real Estate, Burn Later Productions, Reggora, FIVE, Forge, hoo.be, Mingle Mocktails, Pickle4, point.me, Religion of Sports, The Black Dog and

WiTricity WiTricity Corporation is an American wireless charging technology company based in Watertown, Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spin-off was founded by professor Marin Soljačić in 2007. WiTricity technology allows ...

. He is a co-owner of Rugby FC Los Angeles and

Bay FC Bay Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The team began play in the NWSL as an expansion team in the 2024 Nat ...

Film production

In 2012, Bernon produced a short film entitled ''Teacher of the Year'' that was screened at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

, and now lives on

Funny or Die Funny or Die, Inc. is a comedy video website and production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a regular staf ...

. That year, he also co-founded the independent film production company Burn Later Productions, and executive produced and funded the completion of the documentary '' Best Kept Secret'' on the subject of

Autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. Following the film, Bernon was named a "visionary leader" for his work advocating for those with disabilities, and awarded a

for the work in 2014 as one of the film's executive producers. One of the first films he financed and executive produced was '' An Oversimplification of Her Beauty''. He then produced the film ''

Drinking Buddies ''Drinking Buddies'' is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written, directed and edited by Joe Swanberg, and starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston. The film is about two co-workers at a craft brewery in Chicago. ...

'', which was financed with connections he made through his screenings of ''Teacher of the Year''. He also produced the film ''

Adult Beginners ''Adult Beginners'' is a 2014 American comedy drama film directed by Ross Katz and written by Jeff Cox and Liz Flahive based on a story by Nick Kroll. The film stars Rose Byrne, Kroll, Bobby Cannavale, and Joel McHale. RADiUS-TWC acquired the ...

'' in 2015. That year, Bernon was also a producer of the film ''

Results A result is the outcome of an event. Result or Results may also refer to: Music * Results (album), ''Results'' (album), a 1989 album by Liza Minnelli * ''Results'', a 2012 album by Murder Construct * "The Result", a single by The Upsetters * "The ...

'', a feature-length romantic comedy that initially screened at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. In 2016, he produced the relationship comedy '' The Intervention''. In 2017, he produced the films ''Small Crimes'' and ''

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

''. Two of his films, ''

A Kid Like Jake ''A Kid Like Jake'' is a 2018 American drama film directed by Silas Howard and written by Daniel Pearle, based on his own 2013 play of the same name. It stars Claire Danes, Jim Parsons (who also co-produced), Priyanka Chopra, Amy Landecker, Ann D ...

'', starring

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. Prolific in film and television since her teens, she is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2012, ''Time (magazine), Time'' named he ...

Jim Parsons James Joseph Parsons (born March 24, 1973) is an American actor. From 2007 to 2019, Parsons played Sheldon Cooper in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory''. He has received various awards, including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstandin ...

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy ...

and

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is India's highest-paid actress and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awards and fiv ...

, and ''

Hearts Beat Loud ''Hearts Beat Loud'' is a 2018 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Brett Haley, from a screenplay by Haley and Marc Basch. It stars Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner and Toni Collette, and follows a ...

'', starring

Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor. He became widely known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015), for which he received the Television Critics Association Award fo ...

Kiersey Clemons Kiersey Nicole Clemons (born December 17, 1993) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film '' Dope'', playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising ...

Ted Danson Edward Bridge Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe A ...

, and

Toni Collette Toni Collette (born Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television, blockbusters and independent films, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, wit ...

, had their world premieres at the 2018

, and were released theatrically in June 2018. Bernon was also an executive producer on the 2018 film ''

Support the Girls ''Support the Girls'' is a 2018 American comedy film written and directed by Andrew Bujalski. It stars Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, James LeGros, Shayna McHayle, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, Jana Kramer, John Elvis, Lea D ...

'', starring

Regina Hall Regina Lee Hall (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Brenda Meeks in the comedy horror ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). Hall received critical acclaim for her role in the film '' Sup ...

and

Haley Lu Richardson Haley Lu Richardson (born March 7, 1995) is an American actress. Following early television roles on the Disney Channel sitcom '' Shake It Up'' (2013) and the ABC Family supernatural drama '' Ravenswood'' (2013–2014), she acted in the coming-o ...

. He executive produced ''

Dude ''Dude'' is Regional vocabularies of American English, American slang for an individual, typically male. From the 1870s to the 1960s, dude primarily meant a male person who dressed in an extremely fashionable manner (a dandy) or a conspicuous ...

'' (2018). Paul produced '' Good on Paper'', starring

Iliza Shlesinger Iliza Vie Shlesinger ( ; born ) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and television host. She was the 2008 winner of NBC's ''Last Comic Standing (season 6), Last Comic Standing'' and went on to host the syndicated dating show ''Excused'' f ...

and

Ryan Hansen Ryan Hansen (born July 5, 1981) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Dick Casablancas on the noir drama series ''Veronica Mars'' (2004–2007, 2019), as Kyle Bradway on the Starz comedy series '' Party Down'' (2009–2010, 2023 ...

, which was released in 2021. He executive produced the 2022 film ''

I Love My Dad ''I Love My Dad'' is a 2022 American comedy film written and directed by James Morosini, inspired by actual events in his life. It stars Patton Oswalt, Morosini, and Claudia Sulewski. The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2022, ...

''. Most recently, Bernon executive produced the film ''Mother, May I?'' in 2023. Bernon is a member of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing the interests Television producer, television producers, Film producer, film producers and emerging media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership inclu ...

Politics

Bernon is an active volunteer in Democratic politics. He was the recipient of the Visionary Leadership Award from the Jewish Community Relations Council, and was a board director of MassHousing and

EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

. He was a member of the National Finance Committee at the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

. Paul was formerly finance chair for the campaigns of Massachusetts Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

, Attorney General

Martha Coakley Martha Mary Coakley (born July 14, 1953) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former politician who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. She is most notable for having lost a race for the United States Senate in what was ...

, and the

Massachusetts Democratic Party The Massachusetts Democratic Party (MassDems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in Massachusetts. It is chaired by Steve Kerrigan and is the dominant party in the state, controlling all nine of the state's ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernon, Paul Living people Boston University alumni American businesspeople in real estate Peabody Award winners Film producers from Massachusetts American company founders Year of birth missing (living people)