Sanford (Sandy) Climan is an American film producer, best known for Martin Scorsese's ''The Aviator'' and the film ''

U2 3D ''U2 3D'' is a 2008 American-produced 3D concert film featuring rock band U2 performing during the Vertigo Tour in 2006. Directed by Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington, the film contains performances of 14 songs, including tracks from '' H ...

''. He is the Founder and President of Entertainment Media Ventures, a Los Angeles-based strategic advisory and media investment company.

Early life and education

Climan was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

and attended

The Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

, where he was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of his senior class, a

Westinghouse Science Talent Search Westinghouse may refer to: Businesses Current companies *Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the company that manages the Westinghouse brand, with licensees: **Westinghouse Electric Company, providing nuclear power-related services ** Westingho ...

scholar, and a National Merit winner. Climan earned a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

, a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in Health Policy and Management from

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

, and a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

Career

Mr. Climan has held senior management positions in the media and entertainment industry throughout his career and is considered a "media visionary". In addition, he has been an active investor in, and advisor to, venture capital firms and early-stage companies in media, technology, and healthcare. Climan began his career at

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, in multiple executive positions in motion picture production, distribution and pay-television and, during 1985–86, in feature film production. He then served as the President of Lions Gate Studios, as the President of Wescom Productions, and as Vice President of Production for The David Gerber Company. From 1986 to 1995 and 1997–99, he served as a member of the senior management team at CAA, both as the founding head of CAA's corporate representation practice and as a talent agent. He represented multiple well-known actors including

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 ...

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the ...

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

, and

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him ...

, directors such as

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...

, as well as many prominent film and television production companies. During his time at CAA, he worked with

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 ...

on its acquisition of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, with Matsushita Electric on its acquisition of MCA/Universal, and with Credit Lyonnais on its restructuring of

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

, NYNEX,

Bell Atlantic A bell Help:IPA/English, /ˈbɛl/ () is a struck idiophone, directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficien ...

, and multiple other

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies. During 1995–97, he served as the Corporate Executive and Vice President of Worldwide Business Development of MCA/Universal Studios. In 1999, he founded Entertainment Media Ventures, which provides media investment and strategic advisory work for the media and entertainment industry. From 2002 to 2003, he was the Co-Executive Producer and Producer on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

primetime series '' Robbery Homicide Division''. In 2004, he produced Martin Scorsese's biographical drama film ''The Aviator'', starring

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

, for which he won the 2005

BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is a film award given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. It has been given since the 1st BAFTA Awards, representing the best films of 19 ...

and the 2004 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture. The film was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Film, a Broadcast Film Critics Award for Best Film, an OFTA Award for Best Picture, and an ACCA Award for Best Motion Picture. In 2006, Climan spoke about the film market, investors, and the business of film on a panel of experts at the

Milken Institute The Milken Institute is an independent economic think tank based in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-bas ...

. In 2007, he was the Co-Executive Producer of the first digital live-action 3D film ''

'', which screened at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

that year and 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 ...

the following year. In 2008, the film won the Giant Screen Cinema Association Achievement Award for Best Film Produced Non-Exclusively for the Giant Screen, the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica Award for Best Musical Film, and the 3D Film and Interactive Film Festival's Pioneer Award for Film and Television. From 2007 to 2010, Climan served as the first CEO of

3ality Digital 3ality Technica, formerly 3ality Digital, was a Burbank, California based company that specialized in high-definition, live-action stereoscopic digital 3D. The company developed production systems, image processing software and other technolog ...

. In 2009, he received The Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors New Visions Award along with Steve Schklair, for their work with

. In 2016, he was the Executive Producer on the

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

film '' Manhattan Night'', starring

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Polish pianist Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama '' The Pianist'' (2002) becoming the youngest acto ...

. Mr. Climan serves on multiple charitable boards, including for the

American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States that represents the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms. It presents festivals and retrospectives that ...

, the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, and the UCLA Longevity Center of the Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior. From 2000 to 2012, Mr. Climan served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For over twenty years, Mr. Climan served on the board of the Fulfillment Fund, the leading organization for mentoring at-risk public high school students in Los Angeles. Mr. Climan serves as an advisor on entertainment and media to the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

at its annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland, as a member of the Reuters Editorial Advisory Board, the philanthropic advisory board of Lifestyles Magazine, the advisory board of the Yale CEO Leadership Institute of the

Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...

, and as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Ellis Island Honors Society. He supports several philanthropic organizations, including the Motion picture and Television Fund.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

, - , rowspan="3" , 2004 , rowspan="6" , '' The Aviator'' ,

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama is a Golden Globe Award that has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Since its institution in 1943, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association i ...

, , - , OFTA Award for Best Picture , , - , ACCA Award for Best Motion Picture , , - , rowspan="3" , 2005 ,

, , - , Satellite Award for Best Film , , - , Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Picture , , - , rowspan="3" , 2008 , rowspan="3" , ''

'' , Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica Award for Best Musical Film , , - , Giant Screen Cinema Association Achievement Award for Best Film Produced Non-Exclusively for the Giant Screen , , - , 3D Film and Interactive Film Festival's Pioneer Award for Film and Television , , - * In 2009, he received The Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors New Visions Award along with Steve Schklair, for their work with

. * In 2018, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

References

External links

Entertainment Media Ventures Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Climan, Sandy Film producers from New York (state) Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Golden Globe Award–winning producers Harvard Business School alumni Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni The Bronx High School of Science alumni Mass media people from the Bronx Businesspeople from New York City Television producers from New York City American talent agents American investors Living people Year of birth missing (living people)