Sanford (Sandy) Climan is an American film producer, best known for Martin Scorsese's ''The Aviator'' and the film '' U2 3D''. 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 a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

and attended

The Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx 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 Educat ...

, where he was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

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; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accou ...

degree from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA ...

, a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree in

Health Policy and Management Health policy and management is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of public health systems, health care systems, hospitals, and hospital networks. Health care administrators are considered health care professionals. ...

from

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard- MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's firs ...

, and a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

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, 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 1986-95 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 Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Ceci ...

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actors ...

, and

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

, directors such as

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, director, screenwriter, and Film producer, producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include ...

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

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

on its acquisition of

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...

, with

Matsushita Electric formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

on its acquisition of MCA/Universal, and with

Credit Lyonnais Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt ...

on its restructuring of MGM,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atla ...

NYNEX NYNEX Corporation was an American telephone company that served five states of New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) as well as most of the state of New York from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997. History ...

Bell Atlantic Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

, and multiple other

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

companies. During 1995-97, he served as the Corporate Executive and Vice President of Worldwide Business Development of

MCA/Universal Studios Universal Studios, Inc. (formerly as MCA Inc., also known simply as Universal) is an American media and entertainment conglomerate and is owned by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast. Originally founded in 1924 as Music Corporation of America by ...

. In 1999, he founded Entertainment Media Ventures, which provides media investment and strategic advisory work for the media and entertainment industry. From 2002-03, he was the Co-Executive Producer and Producer on the CBS primetime series ''

Robbery Homicide Division ''Robbery Homicide Division'' (''RHD'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 27, 2002 to April 21, 2003, created by Barry Schindel with executive producers Michael Mann and Sandy Climan. Overview Th ...

''. In 2004, he produced Martin Scorsese's biographical drama film ''The Aviator'', starring Leonardo DiCaprio and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

, for which he won the 2005

BAFTA Award for Best Film The BAFTA Award for Best Film is 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 1947, but until ...

and the 2004

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by recognizing excellence in film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and o ...

. 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, DC, New York, Miami, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. It publishes research and hosts conferences that apply market-based p ...

. In 2007, he was the Co-Executive Producer of the first digital live-action 3D film '' U2 3D'', which screened at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

that year and at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

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 2007-10, Climan served as the first CEO of 3ality Digital. In 2009, he received The Caucus for Producers, Writers and Directors New Visions Award along with Steve Schklair, for their work with 3ality Digital. In 2016, he was the Executive Producer on the

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian- American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquarter ...

film '' Manhattan Night'', starring

Adrien Brody Adrien Nicholas Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring as Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's '' The Pianist'' (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Ac ...

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

American Cinematheque The American Cinematheque is an independent, nonprofit cultural organization in Los Angeles, California, United States dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms. The Cinematheque was created in 1981 a ...

, the

UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA TFT), is one of the 12 schools within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Its creation was groundbreaking in that it was the first ...

, and the UCLA Longevity Center of the Semel Institute for Neurosciences and Human Behavior. From 2000-2012, Mr. Climan served as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

. 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 and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

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 business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Administration (MBA), MBA for Executive ...

, and as a member of the Advisory Committee to the

Ellis Island Honors Society The Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) is a United States 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to honor and preserve cultural diversity and to foster tolerance, respect and understanding among ethnic groups. The EIHS was founded in 1984 as the Na ...

. 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'' ,

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

, , - , Satellite Award for Best Film , , - , Broadcast Film Critics Award for Best Film , , - , rowspan="3" , 2008 , rowspan="3" , '' U2 3D'' , 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 3ality Digital. In 2018, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

External links

Entertainment Media Ventures Official Site
*

References

{{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 School of Public Health alumni The Bronx High School of Science alumni 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)