Thomas Philip Pollock (April 10, 1943 – August 1, 2020) was an American film producer and studio executive. He started his career as an entertainment lawyer, before transitioning to a studio executive and film producer. He was the chairman of the board of trustees of the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

, an adjunct professor of film at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, a trustee of the

Los Angeles Music Center The Los Angeles Music Center (officially the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Located in downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is composed of the Dorothy Chandler Pa ...

and a member of the California Bar Association. He was also co-owner of

The Montecito Picture Company The Montecito Picture Company, LLC is an American film production company founded in 1998 by film director Ivan Reitman and studio executive Tom Pollock. It is located on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City, California, United States, in a bui ...

Early life

Thomas Philip Pollock was born on April 10, 1943, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the son of Helene (née Zalk) and Dr. Joseph Pollock.Santa Barbara Independent: "Joseph H. Pollock, M.D. 1913 - 2013, Santa Barbara"
2013 He has two siblings: Ken Pollock and Margo Pollock Sinclair. His family is

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 ...

. He attended The Happy Valley School, now named Besant Hill School, in

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...

, which his maternal grandfather Louis Zalk helped establish. Pollock graduated with a B.A. with distinction from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1964. He went on to the

Columbia University School of Law Columbia Law School (CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The university is known for its legal scholarship dating ba ...

, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, served as editor of the Law Review and received a J.D. in 1967.

Career

Pollock started his career in 1968 as an assistant to

George Stevens George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''A Place in the Sun (1951 film), A Place in the Sun'' (1951) ...

, founding director of the

(AFI). In 1969, Pollock became manager of business affairs for AFI's new film school, the Center for Advanced Film Studies. In 1970, he started the entertainment law firm Pollock, Rigrod, and Bloom which later became Pollock, Bloom and Dekom (now Bloom Hergott). Having started the firm with no established clients, Pollock recruited film students from both AFI and elsewhere. Among his first clients was

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

. At the time, Lucas was working on ''

THX 1138 ''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his feature directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pl ...

'', and Pollock negotiated the famous deal that secured Lucas the merchandising and sequel rights to ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''. In addition to the ''Star Wars''' franchise, Pollock was instrumental in initiating production of the ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

'' and ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'' franchises. By the 1980s, Pollock, Bloom and Dekom was one of the premier entertainment firms in Los Angeles. In September 1986, Pollock left his firm to serve as executive vice president of

MCA Inc. MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film indus ...

and chairman of its motion picture group,

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

. During his tenure, Universal released over 200 films that grossed in excess of $10 billion worldwide, including ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'' (the then highest-grossing film of all time), the ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

'' trilogy, ''

Do the Right Thing ''Do the Right Thing'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film produced, written and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro and Samuel L. Jackson an ...

'', ''

Fried Green Tomatoes ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' is a 1991 American comedy-drama film directed by Jon Avnet and based on Fannie Flagg's 1987 novel '' Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe''. Written by Flagg and Carol Sobieski, and starring Kathy Bates, J ...

'', ''

Backdraft A backdraft (North American English), backdraught (British English) or smoke explosion is the abrupt combustion, burning of superheated gases in a fire caused when oxygen rapidly enters a hot, oxygen-depleted environment; for example, when a windo ...

'', ''

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

'', '' Cape Fear'', '' Parenthood'', ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'', ''

Kindergarten Cop ''Kindergarten Cop'' is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough Los Angeles police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teac ...

'', ''

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

'' and '' Beethoven's 2nd'', '' Casper'', ''

Waterworld ''WaterWorld'', also known as ''WaterWorld: A Live Sea War Spectacular'', is a stunt show attraction based on the 1995 film '' Waterworld'' found at Universal Studios Hollywood (1995), Universal Studios Japan (2001), Universal Studios Singap ...

'', ''

Sneakers Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

'', ''

Lorenzo's Oil ''Lorenzo's Oil'' is a 1992 drama film directed and co-written by George Miller. It is based on the true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, parents who search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), leading to the d ...

'', and ''

Casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

''. While Pollock was at the helm of Universal, the studio earned seven

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

Best Picture Nominations, including ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

'', which won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

in 1993. Other Best Picture nominees included ''

Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel '' Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...

'', ''

Born on the Fourth of July ''Born on the Fourth of July'', published in 1976, is the best-selling autobiography by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line ...

'', '' Scent of a Woman'', ''

In the Name of the Father ''In the Name of the Father'' is a 1993 biographical crime drama film co-written and directed by Jim Sheridan. It is based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people falsely convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings that killed fo ...

'', ''

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo program, Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was abort ...

'' and ''

Babe Babe may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People * Babe (nickname), a list of people * Jerome Babe (1837–1893), American inventor and miner * Thomas Babe (1941–2000), Ame ...

''. Pollock was responsible for bringing numerous creative talents to the studio including

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

and

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated for four Acad ...

Ivan Reitman Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946 – February 12, 2022) was a Canadian film director and producer. He was known for his comedy films, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Reitman was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998. ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

, George Miller,

Jon Avnet __NOTOC__ Jonathan Avnet (born November 17, 1949) is an American director, writer and producer. Avnet was born in Brooklyn, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive with Avnet (a global distributor ...

Martin Brest Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, ''Going in Style'' (1979), he directed the action comedies ''Beverly Hills Cop'' (1984) and ''Midnight Run'' (1988), which were ...

Rob Cohen Robert Alan Cohen (born March 12, 1949) is an American director and producer of film and television. Beginning his career as an executive producer at 20th Century Fox, Cohen produced and developed numerous high-profile film and television progr ...

Phil Alden Robinson Phil Alden Robinson (born March 1, 1950) is an American film director and screenwriter whose films include '' Field of Dreams'', ''Sneakers'', and '' The Sum of All Fears''. Early life and education Robinson was born in Long Beach, New York, the ...

Jim Sheridan Jim Sheridan (born 6 February 1949) is an Irish people, Irish playwright and filmmaker. Between 1989 and 1993, Sheridan directed three critically acclaimed films set in Ireland, ''My Left Foot'' (1989), ''The Field (1990 film), The Field'' (19 ...

Larry Gordon Larry Gordon may refer to: * Larry Gordon (American football) (1954–1983), American football player * Larry Gordon (basketball) (born 1987) * Larry Gordon (ice hockey) * Larry Gordon (musician) (1945–2021), American musician *Larry Darnell Gordo ...

and

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

. Pollock was a member of the board of directors of MCA INC. and its affiliate Cineplex-Odeon Corporation. He played a key role in the creation of

United Cinemas International UCI Cinemas (''United Cinemas International'') is a brand of cinema, currently operating in Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil, which has been owned since 2004 by Odeon Cinemas Group, whose owner is now AMC Theatres, except for the UCI Cinema ...

(UCI), a joint venture with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, which has become the largest exhibitor outside North America, with nearly 700 multiplex screens. He also formed

Gramercy Pictures Gramercy Pictures was an American film production label. It was founded on May 20, 1992 as a joint venture between PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Gramercy was the distributor of PolyGram films in the United States and Canada ...

, now known as

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...

, with PolyGram in 1992. During his tenure as vice chairman, Pollock also forged MCA's alliance with DreamWorks SKG and the interactive arcade venture

GameWorks GameWorks is a gaming-based entertainment center with a single location . It was owned by then-owner ExWorks Capital, each venue featured a wide array of video game arcades, in addition to full-service bars and restaurants. It was originally cre ...

among

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

, DreamWorks and MCA. In 1995, following the sale of MCA to the Seagram Co, Pollock became vice chairman of MCA/Universal Studios. He resigned from this position in March 1996, after serving as the entertainment company's top film executive for nine years. Following his resignation, Pollock taught in the Film Studies Program at the

; and the Pollock family endorsed the Pollock Theater at UCSB, a state-of-the-art screening venue that moderates discussions with filmmakers, critics, and scholars. In the meantime, Pollock also returned to AFI as a member of its board of trustees. He became chairman of the board in 1996; and during his tenure, AFI produced its 100 Years...100 Movies TV show and started the AFI Awards. He served as vice chairman of the AFI Board of directors and as chair of the AFI Awards film jury. In 1998, Pollock – together with director/producer Ivan Reitman – founded

, which has produced – among others – ''

Road Trip A road trip, sometimes spelled roadtrip, is a long-distance Travel, journey traveled by a car or a motorcycle. History First road trips by automobile The world's first recorded long-distance road trip by the automobile took place in German Em ...

''; ''

Old School Old school, Old School, or Old Skool may refer to: Computers and gaming *Old school gaming or retrogaming, playing and collecting obsolete computer, video, and arcade games * Old School Renaissance, a trend in tabletop gaming *''Old School RuneS ...

''; '' Disturbia''; the Academy Award Best Picture Nominee '' Up in the Air''; ''

I Love You, Man ''I Love You, Man'' is a 2009 American bromantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, based on a script by Larry Levin. The film stars Paul Rudd as a friendless man looking for a best man for his upcoming wedding. However, his ...

''; ''

Chloe Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root , which relates to the colors yellow and green. Th ...

''; '' No Strings Attached''; ''

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

''; ''

Draft Day ''Draft Day'' is a 2014 American sports drama film directed by Ivan Reitman, and starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. The premise revolves around the fictional general manager of the Cleveland Browns (Costner) deciding what to do after his ...

''; ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''; and ''Father Figures''. He was also an executive producer on Sony's ''Ghostbusters (2016 film), Ghostbusters: Answer the Call'' and ''Ghostbusters: Afterlife''.

Personal life

Pollock lived in Malibu, California with his dog, Wednesday. He has three children, Alexandra Pollock Gagerman, Allegra Pollock Brandano, and Luke Pollock, and four grandchildren: Haley Gagerman, Ben Gagerman, Amelia Brandano, and Owen Brandano. Pollock died from a heart attack at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on August 1, 2020, at age 77.

Filmography

References

Sources

:(1) http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/mip/tom-pollock-running-universal-talent-driven-approach :(2) http://www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/mip/tom-pollock-negotiating-pre-sale-financing-and-star-wars-contract :(3) https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/20/business/media/20studio.html?_r=0 :(4) http://www.independent.com/news/2012/dec/06/montecito-picture-co-and-making-emhitchcockem/?print :(5

:(6

:(7) http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/montecito-raises-200-million-for-10-picture-film-slate-for-dreamworks-first-look-56136417.html :(8) http://www.columbia-socal.org/article.html?aid=480 :(9) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/executive-suite-tom-pollock-ivan-165068 :(10) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrdy7k_executive-producer-tom-pollock_shortfilms :(11) http://www.afi.com/afiawards/jury.aspx :(12) https://web.archive.org/web/20140115093925/http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/6194 :(13) https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/530756/Tom-Pollock :(14) http://www.columbia-socal.org/article.html?aid=480 :(15) https://books.google.com/books?id=J5Z3uemagkUC&dq=pollock+bloom+dekom&pg=PA178 :(16) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/everyones-an-a-lister-a-669952 :(17) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2223990/

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Tom 1943 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American Jews American film studio executives Columbia Law School alumni Film producers from California Lawyers from Los Angeles People from Malibu, California Stanford University alumni