John Davis
John Davis, Chairman of Los Angeles-based Davis Entertainment, who was recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as Hollywood’s most prolific producer has been a producer on more than 88 feature films and movies for television that have earned more than $4 billion worldwide. The Company, established in 1985, has enjoyed a long-standing first-look production deal at 20th Century Fox, but produces projects for all studios and mini-majors. Davis has produced an impressive slate of hit motion pictures in all genres, but with notable successes in two of the most profitable film genres – action-adventure-thrillers, and family films. Some of the Company’s action-adventure-thrillers include the sci-fi hit I, Robot starring Will Smith; the blockbuster The Firm, starring Tom Cruise; Courage Under Fire, starring Denzel Washington; Waterworld, starring Kevin Costner; Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Behind Enemy Lines, starring Owen Wilson and Gene Hackman; Predator 2; Flight of the Phoenix, starring DennisQuaid, the John Woo action film, Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, for Paramount; and Alien vs. Predator, an action thriller combining the two classic creatures, among many others. Davis’s family films include the upcoming Jim Carrey starrer Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Norbit, starring Eddie Murphy (in their fourth film together) for DreamWorks/Paramount; Garfield and Garfield 2, both for Fox; the $100 million-plus hit Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care, produced with Revolution Studios; the two hugely successful Dr. Dolittle films, starring Eddie Murphy; the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau trilogy Out to Sea, Grumpy Old Men, and Grumpier Old Men; Fat Albert, written by Bill Cosby; Marmaduke, based on the comic strip of the same name; and the Jack Black adventure comedy, Gulliver’s Travels ($200 million worldwide). Other Davis productions include When a Stranger Calls, a remake of the 1979 horror classic, for Screen Gems, which opened in the top spot its opening week; and the MGM film Heartbreakers, starring Sigourney Weaver, Gene Hackman and Jennifer Love Hewitt, which also opened as the #1 film in the country. A hallmark of Davis’ success is his ability to attract the industry’s most successful actors, directors, writers and other creative talent time and again to his productions. He has produced a quartet of successful films and their sequels, including the Predator, Grumpy Old Men, Dr. Dolittle, and Garfield films, which have grown into successful, multi-title franchises, making Davis well-known for his ability to brand entertainment, extending his titles beyond the theatrical applications. Davis’ career is further distinguished as his films are routinely produced for responsible budgets and thus earn domestic and international box office success. The original Garfield, for example, was produced for $42 million and earned nearly $200 million worldwide. For television, Davis Entertainment Television has produced 20 telefilms, including the NBC made-for-television movies The Jesse Ventura Story and Little Richard, as well as the ABC made-for-television movie Miracle at Midnight, starring Sam Waterston. His television department has series and made-for-television movies set up with all of the major television networks and cable broadcasters. Davis also produced Asteroid, the hit NBC mini-series, Volcano: Fire on the Mountain, for ABC; the highly-rated NBC movie of Truman Capote’s One Christmas, starring Katharine Hepburn; and the popular CBS movie This Can’t Be Love, starring Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn. Davis was born and raised near Denver, Colorado. His obsession with film began as a youth when his father purchased the neighborhood movie theater, where he sold popcorn and subsequently viewed up to 300 films a year. Davis graduated from Bowdoin College, attended Amherst College and received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. His successful business ventures include, setting up and running successful TV Stations and Wetzel’s Pretzels, which Davis was instrumental in expanding and sold in 2007.
