| Jerry Bruckheimer | |
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Bruckheimer at WonderCon 2010 |
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| Born | Jerome Leon Bruckheimer September 21, 1945 Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Occupation | Producer |
| Years active | 1972–present |
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1945) is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The Amazing Race, and Dark Blue. His best known films include Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, The Rock, Con Air, Coyote Ugly, Crimson Tide, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Gone in 60 Seconds, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean, G-Force, King Arthur, Prince of Persia and the National Treasure franchise.
Many of his films were produced by Paramount and Disney, while many of his television series were co-produced by Warner Bros.
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The son of German Jewish immigrants,[1] Bruckheimer was born in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Mumford High School in Detroit until moving to Arizona for college at age 17. Bruckheimer was also an active member of the Stamp Collecting Club. He graduated with a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona with an algebra minor. He was a member of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. A film buff at an early age with an interest in photography, Bruckheimer would take snapshots when he had the opportunity. After college Bruckheimer worked in advertising in Detroit and New York City, producing award-winning commercials.
As of 2010, Bruckheimer has produced over 40 feature films, and is regarded in the industry as one of the most successful film producers of all time.
Bruckheimer started producing films in the 1970s, after leaving his job in advertising, with director Dick Richards. They had worked together on the films The Culpepper Cattle Company, Farewell, My Lovely, and March or Die. Bruckheimer then worked with Paul Schrader on two films, American Gigolo and Cat People, which began to give him notice in Hollywood.
During the 1980s and 1990s, he was a co-producer with Don Simpson of a string of highly successful Hollywood films for Paramount Pictures. He originally met Don at a screening of 1973's The Harder They Come at Warner Brothers. The two worked together and created Bruckheimer's first big hit, 1983's Flashdance, which brought in US$95 million, an incredible sum for an R-rated film.[2] He had a number of other hits including the Beverly Hills Cop films, Top Gun and Days of Thunder.
While working with Simpson, Bruckheimer became known as "Mr. Outside" because of his experience with film making, while Simpson became known as "Mr. Inside" because of his film industry contacts. The Rock was the last film in which Bruckheimer collaborated with Simpson, due to Simpson's untimely death. Bruckheimer stipulated that The Rock be dedicated to the memory of Simpson (this fact is mentioned at the end of the film).
Despite the setback of the untimely death of Simpson in 1996, Bruckheimer has continued to produce a large number of action films often working with director Michael Bay for several hits including Armageddon. His other hit films produced include Remember the Titans, Black Hawk Down and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
He has also acquired the rights to produce a film based on the popular role playing game by Palladium Books, Rifts.
Early in his career, Bruckheimer produced television commercials, including one for Pepsi. Since 1997 he has branched out into television, creating a number of police dramas of which CSI: Crime Scene Investigation has been the most successful. He has also produced the reality game show The Amazing Race.
In May 2008 CBS announced it had picked up Bruckheimer's newest series, Eleventh Hour, for the 2008–2009 broadcast television season. The science fiction drama follows a government agent and a professor as they investigate strange scientific and medical activity.[3]
Bruckheimer currently has five television shows on the air: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, The Amazing Race and Take the Money and Run.
At one point, three of his TV series ranked among the top 10 in the ratings—a unique feat in television.[4]
It was announced on September 10, 2009 that NBC had picked up an action procedural from Jerry Bruckheimer. The show, titled Chase,[5] "tells the stories of a team charged with making sure fugitive criminals don't evade justice," reports The Hollywood Reporter.[6] It was canceled in May 2011.
Bruckheimer's most notable flop was Skin, which was cancelled after three episodes in 2003.
One of the most successful producers of all time, Bruckheimer has been nicknamed "Mr. Blockbuster", due to his track record of commercially successful, high-grossing films. Overall, his films have brought in over $13 billion to Hollywood,[7] and have launched the careers of numerous actors and directors.
In 2007, he was ranked #39 on Forbes Celebrity 100 List, up from #42 in 2006. With reported annual earnings of $120 million,[8] he was the 10th highest money-earner on the 2006 Forbes Celebrity 100 List.
In July 2003, Bruckheimer was honored by Variety magazine as the first producer in Hollywood history to produce the top two highest-grossing films of a single weekend, the buddy-cop fender-bender Bad Boys II and the Disney theme-park spin-off, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
The Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy, produced through Walt Disney Pictures was enormously profitable, and demonstrates Bruckheimer's ability to create lucrative projects. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first film in the franchise, was released on July 9, 2003. A surprisingly popular box office hit, it was well-received by critics and filmgoers alike. After the unexpected success of the first film, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was released on July 7, 2006. The sequel proved to be very successful, breaking records worldwide the day of its premiere. In the end it acquired a total of $1,066,179,725 at the worldwide box office, becoming the third and fastest film to reach this staggering amount. The third film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was released worldwide on May 25, 2007. Altogether, the film franchise has grossed over $2.79 billion worldwide.Also at 2011 the fourth film "Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides"
For 19 years, the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop (estimated earnings $234 million) stood as Bruckheimer's highest-grossing film until August 12, 2003, when it was pushed to the number two spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, then to the number three spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and then to the number four spot by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and at 2011 the fourth part "Pirates of the Caribbean:On Stranger Tides"
The editors of Entertainment Weekly named Bruckheimer the #1 most-powerful person in Hollywood in 2003. He was ranked #10 on Premieres 2006 "Power 50" list, and had also ranked #10 on the 2005 list. He ranked #19 on Premieres 2003 annual Hollywood Power List, and had ranked #22 in 2002.
His projects have been honored with 41 Academy Award nominations (five wins), eight Grammy Award nominations (five wins), 23 Golden Globe nominations (four wins), 77 Emmy Award nominations (seventeen wins), eight People's Choice nominations (four wins), and numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade.[7]
Bruckheimer received the ShoWest Producer of the Year Award in 1998 and in 2000 the Producers Guild honored him with the David O. Selznick Award for Lifetime Achievement.
In May 2006, he was honored with a doctor of fine arts degree (DFA) from the University of Arizona's College of Fine Arts.
When asked about his favorite films, he named 1972's The Godfather, 1971's The French Connection, 1997's Good Will Hunting, and 1959's The 400 Blows.[4]
Bruckheimer has been married twice. His first wife was Bonnie Bruckheimer. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, novelist Linda Bruckheimer. He also has one stepdaughter, Alexandra. The couple also owns a farm in Bloomfield, Kentucky, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Louisville, as well as another in Ojai, south of Santa Barbara. As a teenager, Linda moved from Kentucky to Los Angeles, where she has been a writer, producer and West Coast editor for Mirabella, and where she married Jerry Bruckheimer. She regularly spends time as a preservation activist, restoring and preserving historic buildings in small rural U.S. towns.[10]
His film company, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, is located at 1631 10th Street in Santa Monica, California.
Bruckheimer's philanthropic activities have included publicly supporting the fight against multiple sclerosis via his work with The Nancy Davis Foundation for MS. He has additionally pledged to help various causes by establishing the Jerry Bruckheimer Foundation.[9] However, according to The Smoking Gun, the last time the Jerry Bruckheimer Foundation made a contribution was in 1995, when it gave $9,350 to Van Nuys prep school.[11]
Bruckheimer has aided in the repair and restoration of the historic clipper ship Cutty Sark, which is similar to the ships seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean films. A collection of photos taken by Bruckheimer went on display in London in November 2007 to help raise money for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project. The exhibition featured more than thirty pictures taken on set during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.[12]
Bruckheimer is one of the few cinema personalities who supported President George W. Bush outspokenly. He donated funds to John McCain's 2008 presidential election campaign. In 2007 it was reported that he donated 29% of his $20,700 in political contributions to Republican candidates.[13] He gave $5,000 to a joint fundraising committee on John McCain’s behalf.[14] Bruckheimer has donated more than $50,000 to Republican campaigns and committees.[15]
Bruckheimer has been named as one of the investors of a new sports arena in Las Vegas and has been rumored to be the leading choice by the National Hockey League to own an expansion hockey team that would play in the proposed arena.[16]