John Davis (producer)

John Andrew Davis (born July 20, 1954) is an American film producer and founder of Davis Entertainment.

Background

Davis was born and raised in a Jewish family near Denver, Colorado, the son of Barbara Levine, a philanthropist, and former 20th Century Fox owner Marvin Davis (1925-2004).^[1] He has four siblings: Patricia Davis Raynes, Nancy Davis Rickel, Gregg Davis, and Dana Davis. His obsession with film began as a youth when his father purchased the neighborhood film 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.

Career

Although Davis Entertainment produces projects for all studios and mini-majors, the company has enjoyed a first-look production deal at 20th Century Fox since 1986, when Davis founded DE. Davis's arrangement with Fox is among the two longest-standing of any active producer at any studio.

His films include Norbit, starring Eddie Murphy (in their fourth film together) for DreamWorks/Paramount; Garfield and Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, both for Fox; the Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care, produced with Revolution Studios; the two Dr. Dolittle films, starring Eddie Murphy; the Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau trilogy Out to Sea, Grumpy Old Men, and Grumpier Old Men; and Fat Albert, written by Bill Cosby, among many others.

Some of Davis's action-adventure titles include the $100 million-plus hit Chronicle; the science fiction thriller I, Robot starring Will Smith; 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, starring Danny Glover; the John Woo action film, Paycheck, starring Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman, for Paramount; Alien vs. Predator, an action thriller combining the two classic creatures, and its sequel AVP2, for Fox, among many others.

Other Davis productions include When a Stranger Calls, a remake of the 1979 horror classic, for Screen Gems; Life or Something Like It, starring Angelina Jolie; and the MGM film Heartbreakers, starring Sigourney Weaver, Gene Hackman and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Most recently he produced The Express, a real-life sports action drama, starring Dennis Quaid for Universal about college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African American Heisman Trophy winner and the 2010 remake, Gulliver's Travels.

For television, Davis Entertainment Television produced the NBC made-for-television films The Jesse Ventura Story and Little Richard, as well as the ABC made-for-television film Miracle at Midnight, starring Sam Waterston. His television department has series and made-for-television films set up with television networks and cable broadcasters.

For television and cable, Davis produced Asteroid, the NBC mini-series. Davis Entertainment also produced Volcano: Fire on the Mountain, for ABC; the NBC film of Truman Capote's One Christmas, starring Katharine Hepburn; and the CBS film This Can't Be Love, starring Hepburn and Anthony Quinn.

Davis' other television and cable credits include Tears and Laughter, The Last Outlaw, Silhouette, Voyage, Irresistible Force, Wild Card, Dangerous Passion, Curiosity Kills, and Caught in the Act. Davis Entertainment Television is currently developing numerous series and event films for network and cable outlets.

Other projects

Davis is involved in other businesses, such as Blaze Pizza; Red Mango, a frozen yogurt chain; television stations in Wisconsin and West Virginia; and Catalina Precision Products, which manufactures auto parts. In 2007, Davis and a group of investors sold their ownership stakes in Wetzel's Pretzels Company, which Davis helped grow.

Filmography

All films, he was producer unless otherwise noted.

References

External links

• John Davis at the Internet Movie Database