Michael Phillips (producer)

Michael Phillips (born June 29, 1943) is an American film producer.

Early life and education

Phillips was born and raised in Brooklyn. His mother was a schoolteacher and housewife; his father owned a garment factory.[1] Phillips received a B.A. from Dartmouth University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.[2] In 1968, he went to work as an analyst for Rosenthal & Co and then three additional brokerages but was not successful learning that "stocks don't always go up."[2] In 1971, he and his wife moved to California where he was able to get financing and produce his first film, Steelyard Blues with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland.[2]

Film career

In 1972,[3] Phillips along with his wife, Julia Phillips, and producer Tony Bill purchased the rights to the screenplay, The Sting[4] for $5,000 in total.[2] In 1973, the film received the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Phillipses were the first husband-and-wife team to win the Best Picture award. The couple then produced Taxi Driver, as well as writer-director Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (the latter produced with Clark Paylow).

Phillips early work in a producing team with his wife continues to receive acclaim within the industry. Twenty-five years after its Oscar success, "The Sting" was inducted into the Producers Guild of America's Hall of Fame, granting each of its producers a Golden Laurel Award.[5] In June 2007, Taxi Driver was ranked as the 52nd-best American feature film of all time by the American Film Institute.[6]

In 1984, his production company, Mercury Entertainment, went public with the intention to capitalize on his prior successes.[7] Mercury planned to produce three to five films a year in the $10-million range[7] with operating and development costs to be paid by ABC Motion Pictures while production financing was provided by the major studios.[7] The 1984 film The Flamingo Kid and the 1991 film Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead were not as successful as hoped and in 1992, Philips offered to take the company private repurchasing outstanding stock at seven cents on the dollar.[7] In 2006, Mercury Entertainment was merged with Debmar Studios to form Debmar-Mercury (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment).

Select filmography

References

  1. ↑ edited by Steven Priggé Movie Moguls Speak: Interviews with Top Film Producers ISBN 9780786419296 | McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers | 10/26/2004
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 New York Magazine: "The Sting of Success" January 27, 1975
  3. ↑ The Guardian: "How we made ... Michael Phillips and David S Ward on The Sting" by Ben Child June 4, 2012
  4. ↑ Chicago Tribune: "Hollywood Story Of `Highs` And Lows" by Frank Sanello March 24, 1991
  5. ↑ Producers Guild of America Awards 1997
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Los Angeles Times: "Hard Times for 'Sting' Producer : Phillips Wants to Take His Ailing Production Company Private" by ALAN CITRON January 17, 1992

External links