Paramount Makes First Look Deal With Todd Garner's Broken Road Productions

Broken Road

EXCLUSIVE: Todd Garner is moving his Broken Road Productions banner onto the Paramount lot. Garner has made a two-year first look deal to develop and produce movies for both Paramount Pictures and Paramount Players.

Garner, who makes mainstream comedies and genre films, had most recently been under a deal with Covert Media, where he will continue to product numerous projects he set up. It is a homecoming of sorts for Garner, who started his career in accounting for Paramount Domestic Television, assigned to The Arsenio Hall Show.

“It was a huge success, back when Bill Clinton came on to play his sax and Eddie Murphy would show up,” Garner told Deadline. “I would walk around the lot and couldn’t believe I was on it. It was where I first learned what a creative executive was.” Garner became a creative exec and spent a decade as an exec at Disney rising to co-president of production, then moved over as a founding partner in Revolution Studios when Joe Roth launched that studio. It was there he first worked with Paramount Players’ Brian Robbins and Paramount Motion Pictures Group president Wyck Godfrey.

“Brian produced Radio at Revolution and Wyck produced Daddy Day Care there,” Garner said. “When Joe started Revolution, we needed movies quickly, and that was an exciting thing to be part of. I am excited about what they are going to be doing and I want to pitch in and help, and get some movies going at Paramount.”

Garner formed Broken Road in 2005 and has produced 18 films.

Paramount confirmed the pact, with Godfrey and Robbins in a joint statement said that Garner “has a true talent for finding distinctive material across a wide range of genres, especially comedy, which is a top priority for both Paramount and Paramount Players.”

Garner had previously set the Dan Ewen spec script Playing With Fire at Paramount Players with Robbins. Garner will produce with his partner Sean Robins, who has been with the company since its inception and oversees development of over 75 film and TV projects spread across town.

Broken Road most recently produced the Marlon Wayans & Regina Hall-starrer Naked and the Kevin James-starrer True Memoirs of an International Assassin, both for Netflix. Upcoming for Broken Road is the June 15 New Line ensemble comedy Tag with Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, John Hamm, Jake Johnson and Hannibal Buress; also in post is the Screen Gems genre film Cadaver, the comedy Isn’t It Romantic with Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam De Vine and Priyanka Chopra, and the Sierra/Affinity thriller Haunt.