Marc Platt (producer) - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader

Marc Platt (producer)

Last updated

Marc E. Platt
Born (1957-04-14) April 14, 1957 (age 66)
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
NYU School of Law
Occupation(s)Film, television and theatre producer
Known for Filmography
Spouse Julie Beren
Children5, including Ben
AwardsTwo Tony Awards
Two Primetime Emmy Awards
BAFTA Award Winner

Marc E. Platt (born April 14, 1957) is an American producer who has worked in film, theatre, and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards.

Contents

Platt has produced a variety of feature films beginning with the 1987 comedy Campus Man . His films include Legally Blonde (2001), Wanted (2008), Rachel Getting Married (2008), Nine (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Drive (2011), The Girl on the Train (2016), and Cruella (2021). He also produced critically acclaimed films such as Steven Spielberg's cold war drama Bridge of Spies (2015), Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land (2016), and Aaron Sorkin's legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), all of which earned him Academy Award for Best Picture nominations.

He collaborated with Walt Disney Pictures producing numerous musicals for the studio including Into the Woods (2014), Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Aladdin (2019, as an executive producer), The Little Mermaid (2023) and the upcoming Snow White (2025), as well as Universal's Wicked films (2024–2025). In 2021 he produced a film adaptation of the musical Dear Evan Hansen (2021) which featured a leading performance from his son Ben Platt, who originated the title role on Broadway. This casting, however, led to accusations of nepotism against them for having Ben, at age 27, reprise his role in the film. [1] [2] For his work on television he produced Grease Live! (2016), Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018), and Rent: Live (2019) as well as the HBO projects Empire Falls (2005), and Oslo (2021).

Platt has produced numerous productions on the Broadway stage with his first official credit being Wicked earning his first Tony Award for Best Musical nomination. He was also nominated for Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical for Pal Joey in 2009 and Tony Award for Best Play for Indecent in 2017. He won the Tony Award for Best Musical for The Band's Visit in 2018 and for A Strange Loop in 2022. [3] He will also produce the upcoming stage adaptation of La La Land. [4]

Early life

Platt was born and raised in a Conservative Jewish home [5] [6] [7] in Pikesville, Maryland, the son of Sue Ellen (née Sezzin), a schoolteacher, and Howard Platt, who worked in the retail shoe business. [5] [8] He has an older brother and a younger sister. [8] He graduated from Pikesville High School in 1975 and the University of Pennsylvania in 1979, where he was a member of the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law and began his career as an entertainment attorney. [9]

Career

He started producing in theatre, before moving into film. He has served as president of production for three movie studios: Orion Pictures, TriStar Pictures, and Universal Studios. Platt has since formed his own production company, Marc Platt Productions, within the Universal realm and continues to pursue creative projects. His company is responsible for the Legally Blonde films and the HBO miniseries Empire Falls . [10]

He was executive producer of the two-part docudrama The Path to 9/11 , shown on ABC on the fifth anniversary of 9/11 on September 10 and 11, 2006. The film was controversial and accused of having a political agenda and fictionalizing the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks, especially those involving the Clinton administration.

Platt is also producer of the Broadway hit musical Wicked and its upcoming two-part film adaptation, [9] and the 2008 Broadway revival of the musical Pal Joey with the Roundabout Theatre Company. [11]

Personal life

Platt and his wife Julie (née Beren) also a Penn graduate and trustee of the university, [12] live in the Los Angeles area. They funded the construction of a performing arts rehearsal and performance space on the campus, the Platt Student Performing Arts House. Platt is a Penn Glee Club alumnus and supporter. His company has taken at least one Penn student intern a year since its inception. [13]

The Platts have five children, including actor and singer Ben Platt and Henry Platt.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

YearFilmCreditNotes
1987 Campus Man Executive producer
2001 Josie and the Pussycats
Legally Blonde
2003 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Honey
2005 Happy Endings Co-producer
The Perfect Man
2007 The Seeker
2008 Wanted
Rachel Getting Married
2009 Legally Blondes Direct-to-video
The Other Woman
Nine
2010 Cop Out
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Charlie St. Cloud
2011 Drive
Honey 2 Executive producer
2013 Evidence
2 Guns
2014 Song One
Winter's Tale
We'll Never Have Paris Executive producer
Lost River
Mockingbird
Into the Woods
Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks Executive producer
2015 Ricki and the Flash
Bridge of Spies
2016 La La Land
Honey 3: Dare to Dance Executive producerDirect-to-video
The Girl on the Train
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
2018 Hotel Artemis
Nappily Ever After
Mary Poppins Returns
2019 Aladdin Executive producer
2020 The Trial of the Chicago 7
2021 Thunder Force
Cruella
Dear Evan Hansen
2022 Better Nate Than Ever
Babylon
2023 The Little Mermaid
2024 Players
Wicked
2025 Snow White
How to Train Your Dragon
Wicked Part Two
TBA Be My Baby [14]
Everything's Coming Up Profits [15]
Fever [16]
Grim Night [17]
Irena Sendler [18]
Legally Blonde 3
Oliver Twist Co-producer
Once on This Island [19]
Quartermaster [20]
Seconds
Small Great Things [21]
The Bear [22]
The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara
The Leading Man [23]
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz [24]
Wanted 2 [25]
Wild Four O'Clocks
Wingmen
Winter's Knight [26]
Zeitoun
As an actor
YearTitleRole
2022 Babylon Producer
Thanks
YearFilmRole
1991 The Addams Family Special thanks
2016 The Comedian The producers wish to thank the following for their assistance
2023 Wish Special thanks
Cameo appearances
YearFilmNotes
2001Inside 'Legally Blonde'Documentary
2003The Hair That Ate Hollywood
2004Wicked: The Road to Broadway
2007ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
2020 Ben Platt Live from Radio City Music Hall Concert film

Television

YearTitleCreditNotes
2002 MDs Executive producer
2003Mr. AmbassadorTelevision film
Legally BlondeTelevision pilot
2005 Empire Falls
Once Upon a Mattress Television film
2006 The Path to 9/11
2009−10 Taking the Stage
2016 Grease: Live Television special
2017 A Christmas Story Live!
2018 Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
A Very Wicked Halloween
2019 Rent Live!
2021 Oslo Television film
2023 Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
As an actor
YearTitleRole
2017 Curb Your Enthusiasm Musical Director
Thanks
YearTitleRole
2020 Saturday Night Seder Special thanks
Cameo appearances
YearTitleNotes
2001Backstage Pass
2004Broadway: The American MusicalEpisode: "Putting It Together"
2008Max on Set: WantedDocumentary

Theatre

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryProduction / RoleResult
2015 Academy Award Best Picture Bridge of Spies Nominated
2016 La La Land Nominated
2020 The Trial of the Chicago 7 Nominated
2004 Tony Award Best Musical Wicked Nominated
2009 Best Revival of a Musical Pal Joey Nominated
2017 Best Play Indecent Nominated
2018Best Musical The Band's Visit Won
2022 A Strange Loop Won
2005 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Miniseries Empire Falls Nominated
2016 Outstanding Special Class Program Grease Live! Won
2018 Outstanding Variety Special (Live) Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert Won
2019 Rent: Live Nominated
2021 Outstanding Television Movie Oslo Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Schwartz</span> American musical theatre lyricist and composer (born 1948)

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972), and Wicked (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt, and Enchanted (2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Grey</span> American actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer (born 1932)

Joel Grey is an American actor, singer, dancer, photographer, and theatre director. He is best known for portraying the Master of Ceremonies in the musical Cabaret on Broadway and in Bob Fosse's 1972 film adaptation. He has won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award. He earned the Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2023.

<i>Wicked</i> (musical) 2003 musical by Stephen Schwartz

Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is in turn based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film adaptation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton Davis</span> American actor, musician and minister

Clifton Duncan Davis is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author.

<i>Pal Joey</i> (musical) 1940 Rodgers & Hart musical, atypically featuring an antihero as its protagonist

Pal Joey is a 1940 musical with a book by John O'Hara and music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. The musical is based on a character and situations O'Hara created in a series of short stories published in The New Yorker, which he later published in novel form. The title character, Joey Evans, is a manipulative small-time nightclub performer whose ambitions lead him into an affair with the wealthy, middle-aged and married Vera Simpson. It includes two songs that have become standards: "I Could Write a Book" and "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Sater</span> American poet

Steven Sater is a Tony Award, Grammy Award, and Laurence Olivier Award-winning American poet, playwright, lyricist, television writer and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the book and lyrics for the Tony Award-winning 2006 Broadway musical Spring Awakening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasek and Paul</span> American songwriting duo

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television. Their works include A Christmas Story, Dogfight, Edges, Dear Evan Hansen, and James and the Giant Peach. Their original songs have been featured on NBC's Smash and in the films La La Land, for which they won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "City of Stars", and The Greatest Showman. Their work on the original musical Dear Evan Hansen has received widespread critical acclaim and earned them the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Original Score. In 2022, they won the Tony Award for Best Musical for serving as producers for the Broadway production of Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin de Jesús</span> American actor

Robin de Jesús is an American film and theater actor of Puerto Rican descent. He has received Tony Award nominations for his roles in In the Heights, La Cage aux Folles, and The Boys in the Band. He's also known for portraying Michael in tick, tick... BOOM!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Lacamoire</span> American composer

Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Platt</span> American actor and singer (born 1993)

Benjamin Schiff Platt is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. Platt, the son of film and theater producer Marc Platt, began his acting career in musical theater as a child and appeared in productions of The Sound of Music (2006) and The Book of Mormon (2012–2015), rising to prominence for originating the title role in Broadway coming-of-age musical Dear Evan Hansen (2015–2017). His performance in the latter earned him multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, the youngest solo recipient of the award at the time, in addition to a Daytime Emmy, and Grammy Award. Platt reprised the role of Evan Hansen in the 2021 film adaptation of the musical, produced by his father. He then played Leo Frank in the 2022 New York City Center Gala production of Parade, which transferred to Broadway in 2023 and earned him another nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

David Stone is a leading American theater producer.

<i>Dear Evan Hansen</i> 2015 American musical

Dear Evan Hansen is a musical with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Klena</span> American actor and singer

Derek Anthony Klena is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work on Broadway, including originating the roles of Nick Healy in Jagged Little Pill (2019–2021), Dmitry in Anastasia (2017–2018), and Michael in The Bridges of Madison County (2014). His breakthrough was in the original Off-Broadway production of Pasek & Paul's stage adaptation of Dogfight, and he played Fiyero in the 10th anniversary company of Wicked on Broadway. Klena most recently portrayed Christian in the Broadway company of Moulin Rouge! replacing Aaron Tveit in the role. He has made appearances on several television series such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Code, and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.

Oslo is a play by J. T. Rogers, recounting the true-life, previously secret, back-channel negotiations in the development of the pivotal 1990s Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. The play premiered Off-Broadway in June 2016 and then transferred to Broadway in April 2017.

"Waving Through a Window" is the second song from Act 1 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics for the song, which serves as the main protagonist Evan Hansen's "I Want" song. It has since become the signature tune of the character, one of the musical's most famous songs and an anthem for those who have felt depressed and alone and show a desire for connection.

"You Will Be Found" is the Act 1 finale of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.

<i>Wicked</i> (2024 film) Upcoming two-part film directed by Jon M. Chu

Wicked is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Keala Settle in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz before and continuing after Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, it revolves around Elphaba Thropp, a green-skinned woman, and explores the path that leads her to become the Wicked Witch of the West, all while forming an unlikely friendship and later rivalry with Galinda Upland, who would go on to become Glinda the Good.

<i>Dear Evan Hansen</i> (film) 2021 American coming-of-age musical film by Stephen Chbosky

Dear Evan Hansen is a 2021 American coming-of-age musical film directed by Stephen Chbosky from a screenplay by Steven Levenson, based on the stage musical of the same name by Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Ben Platt plays the title role, reprising the performance that he originated on stage six years earlier. The cast also includes Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Danny Pino, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams.

"Only Us" is a song from Act 2 of the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen, which premiered on Broadway in 2016. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote both the music and lyrics to the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Hansen</span> Character from the 2015 musical Dear Evan Hansen

Evan Hansen is the titular character and main protagonist of the Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen by Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. A bullied 17-year-old high schooler with social anxiety and depression, who lives with his single mother Heidi Hansen after she divorced from his father Mark Hansen ten years before, he attempts to find the acceptance and love he has been lacking in his life. On his journey to be found, he discovers the consequences of risking it all for the chance to be heard.

References

  1. "Ben Platt Is Facing Backlash Over His Latest Comments About The "Dear Evan Hansen" Film". BuzzFeed . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. "Dear Evan Hansen: Ben Platt, 27, hits back at 'rando jerks' after he's mocked with memes for portraying a teenager". The Independent. May 19, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  3. Jacobs, Julia (June 12, 2022). "Tony Awards 2022 Live Updates: 'A Strange Loop' Wins Best Musical". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  4. Galuppo, Mia (February 7, 2023). "'La La Land' to Become a Broadway Musical". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Berrin, Danielle (February 23, 2016). "Producer Marc Platt: The man behind "Wicked" and "Bridge of Spies" aspires to great art". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles . Platt grew up in an observant Conservative home in Maryland, where his family kept a kosher home, celebrated Shabbat and went to shul often.
  6. Bloom, Nate (February 25, 2016). "The tribe at the Oscars, 2016". Times of Israel .
  7. Wolfsiz, Francine (February 27, 2017). "La La Land: Who knew it was so Jewish". Times of Israel .
  8. 1 2 "On April 25, 2019, Sue Ellen Platt (née Sezzin); loving wife of Howard Platt; cherished mother of Dr. Jeffrey (Pamela) Platt, Marc (Julie) Platt, & Wendy (Scott) Newberger;". The Baltimore Sun . April 26, 2019.
  9. 1 2 Hughes, Samuel. "COVER STORY: Passion Plays". Pennsylvania Gazette . May/June 2006.
  10. Empire Falls cast biography. HBO Films.
  11. Jones, Kenneth. "Hoff Is Broadway's New Pal Joey, With Stockard Channing and Martha Plimpton, at Studio 54" Archived 2008-06-22 at the Wayback Machine . Playbill . June 19, 2008.
  12. "UPenn Trustees". University of Pennsylvania.
  13. "Lead Gift Creates a Permanent Home for Student Performing Arts at Penn" Archived 2017-06-16 at the Wayback Machine . University of Pennsylvania (September 2005); accessed April 30, 2017.
  14. Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 29, 2020). "Zendaya In Talks To Play Ronnie Spector In A24 Film About Iconic Singer; Label Acquires Life Rights & 'Be My Baby' Autobiography".
  15. "Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig set for Everything Is Coming Up Profits". Flickering Myth. December 20, 2016.
  16. Kroll, Justin (February 4, 2021). "Michelle Williams To Play Peggy Lee In Todd Haynes Directed Biopic 'Fever'; MGM In Talks To Acquire, Billie Eilish In Early Discussions To Exec Produce".
  17. "Dennis Gansel Plans Grim Night". ComingSoon.net. August 7, 2012.
  18. Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 11, 2019). "Gal Gadot Forms Pilot Wave With Jaron Varsano; She'll Star In & Produce 'Irena Sendler' For Warner Bros".
  19. McPhee, Ryan (July 30, 2020). "Film Adaptation of Once On This Island in the Works at Disney+". Playbill.
  20. Kroll, Justin (June 26, 2019). "'Hobbs and Shaw' Co-Writer Drew Pearce to Direct New Thriller 'Quartermaster' for Netflix (EXCLUSIVE)".
  21. "La La Land producer enlists Viola Davis and Julia Roberts for Small Great Things". Flickering Myth. February 3, 2017.
  22. Galuppo, Mia (January 30, 2020). "Amblin, Marc Platt Team for High School Comedy 'The Bear' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter .
  23. "Justin Lin to Develop THE LEADING MAN comic adaptation for Universal". GeekTyrant. August 25, 2011.
  24. Rubin, Rebecca (February 9, 2021). "'Wizard of Oz' Remake in the Works at New Line With Director Nicole Kassell".
  25. "Daily Podcast: Comic-Con@Home, Gone with the Wind, Evil Dead Now, Wanted 2, Dracula, AMC Theatres, and the Possible Death Blow to Theatrical Mid-Budget Movies". /Film. June 10, 2020.
  26. Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 25, 2015). "'Star Trek 3's Patrick McKay, J.D. Payne To Rewrite L. Frank Baum's 'Winter's Knight'".