Overbrook Entertainment
Overbrook Entertainment is an American production company and record label based in Culver City, California.[1] It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998,[2] around the same time production for Wild Wild West (1999) was started.
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment/Film Industry |
| Founded | February 2, 1998 |
| Founder | Will Smith James Lassiter |
| Headquarters | Culver City, California |
Key people | Will Smith (partner) James Lassiter (partner) Jada Pinkett Smith (partner) |
| Products | Motion pictures, music, home entertainment, talent management, television production |
| Website | www |
The name "Overbrook" is derived from Will Smith's neighborhood in West Philadelphia. The company produces music, films and television shows. Smith claimed to have started the company in order to serve as producer and find roles. He uses his role in the company to help unknown artists record music and also records music for some of his films in Overbrook.
History
On November 11, 1997, actor Will Smith and manager James Lassiter signed an overall first-look term deal at Universal Pictures.[3] Thus, Overbrook Entertainment was born. It was formally incorporated on February 2, 1998.
On September 16, 1998, David Tochterman, formerly employee of The Carsey-Werner Company, joined the company and decided to launch the television division. Tochterman will supervise its division, who will produce shows for the broadcast and cable TV networks.[4]
On February 11, 1999, the music division is restructured with John Dukakis, formerly employee of Southpaw Entertainment, signed on as executive vice president of its music division.[5]
On May 10, 2000, it was announced that a merger with The Firm was proposed, but it was scrapped.[6]
On December 10, 2000, Overbrook Entertainment is renewing its interest in the television division. Its plans was to include a 13-episode animated series commitment for Nickelodeon, as well as a slew of comedy, drama, and telemovies on the broadcast networks. The studio is landing deals for three sitcoms, three dramas and one telefilm for the webnetworks.[7]
On January 30, 2002, the studio's contract with Universal Pictures ended. It formally signed a contract with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop feature films.[8]
On January 3, 2018, it will be announced that the studio will not renew its deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.[9]
On July 10, 2019, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith announced the formation of Westbrook, Inc., with Overbrook Entertainment being as one of the subsidiaries of the company.[10]
Filmography
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Bad Boys for Life | Adil & Bilall | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures, 2.0 Entertainment and Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| Charm City Kings | Angel Manuel Soto | HBO Max | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Max | |
| Life in a Year | Mitja Okorn | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures | |
| 2021 | King Richard | Reinaldo Marcus Green | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with Star Thrower Entertainment |
2000s
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-2007 | All of Us | Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith Betsy Borns |
UPN (seasons 1–3) The CW (season 4) |
co-production with Warner Bros. Television |
2010s
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-2013 | Hawthorne | John Masius | TNT | continued from 100% Womon Productions; co-production with FanFare Productions, John Masius Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
| 2013-2015 | The Queen Latifah Show | Queen Latifah | Syndication | revival of the 1999 series; co-production with Flavor Unit Entertainment, Curly One Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
| 2018–present | Cobra Kai | Josh Heald Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg based on the Karate Kid film series by: Robert Mark Kamen |
YouTube Premium (season 1–2) Netflix (season 3 – present) |
co-production with Heald Productions, Hurwitz & Schlossberg Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
Soundtrack
| Year | Title | Artist | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | Various artists | Interscope Records | |
| 2000 | Love & Basketball | |||
| 2002 | Men in Black II | Danny Elfman | Columbia Records | |
| 2014 | Annie | Various artists | RCA Records |
Distribution
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The 7th Commandment | Theron Alford | DVD distribution; co-production with 25Eight Productions and A Free World Productions |
References
- "Overbrook Entertainment". Kftv.com.
- "Overbrook Entertainment company information, funding & investors". uktest1.dealroom.co. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- Cox, Dan (1997-11-12). "Smith talks shingle at U". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Hontz, Jenny (1998-09-16). "Tochterman over to Overbrook". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Petrikin, Chris; Cox, Dan (1999-02-12). "Overbrook is ready". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Fleming, Michael (2000-05-10). "Overbrook, the Firm join forces". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Adalian, Josef; Schneider, Michael (2000-12-11). "Overbrook turns on TV". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Harris, Dana (2002-01-31). "Sony, Overbrook ink". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Lang, Brent; Kroll, Justin (2018-01-03). "Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment Not Re-Upping Sony First Look Deal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-07-10). "Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith Launch Multimedia Cross-Platform Venture Westbrook Inc". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
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