Sample some of the best American films over the past forty years and there's a good chance Mike Medavoy played a role in the success of many of them. From agent to studio chief to producer, he has been involved with over 300 feature films, of which 17 have been nominated and 7 have won Best Picture Oscars®, as well as numerous international film festival awards.
Medavoy began his career at Universal Studios in 1964. He rose from the mail room to become a casting director. In 1965, he became an agent at General Artist Corporation and then vice-president at Creative Management Agency. Joining International Famous Agency as vice-president in charge of the motion picture department in 1971, he worked with such prestigious clients as 史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格, 弗朗西斯·福特·科波拉, 泰伦斯·马力克, 简·方达, 唐纳德·萨瑟兰, 吉恩·怀尔德, 让娜·莫罗, and Jean-Louis Trintignant.
United Artists brought him in as senior vice-president of production, in 1974, where he was part of the team responsible for 飞越疯人院 (1975), 洛奇 (1976), and 安妮·霍尔 (1977), which won Best Picture Oscars® in 1975, 1976, and 1977, respectively. Other notable films included 现代启示录 (1979), 愤怒的公牛 (1980), 电视台风云 (1976) and 荣归 (1978). In 1978, Medavoy co-founded Orion Pictures where, during his tenure, 野战排 (1986), 莫扎特传 (1984), 机器战警 (1987), 汉娜姐妹 (1986), 终结者 (1984), 与狼共舞 (1990) and 沉默的羔羊 (1991) were released. In 1990, after twelve successful years at Orion, Medavoy became chairman of TriStar Pictures, where he oversaw such critically-acclaimed box office hits as 费城故事 (1993), 终结者2：审判日 (1991), 西雅图未眠夜 (1993), 绝岭雄风 (1993), 天涯沦落两心知 (1991), 燃情岁月 (1994) and 史蒂文·斯皮尔伯格's 铁钩船长 (1991).
As chairman and co-founder of Phoenix Pictures, Medavoy has brought to the screen The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), 双面镜 (1996), 不准掉头 (1997), 纳粹追凶 (1998), 细细的红线 (1998), 第6天 (2000), 基地疑云 (2003), 别有洞天 (2003), 国王班底 (2006), 十二宫 (2007), Pathfinder (2007) and 波特小姐 (2006), among others. These films have received numerous nominations, won two Golden Bears at the Berlin Film Festival, five Golden Satellite Awards, a cinematography award for John Toll from the ASC and nominations from the DGA and WGA for 泰伦斯·马力克. "The Thin Red Line" and "The People vs. Larry Flint" each received Oscar® nominations.
Recently, Phoenix Pictures has released 禁闭岛 (2010), directed by 马丁·斯科塞斯 and starring 莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥, 马克·鲁弗洛, 本·金斯利 and 马克斯·冯; 谍海风云 (2010), starring 约翰·库萨克 and 巩俐; and 达伦·阿伦诺夫斯基's 黑天鹅 (2010), starring 娜塔莉·波特曼, 文森特·卡索 and 米拉·库尼斯 in 2010. "Black Swan" won numerous awards, including the Oscar® and Golden Globe for Best Actress (Natalie Portman) as well as the Independent Film Spirit Awards for Best Feature, Best Director (Darren Arnofosky), Best Female Lead (Natalie Portman) and Best Cinematography (Matthew Libatique). Medavoy also recently worked as executive producer on the documentary, The Wildest Dream (2010).
Medavoy and Phoenix Pictures recently released 当你在期待的时候你在期待什么 (2012), starring 卡梅隆·迪亚兹, 詹妮弗·洛佩兹, 伊丽莎白·班克斯, 安娜·肯德里克, and 克里斯·洛克.
In 2011, Medavoy announced his newest project surrounding the Chilean mining accident that left 33 men trapped underground for 69 days. Medavoy will collaborate with Chilean officials and Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Jose Rivera to create and authentic retelling of this story.
Also in 2011, Medavoy also announced his collaboration with The Shanghai Film Group to create both a feature film and six-hour miniseries. The feature, an adaptation of the novel "The Cursed Piano", is a love story set in Japanese-occupied China concerning prosecuted Jews seeking refuge from an occupied Europe. The mini-series, Tears of a Sparrow (2011), will focus in greater detail on the experience of these Jews in Shanghai.
Medavoy has received numerous awards, including the 1992 Motion Picture Pioneer of the Year Award, the 1997 Career Achievement Award from UCLA, and the Lifetime Achievement Award (1998) at the Cannes Film Festival. He was awarded the 1999 UCLA Neil H. Jacoby Award, which honors individuals who have made exceptional contributions to humanity. Medavoy also received the inaugural 弗雷德·金尼曼 Award (2001), presented by the Anti-Defamation League, the Israel Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award (2002), as well as a Career Achievement Award from the University of Central Florida (2002). In 2004, he received the Louis B. Mayer Motion Picture Business Leader of the Year Award from Florida Atlantic University and in 2005, he was the recipient of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and Producers Guild of America Vision Award. Also in 2005, Medavoy was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame and received a star on Hollywood Boulevard. In 2007, he received the Stella Adler Actors Studio 马龙·白兰度 Award and in 2008, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jerusalem Film Foundation. In 2009, he was given the Honorary Doctorate at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and was named Chevalier of the French Government's Legion of Honor. Mike also received the Bernardo O'Higgins award from the Chilean government on February 16th, 2010. In 2011, Medavoy received the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize at the Locarno Film Festival. In 2012, at the 2012 Shanghai International Film Festival, Medavoy was bestowed with the Outstanding Achievement Award.
Medavoy has also served as chairman of the jury of the Tokyo Film Festival, advisor to the Shanghai Film Festival and advisor to the St. Petersburg Festival. He was a member of the board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences from 1977 to 1981. Medavoy is also one of the original founding members of the board of governors of the Sundance Institute (1978) and is chairman emeritus of the American Cinematheque and the Stella Adler Actors Studio in New York.
Medavoy has made a mark not only within his industry, but in his community as well. He was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles by Governor Jerry Brown and was appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan as Commissioner on the Los Angeles Board of Parks and Recreations. He is a member of the board of directors of the University of Tel Aviv. He also serves on the board of trustees of the UCLA Foundation and is a member of the Chancellor's Associates, the Dean's Advisory Board at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television and the Alumni Association's Student Relations Committee. He is also the co-chairman of the Burkle Center for UCLA's Center for International Relations and served as a member of the board of advisers at the Kennedy School at Harvard University for five years. In 2002, Governor Gray Davis appointed Mike to the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center's Executive Advisory Board; he is also a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Homeland Security Advisory Council. Medavoy is also on the Baryshnikov Arts Center Advisory Committee in New York, and serves on the advisory board of the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy.
Throughout his career, Mike Medavoy has also been active in politics. In 1984, he was Co-Finance Chair of the Gary Hart campaign. He also actively participated in President Clinton's campaigns in 1992 and 1996. In 2008, he supported the candidacy of Barack Obama, and his wife, Irena, was the Co-Finance Chair.
In 2002, Simon & Schuster published Mr. Medavoy's best-selling book, You're Only As Good As Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films and 100 For Which I Should Be Shot - which was subsequently released in paperback in 2003. Mike's new book, entitled American Idol After Iraq; Competing for Hearts and Minds in the Global Media Age and published in 2009, reflects on the impact of media on U.S. foreign policy with co-author Nathan Gardels, editor of the National Political Quarterly.
Mike was born in Shanghai, China in 1941 of Russian-Jewish parents, and lived in Chile from 1947 to 1957. He graduated from UCLA in 1963. He is married to Irena Ferris Medavoy, a founder of Team Safe-T and a charity executive and fund raiser for the Industry Task Force. Mike Medavoy has two sons, Brian Medavoy and Nicholas Medavoy, and resides in Beverly Hills, California.
Chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures.
Father of Brian Medavoy.
Co-executor of the estate of 马龙·白兰度.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on September 19, 2005.
Father, with Irena Ferris, of son Nicholas Medavoy.