Sean Bailey | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Film producer, television producer, businessman |
Years active | 2002–present |
Title | President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production (2010–2024) Chairman and CEO of Lionsgate Studios Corporation (2024–present) |
Spouse | Charmaine Bailey [1] |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | Jay Bailey (father) Frances Arnold (former step-mother) |
Sean Bailey is an American film and television producer. He served as president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production from 2010 to 2024. [2] [3] [4] He is currently a chairman and CEO of Lionsgate Studios Corporation.
As a co-founder and executive of LivePlanet, [5] Bailey served as executive producer for The Emperor's Club , the Emmy Award-nominated Project Greenlight , Push, Nevada (which he also co-wrote with Ben Affleck), and as producer of Best Laid Plans , Matchstick Men , and Gone Baby Gone . [6]
From 2004 to 2008, Bailey continued as chairman and board member of LivePlanet while under a writing-producing deal at ABC Studios. [7] In 2008, the film wing of LivePlanet was dissolved and Bailey teamed with Disney to form the production banner Ideology Inc, which produced Tron: Legacy , the sequel to the 1982 film Tron . [8]
In November 2009, it was announced that Bailey would produce a remake of the 1979 film The Black Hole , which never materialized. [8] He co-wrote (with Ted Griffin) the original screenplay for the 2016 film Solace, starring Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell. [9]
In January 2010, Bailey was named president of production at Walt Disney Studios, overseeing live-action films produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. [2] Under Bailey, Disney has pursued a tentpole film strategy, which included an expanded slate of large-budget films, including franchise sequels, original films, and live-action adaptations of their animated films. The studio found particular success with the latter type of films, which began with the commercial success of Alice in Wonderland (2010), and continued with Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Pete's Dragon (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), and The Little Mermaid (2023). Bailey has overseen the release of five films that have surpassed $1 billion in global box office: Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, as well as The Lion King, which earned nearly $1.7 billion worldwide. [10] [11] The division has also produced reimaginings of other fairy-tale and classic stories such as Oz The Great and Powerful (2013), Into the Woods (2014), and Cruella. [12] [13]
Other tentpole films including The Lone Ranger (2013), Tomorrowland (2015) and literary adaptations of John Carter (2012), The BFG (2016), and A Wrinkle in Time (2018), became box-office disappointments. Despite the renewed focus on tentpole films, the studio continued to produce smaller, "brand-deposit" films, such as The Muppets (2011) and Saving Mr. Banks (2013), a period drama which was the first time the studio had depicted its namesake co-founder onscreen. [14]
With the launch of Disney's streaming service Disney+ in November 2019, Bailey expanded the studio's output with a mix of projects from reimaginings of classic titles such as Lady and the Tramp and Pinocchio, featuring Tom Hanks as Geppetto; character-driven films such as Togo; inspirational sports dramas such as Rise, about NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo; and sequels to popular originals as Hocus Pocus 2, Enchanted follow-up Disenchanted, and Peter Pan & Wendy . [15] [16] [17] The studio also produces adaptations of children's and young adult books such as Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made , Flora & Ulysses , Stargirl , and Better Nate Than Ever for Disney+.
Bailey is noted for transforming Disney's live-action film slate with female-led tentpoles featuring empowered, contemporary heroines and expanding representation in these roles. Notable examples include Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan & Wendy, Storm Reid in A Wrinkle in Time, and Rachel Zegler as Snow White in the studio's 2024 live-action reimagining of the Disney classic. Throughout his tenure, he has also championed female directors for major projects, including Ava DuVernay, Mira Nair, and Julia Hart. [18]
In 2012, Bailey was named to the board of Sundance Institute, where he serves as vice chair. [19] [20] In 2015, he joined the Board of Trustees at Caltech, serving on its JPL Committee. [21] [22]
On February 27, 2024, Bailey stepped down as president and was replaced by David Greenbaum, who formerly co-led Searchlight Pictures. Bailey remains a producer for Tron: Ares . [23]
Bailey is a founding investor of Teremana Tequila, the tequila founded by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. [24]
Bailey is the son of Jay Bailey, who was a biochemical engineer and professor at California Institute of Technology. [25] His former step-mother, Frances Arnold is a chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. [13] Bailey is married to Charmaine Bailey and they have two children.
20th Century Studios, Inc. is an American film studio owned by the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, in turn a division of The Walt Disney Company. It is headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles, leased from Fox Corporation. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by 20th Century Studios in theatrical markets.
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit, and is based at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios are also released under the studio banner. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by Walt Disney Pictures.
Touchstone Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured more mature themes targeted at adult audiences than typical Walt Disney Pictures films. As such, Touchstone was merely a pseudonym label for the studio and did not exist as a distinct business operation.
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production and distribution arm of The Walt Disney Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Entertainment division. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures for 20th Century Fox, the studio focuses primarily on producing, distributing, and acquiring specialty films.
The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of The Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16, 1923, and based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, it is the seventh-oldest global film studio and the fifth-oldest in the United States, a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and one of the "Big Five" major film studios.
ABC Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, previously known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing and promotion for films produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios; the Searchlight Pictures label operates its own autonomous theatrical distribution and marketing unit.
Spyglass Media Group, LLC is an independent film and television production and finance company founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998.
Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studios 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures, specializing in producing independent films in mid-range releases that largely targeted underserved groups. The company dissolved on May 14, 2021, following the release of The Woman in the Window on Netflix, and the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company on March 20, 2019.
Mandeville Films is an American film production company headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1995 by David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, the company re-formed as Mandeville Films and Television in 2002 after a short hiatus for three years, with Hoberman and Lieberman as partners and co-owners.
Jerry Bruckheimer Films Inc. (JBF) is an American independent film production company formed by Jerry Bruckheimer in 1995, after cutting his ties with film producer Don Simpson before his death in 1996. It produces blockbuster films such as the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
Paramount Animation is an American animation studio, serving as the animation division and label of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The division was founded on July 6, 2011, following the box office success of Paramount's own Rango and the end of their distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation in 2012.
Chernin Entertainment is an American film and television production company founded and owned by producer and former media executive Peter Chernin, who is chairman and CEO of the company. Jenno Topping is the president of film and television, with David Ready as EVP of film and TV. Kristen Campo is EVP of television. Twenty-seven films have been produced by the company, most of them with 20th Century Fox.
Searchlight Television, LLC is an American television production company that is a division of Searchlight Pictures, part of The Walt Disney Company. Founded in April 2018, broadening the variety of projects produced under the namesake Searchlight Pictures film banner. It is headed by David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield.