Eric Eisner is the founder and CEO of Double E Pictures, and partner at The Tornante Company. He is the son of Disney magnate
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
and a producer.
Early life and education
Eisner is the son of Jane Breckenridge, a business advisor and computer programmer, and
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
. His mother is a
Unitarian of
Scottish and
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
descent while his father is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
[Pinsky, Mark I.]
The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust
p. 123-129
Eisner holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the
UCLA Anderson School of Management
The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, also known as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles, one of eleven professional schools. The school offers MBA (ful ...
.
Career
Eisner started his entertainment career in sports, working for the NHL team, the
Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks. There he worked in the hockey operations department and helped renegotiate both the radio and television contracts. Eisner also spent two years as a talent scout and participated in the scout table during those NHL entry drafts.
Eisner founded the popular original content site Romp.com. The site produced original short form animations and live action shows. Eisner wrote and directed the film,
Jake's Booty Call, an animated feature-length film based on a short on Romp.com and distributed by National Lampoon.
In 2006, Eisner founded Double E Pictures (formerly L+E Productions). The company’s production of
Hamlet 2
''Hamlet 2 '' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron ...
won wide acclaim as a late entry to the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
in Park City, Utah, in January 2008. After the screening, an all-night bidding war took place for rights to distribution, which Focus Features won for a near-record $10 million, acquiring worldwide rights to the film. Hamlet 2 is the first Eisner film to be featured at Sundance. Eisner also created the television show Madden Nation, which aired on the ESPN Networks for four seasons.
Double E Pictures is currently developing a number of film projects about a wide variety of subjects including: The Grateful Dead (on which Eisner is lead producer); reputed organized crime figure Meyer Lansky; and Mossad agent and Israeli hero Eli Cohen.
Eisner is Partner at
The Tornante Company
The Tornante Company, LLC is an American privately held investment firm founded in 2005 and owned by former Paramount Pictures and The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner. Tornante invests in, acquires, and operates media and entertainmen ...
, a privately held firm that invests in, acquires and operates companies in media and entertainment. Tornante was founded in 2005, and its portfolio includes: Clique Media Group (now Clique Brands - the brand umbrella for lifestyle sites including Byrdie and Who What Wear); Omaze;
TaskRabbit;
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American Football Card, American football, Baseball card, baseb ...
; Vuguru; and Tornante TV, which produces both original and syndicated television content. Among Tornante TV’s original projects is BoJack Horseman. Eisner was also on the board of Topps, which was acquired by Tornante in 2007.
Philanthropy
Eisner is on the Board of The Eisner Foundation, which was founded in 1996 and contributes to a number of non-profit organizations including SCORE (Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment), which provides grants to people who have had sports-related spinal cord injuries. The foundation has also undertaken several special initiatives, including through partnerships with: The Aspen Institute, to advance arts programming nationwide and increase the role of arts in all aspects of America’s culture; California State University Northridge, to help prepare teachers, parents and clinicians in supporting the educational and emotional needs of all types of learners; Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams), a college outreach program that prepares K-12th grade students in the Northeast San Fernando Valley to enter and succeed in college; and The Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center, which offers comprehensive services including prenatal care, medical care for infants, children and adolescents, a women’s health center, adult medical, dental and mental health care, and child development centers at 11 sites across the county.
Additionally, The Eisner Foundation annually awards The Eisner Prize to non-profit programs or individuals that unite multiple generations.
Personal life
In 2008, he married fashion designer
Stacey Bendet on the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
island of
Anguilla
Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...
.
[Elle: "Alice + Olivia Designer Stacey Bendet Eisner's New Pad – Being a grown-up doesn't mean you have to forsake fun" BY Miranda Purves]
March 31, 2010 They have three daughters: Eloise Breckenridge Eisner (b. 2008), Scarlet Haven Eisner (b. 2011), and Athena Belle Eisner (b. 2015).
See also
*
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
*
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
*
Hamlet 2
''Hamlet 2 '' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Andrew Fleming, written by Fleming and Pam Brady, and starring Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Amy Poehler, and David Arquette. It was produced by Eric Eisner, Leonid Rozhetskin, and Aaron ...
References
External links
*
Double E PicturesThe Tornante Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisner, Eric
American film directors
American film producers
American film studio executives
American male screenwriters
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)
Songwriters from New York (state)
Columbia Law School alumni
Living people
American people of German-Jewish descent
American people of Scottish descent
American people of Swedish descent
Screenwriters from New York (state)