Samuel Hadida (17 December 1953 – 26 November 2018) was a Moroccan-born French film producer.

Life and career

Hadida was born in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. In 1978, he co-founded the company

Metropolitan Filmexport Metropolitan Filmexport is a French film distribution company founded by brothers Samuel and Victor Hadida, along with their father David, in 1978. It distributes films in France, alongside Entertainment One in Canada, United Kingdom, Austral ...

with his brother Victor. The company later became a successful independent distributor of films in the French-speaking world. Metropolitan Filmexport is the current French distributor for films by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

and, formerly,

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...

(

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

now releases New Line films). In 1990, Hadida formed a new company, Davis Films. Since 1993, the company has produced more than thirty Hollywood films, with ''

True Romance ''True Romance'' is a 1993 American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. It features an ensemble cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, ...

'' being the first. Though Hadida contributed to the film industry over many decades, his work in spearheading the

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

film franchise is what he is best known for. When Hadida learned the project was struggling, he reached out

Constantin Film The Constantin Film AG is a German mini-major film production and distribution company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of pr ...

and offered a 50/50 venture deal. This project, as well as his work with the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of ''

Silent Hill is a horror anthology media franchise centered on a series of survival horror games created by Keiichiro Toyama and published by Konami. The first four video games in the series, ''Silent Hill'', '' Silent Hill 2'', ''Silent Hill 3'' and '' ...

'', has contributed to his recognition within the realm of video game adaptations. Hadida died at the UCLA Santa Monica Hospital after a short illness.

Controversy

In 2011, Davis Films signed an agreement to create a film adaptation of the book series ''

House of Night ''House of Night'' is a series of young adult vampire-themed fantasy novels by American author P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast. It follows the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a 16-year-old girl who is "marked", becomes a fledgling vampyre ...

''. Hadida and his company did not follow through on producing the film, yet retained the rights until 2020. This upset the series' fanbase, causing tension between Hadida and the series' authors,

P. C. Cast Phyllis Christine Cast (born April 30, 1960) is an American romance/fantasy author, known for the '' House of Night'' series she writes and her daughter Kristin Cast edits, as well as her own ''Goddess Summoning'' and ''Partholon'' book series.C ...

and

Kristin Cast Kristin F. Cast (born November 4, 1986) is an American author of young adult books. She is the editor for the ''House of Night'' series for young adults with her mother, P.C. Cast, and the author of ''The Escaped'' series. Life and career Cast ...

Filmography

*1993: '' Only the Strong'' (producer) *1993: ''

'' (producer) *1993: ''

Killing Zoe ''Killing Zoe'' is a 1993 crime film written and directed by Roger Avary and starring Eric Stoltz, Jean-Hugues Anglade and Julie Delpy. The story details a safe cracker named Zed who returns to France to aid an old friend in performing a doomed ...

'' (producer) *1993: ''

Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first men ...

'' (producer) *1995: '' The Expert'' (executive producer) *1995: ''

Crying Freeman is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. ''Crying Freeman'' follows a Japanese assassin hypnotized and trained by the Chinese mafia (called the "108 Dragons") to serve as its agent and covered in ...

'' (producer) *1996: ''

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

'' (producer) *1996: ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; it, Le avventure di Pinocchio ; commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'') is a children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pinocc ...

'' (producer) *1997: ''Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest'' (producer) *1997: ''

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

'' (producer) *1998: ''

Legionnaire The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

'' (executive producer) *1999: ''

The Big Brass Ring ''The Big Brass Ring'' is a 1999 drama film, starring William Hurt, Nigel Hawthorne, Irene Jacob, Jefferson Mays and Miranda Richardson (who was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance). The film's script was heavily rewritten by ...

'' (executive producer) *1999: ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * Inferno (1953 film), ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * Inferno (1973 fi ...

'' (producer) *1999: '' Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby'' (executive producer) *2000: ''

Dancing at the Blue Iguana ''Dancing at the Blue Iguana'' is a 2000 American erotic drama film, released September 14, 2000, directed by Michael Radford about the lives of strippers at a gentlemen's club. The film was based on an improvisational workshop involving the lea ...

'' (executive producer) *2001: ''

Brotherhood of the Wolf ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' (french: Le Pacte des loups) is a 2001 French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans, co-written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel, and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bel ...

'' (producer) *2001: ''Laguna'' (producer) *2002: ''

'' (producer) *2002: ''

Spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

'' (producer) *2002: ''

Sweat Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribut ...

'' (producer) *2002: ''Break of Dawn'' (producer) *2002: ''

The Rules of Attraction ''The Rules of Attraction'' is a satirical black comedy novel by Bret Easton Ellis published in 1987. The novel follows a handful of rowdy and often sexually promiscuous, spoiled bohemian students at a liberal arts college in 1980s New Hampsh ...

'' (executive producer) *2003: '' Gift from Above'' (producer) *2004: ''

Turn Left at the End of the World ''Turn Left at the End of the World'' ( he, סוף העולם שמאלה, ''Sof HaOlam Smola'') is a 2004 Israeli film written, produced and directed by Avi Nesher and starring Netta Garti and Liraz Charhi. Plot The film takes place in a small ...

'' (producer) *2004: '' Resident Evil: Apocalypse'' (executive producer) *2004: ''

Five Children and It ''Five Children and It'' is a children's novel by English author E. Nesbit. It was originally published in 1902 in the '' Strand Magazine'' under the general title ''The Psammead, or the Gifts'', with a segment appearing each month from April ...

'' (producer) *2004: ''

Battle of the Brave ''Battle of the Brave'' (french: Nouvelle-France) is a 2004 historical romance directed by Jean Beaudin, written by Pierre Billon and starring Noémie Godin-Vigneau, David La Haye, Juliette Gosselin, Sébastien Huberdeau, Gérard Depardieu, Bia ...

'' (producer) *2004: ''

The Bridge of San Luis Rey ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel. It was first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1928, and was the best-selling work of fiction that year. Premise ''The Bri ...

'' (producer) *2005: ''

Good Night, and Good Luck ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' (stylized as ''good night, and good luck.'') is a 2005 historical drama film about American television news directed by George Clooney, with the movie starring David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Ro ...

'' (executive producer) *2005: '' The Aura'' (producer) *2005: ''

Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...

'' (producer) *2005: '' Lassie'' (producer) *2006: ''

'' (producer) *2006: ''

Moscow Zero ''Moscow Zero'' is a 2006 film directed by María Lidón. Plot An anthropologist called Sergei goes missing after researching a legend about the existence of demons and an entrance to Hell beneath Moscow. A rescue team led by his friend Owen, an ...

'' (producer) *2006: ''

The Black Dahlia Elizabeth Short (July 29, 1924 – January 14–15, 1947), known posthumously as the Black Dahlia, was an American woman found murdered in the Leimert Park neighborhood of Los Angeles on January 15, 1947. Her case became highly publicized ow ...

'' (executive producer) *2006: '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'' (executive producer) *2007: ''

88 Minutes ''88 Minutes'' is a 2007 thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough and Benjamin McKenzie. In the film, famed forensic psychiatr ...

'' (producer) *2007: '' Resident Evil: Extinction'' (producer) * 2007: ''

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium ''Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium'' is the best movie ever and a 2007 children's fantasy comedy film written and directed by Zach Helm, produced by FilmColony, Mandate Pictures, Walden Media, Richard N. Gladstein and James Garavente, and with mu ...

'' (executive producer) *2008: ''

The Secret of Moonacre ''The Secret of Moonacre'' is a 2008 fantasy film loosely based on the 1946 novel ''The Little White Horse'' by Elizabeth Goudge. The film was directed by Gábor Csupó and starred Dakota Blue Richards in the leading role and with Ioan Gruffudd ...

'' (producer) *2009: ''

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus ''The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'' is a 2009 fantasy film directed by Terry Gilliam and written by Gilliam and Charles McKeown. The film follows a travelling theatre troupe whose leader, having made a bet with the Devil, takes audience mem ...

'' (producer) *2009: ''

Solomon Kane Solomon Kane is a fictional character created by the pulp magazine, pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard. A late-16th-to-early-17th century Puritan, Solomon Kane is a somber-looking man who wanders the world with no apparent goal other than to vanqu ...

'' (producer) *2010: '' Resident Evil: Afterlife'' (producer) *2011: ''

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

'' (executive producer) *2011: ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' (executive producer) *2011: ''

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'' is a 2011 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas and Amr Waked. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Paul Torday ...

'' (executive producer) *2012: ''10 jours en or'' (producer) *2012: '' Resident Evil: Retribution'' (producer) *2012: '' Silent Hill: Revelation'' (producer) *2013: '' The Railway Man'' (executive producer) *2014: ''

The Expendables 3 ''The Expendables 3'' is a 2014 American action film directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt and Sylvester Stallone. It is the third installment in ''The Expendables'' franchise and the sequel to '' Th ...

'' (producer) *2014: '' Sin City: A Dame to Kill For'' (executive producer) *2015: '' The Scent of Mandarin'' (executive producer) *2015: '' Un + une'' (producer) *2016: ''

Criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

'' (executive producer) *2016: ''

Fanny's Journey ''Fanny's Journey'' (original title: ''Le Voyage de Fanny'') is a 2016 French-Belgian children's war drama film co-written and directed by Lola Doillon. The film is inspired by the autobiographical memoir ''Le journal de Fanny'' by Fanny Ben-Ami ...

'' (producer) *2016: '' Mechanic: Resurrection'' (executive producer) *2016: '' Resident Evil: The Final Chapter'' (producer) *2017: ''Everyone's Life'' (producer) *2017: ''Loue-moi!'' (producer) *2017: ''

The Hitman's Bodyguard ''The Hitman's Bodyguard'' is a 2017 American action comedy film directed by Patrick Hughes and starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Salma Hayek. The film follows a bodyguard (Reynolds) who must protect a convicted hitman ...

'' (executive producer) *2017: '' Papillon'' (executive producer) *2017: ''

Chacun sa vie et son intime conviction ''Everyone's Life'' (''Chacun sa vie et son intime conviction'') is a 2017 French comedy film written and directed by Claude Lelouch. Synopsis Twelve tales about intimate convictions leading to a thirteenth. Casting The film reunites severa ...

'' *2018: ''Love Addict'' (producer) *2018: ''Belleville Cop'' (producer) *2018: '' Hunter Killer'' (executive producer) *2018: ''La voix humaine'' (producer) *2019: ''Sisters in Arms'' (producer) *2019: ''

The Best Years of a Life ''The Best Years of a Life'' (french: Les plus belles années d'une vie) is a 2019 French drama film directed by Claude Lelouch. It was screened out of competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It follows the lead characters featured in the ...

'' (producer) *2019: ''

Lucky Day (film) ''Lucky Day'' is a 2019 action crime film directed and written by Roger Avary. The film stars Luke Bracey and Nina Dobrev. This film is a semi-sequel of ''Killing Zoe''. Plot Former safecracker Red is released from prison after two years. Red r ...

'' (producer) *2019: '' Rambo: Last Blood'' (executive producer)

References

External links

* 1953 births 2018 deaths People from Casablanca French film producers French people of Moroccan descent {{France-film-bio-stub