Stephanie Allain (born October 30, 1959) is an American producer of
independent movies in Hollywood, California.
Early life
Stephanie Allain was born in
to an African-American father Dr. Charles Allain, a biochemist, and a white mother Gwen Allain Miller, an educator. Her family moved near Los Angeles, California, in 1965, and Allain attended the
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...
, graduating with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing.
Career
She began her film career in 1985 at
Creative Artists Agency
Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...
, first as a
script reader, then as a staff reader. As a story analyst, she worked for
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
,
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 ...
, and finally in 1989, at
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. There, Allain was one of twelve readers at the studio, and one of only two African-American readers. She rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President of Production and was influential in encouraging and developing an African-American filmmaking community in Hollywood in the 1990s.
During her tenure at Columbia, Allain launched the careers of several young filmmakers including
John Singleton
John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...
,
Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
and
Darnell Martin
Darnell Martin (born January 7, 1964) is an American television and film director, screenwriter, and film producer.
Early life and education
Martin was born in Bronx, New York, the daughter of Marilyn, a dancer of Irish-American descent, and a ...
. She personally pitched to Columbia's executives Singleton's ''
Boyz n the Hood'' (1991). The controversial film would become a critical and commercial hit, garnering Singleton two
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations. Among the films under her supervision were ''
Poetic Justice
Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, henc ...
'' (1993), ''
I Like It Like That'' (1994), and ''
The Craft'' (1996).
Of her time at Columbia, Allain had this to say:
In 1996, Allain left
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
to become President of
Jim Henson Pictures. During her 4 years there, she produced Caroline Thompson's ''
Buddy
Buddy may refer to:
People
*Buddy (nickname)
*Buddy (rapper), real name Simmie Sims III (1993–Present)
*Buddy Rogers (wrestler), ring name of American professional wrestler Herman Gustav Rohde, Jr. (1921–1992)
*Buddy Boeheim (born 1999), Amer ...
'', as well as Henson brand movies, ''
Muppets from Space
''Muppets from Space'' is a 1999 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman. The sixth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' fran ...
'' and ''
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
''The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'' is a 1999 American musical adventure comedy film directed by Gary Halvorson in his feature film debut. This was the second film to be based on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', after '' ...
''. After her stint at Henson, Allain joined 3Arts Entertainment, where she developed projects for clients and produced
Reggie Rock Bythewood
Reggie Rock Bythewood (born July 7, 1967) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is known for directing the film ''Dancing in September'' (2000) and creating the television series '' Shots Fired'' and '' Swagger''.
Life and career
Bythewood g ...
's ''
Biker Boyz
''Biker Boyz'' is a 2003 American sports action drama film, directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood and written by Bythewood and Craig Fernandez, based on the 2000 ''New Times LA'' article of the same name by Michael Gougis. The film is about a group o ...
''.
In 2003, Allain sold her house and founded Homegrown Films. Teaming with John Singleton,
Craig Brewer
Craig Brewer (born December 6, 1971) is an American filmmaker. His 2005 movie ''Hustle & Flow'' won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and achieved commercial success, along with an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "It's ...
's ''
Hustle & Flow
''Hustle & Flow'' is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton and Stephanie Allain. It stars Terrence Howard as a Memphis hustler and pimp who faces his aspiration to become a rapper. It als ...
'' was produced. ''Hustle & Flow'' was sold to MTV/
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
for a 9 million dollars and went on to win the Audience Award at
Sundance in 2005, an
Academy Award for Best Original Song and earned a
Best Actor nomination for
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films ''Dead Presidents'' and '' Mr. Holland's Opus'', Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles ...
.
In 2006, Allain and Homegrown Films produced another first time director,
music video director,
Sanaa Hamri
Sanaa Hamri ( ar, سناء حمري; born November 19, 1977) is a Moroccan-American film, television, and music video director. She has directed music videos for musicians including Prince, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and Sting. She is k ...
's ''
Something New'', starring
Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa McCoy Lathan (born September 19, 1971) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actress Eleanor McCoy and film director Stan Lathan. Her career began after she appeared in the shows ''In the House'', '' Family Matters'', ''NYPD Blue ...
and
Simon Baker
Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor in television and film, as well as a director. He is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series ''The Mentalist'' as Patrick Jane and ''The Guardian'' as Nicholas Fallin ...
. She also worked again with producer John Singleton, partnering with
Craig Brewer
Craig Brewer (born December 6, 1971) is an American filmmaker. His 2005 movie ''Hustle & Flow'' won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and achieved commercial success, along with an Academy Award for Best Original Song, "It's ...
and his Southern Cross the Dog
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
based at
Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Vantage
Paramount Vantage (also known as Paramount Classics) was a film distribution label of Paramount Pictures (which, in turn, has Paramount Global as its parent company), charged with producing, purchasing, distributing and marketing films, general ...
released their latest film, ''
Black Snake Moan'', starring
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...
,
Christina Ricci and
Justin Timberlake on February 23, 2007.
She was the Festival Director for the
LA Film Festival
The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epis ...
from 2011 to 2016. In 2021, he received a first look deal with Endeavor Content.
Personal life
She was married to Mitch Marcus from 1988 to 1999. She is currently married to
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
-nominated and
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
-winning composer
Stephen Bray, who is composer and lyricist of the Broadway version of the
Alice Walker
Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...
book ''
The Color Purple
''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. ''. Allain has three children.
Filmography
She was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
;As an actress
;Thanks
Television
;Camera and electrical department
References
External links
*
Stephanie Allainon
Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...
movies
"INTERVIEW: TERENCE HOWARD AND STEPHANIE ALLAIN (HUSTLE & FLOW)""Jive Magazine Interview"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allain, Stephanie
1959 births
American women film producers
Living people
Businesspeople from New Orleans
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni
African-American film producers
Film people from Los Angeles
Film producers from California
Film producers from Louisiana
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women
20th-century African-American people
20th-century African-American women