The Zanuck Company (formerly The Zanuck/Brown Company) is an American motion picture production company. It is responsible for such blockbusters as ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'', '' The Sting'', '' Cocoon'', ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his ...

'', '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' and ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

''.

History

The Zanuck/Brown Company

In 1972, after a successful partnership at both

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 ...

and Warner Bros.,

Richard D. Zanuck Richard Darryl Zanuck (December 13, 1934 – July 13, 2012) was an American film producer. His 1989 film ''Driving Miss Daisy'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Zanuck was also instrumental in launching the career of director Steven Spielb ...

and David Brown, left to form their own production company, The Zanuck/Brown Company. Later that year, Zanuck/Brown signed a five-year production deal with Universal Pictures. In 1974, Zanuck/Brown produced '' The Sting'', starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

, and Robert Shaw. The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1975, Zanuck/Brown produced ''

'', directed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

and starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), ''Close Encounters of the T ...

. The film, which won three Academy Awards, became the first summer blockbuster. It was number 1 at the box office for fourteen consecutive weeks and made history as the first motion picture to gross more than $100 million. In 1979,

Lili Fini Zanuck Lili Fini Zanuck ( Fini; born April 2, 1954) is an American film producer and director. Personal life She was married to Richard D. Zanuck from 1978 until his death in 2012. Career Zanuck's first film with a producing title was the 1985 ...

joined the company and was instrumental in developing many of its future film projects. In 1980, The Zanuck/Brown Company moved to

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 Disn ...

where it produced '' The Verdict'', starring

and

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

, followed by '' Cocoon'', directed by Ron Howard and starring Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Steve Guttenberg, Jessica Tandy, and

Linda Harrison Linda Melson Harrison (born July 26, 1945) is an American television and film actress, and director and producer, who is internationally known for her role as Nova in the science fiction film classic ''Planet of the Apes'' (1968) and the first ...

. On April 20, 1983, after he spent three years working at 20th Century-Fox, feeling it was "unhappy" with the agreement, the duo had moved to Warner Bros., and the new Zanuck-Brown agreement enabled the organization to produce two and a half films per year and the team will go directly to then-Warner executive Robert A. Daley. After three years working at Warner Bros., the duo shifted ties to production studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, for an overall production agreement whereas the upcoming Z/B projects gave them access to MGM's slate.

The Zanuck Company

In 1988, Richard Zanuck partnered with producer/financier Jerry Perenchio and rebranded as The Zanuck Company. In 1989, The Zanuck Company produced Warner Bros' ''

'', starring

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

, Jessica Tandy, and

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1994, The Zanuck Company produced Paramount's '' Deep Impact'', starring

, Robert Duvall, and Vanessa Redgrave. Other hits followed such as DreamWorks' '' Road to Perdition'', starring

, Tom Hanks, and Daniel Craig, 20th Century Fox's '' Planet of the Apes'', starring Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, and Helena Bonham Carter, and Columbia Pictures' '' Big Fish'', starring Ewan McGregor,

Albert Finney Albert Finney (9 May 1936 – 7 February 2019) was an English actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked in the theatre before attaining prominence on screen in the early 1960s, debuting with '' The Entertainer'' (1960) ...

, and Jessica Lange, the latter two films being directed by Tim Burton. In 2004,

Dean Zanuck Dean Francis Zanuck (born August 11, 1972) is an American production executive and film producer. Biography Early life He was born on August 11, 1972 in Los Angeles.Harry HaunThe Grandson also rises: Dean Zanuck takes an indie path with Robert ...

formed Zanuck Independent to produce independent films. Productions under the division include Sony Picture Classics' '' Get Low'', starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Murray, and the sci-fi fantasy, '' The Zero Theorem'', directed by Terry Gilliam and starring

Christoph Waltz Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian-German actor. Since 2009 he has been primarily active in the United States. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two British Academy Film Awards and two Sc ...

, Matt Damon, and Tilda Swinton. Other productions by The Zanuck Company are Warner Bros' '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', '' Dark Shadows'', and ''

'', all of which were directed by Tim Burton and star

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

. In 2010, ''

'' became the first motion picture from The Zanuck Company to exceed $1 billion at the box office. In 2015,

formed Zanuck Family Entertainment to produce family oriented motion pictures and multi-platform content. Disney veteran

Rick Calabash Rick Calabash (sometimes credited as Rick Schneider, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia) is an American film and television producer, writer and director, particularly of animated family films. As a teen, Calabash once worked for ''Mister Roge ...

was made head of the new division.https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0773985/

Filmography

Theatrical films

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Television films/pilots

References

External links

Official websiteThe Zanuck Company
on IMDb
Zanuck/Brown Productions
on IMDb {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanuck Company, The 1972 establishments in California Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1972 American companies established in 1972 Entertainment companies based in California Entertainment companies established in 1972 Companies based in Beverly Hills, California