Marc Abraham is an American film producer, director, and former president of

Strike Entertainment Strike Entertainment was an American production company founded in 2002 by Marc Abraham, Thomas Bliss and Eric Newman. Strike's films are distributed through Universal Studios as well as various other majors. Its first film produced was ''The ...

, a production company he launched in early 2002 with a multi-year, first look arrangement with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Career

Abraham began his career as a copywriter for

Young & Rubicam VMLY&R is an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Young & Rubica ...

in New York City after graduating from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. He left advertising to pursue a full-time writing career and worked as a freelance sportswriter for several newspapers and magazines. He also wrote two books on the International Olympic Games for Universal Press. Abraham's entry into film began with the documentary, ''Playing to Win'', an inside look at the Cuban athletic system. He wrote several screenplays for studios and networks including

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

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. He also wrote for the popular series ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...

'' and '' Moonlighting''. He was a founding partner, along with

Armyan Bernstein Barry "Armyan" Bernstein (born August 12, 1947) is an American film producer, director and screenwriter. He is the co-founder and chairman of film company Beacon Pictures. Career Bernstein has produced, executive produced, written or direc ...

, at Beacon Communications, a financing and production company founded in 1990. Abraham brought to the big screen '' Flash of Genius'', released by

in Fall 2008, which marked his directorial debut and stars

Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997). Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including '' Sabrina'' (1 ...

and Lauren Graham. Based on a true story, the movie tells the story of a small-time inventor who takes on the Detroit automakers. Also for

, Abraham is producing ''Trouble is My Business'', an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's detective-noir classic, starring Clive Owen. He produced the remake of '' The Thing'' for Strike Entertainment alongside Eric Newman. Even with the disestablishment of Strike Entertainment in 2013, Abraham and Newman still produced the 2014 film '' RoboCop'' under the Strike Entertainment name since it started production in 2012. Abraham directed, wrote and produced the 2015 Hank Williams biopic '' I Saw the Light'', which starred

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...

. It was based on

Colin Escott Colin Escott (born August 31, 1949) is a British music historian and author specializing in early U.S. rock and roll and country music. His works include a biography of Hank Williams, histories of Sun Records and The Grand Ole Opry, liner note ...

's 1994 book ''Hank Williams: The Biography''.

Beacon Pictures

During its first few years, Beacon Communications produced award-winning films like '' The Commitments'' which was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award that has been awarded annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Eligibility Eligible films must be at least 70 minutes in ...

in 1992 and also went on to win four BAFTA awards; and

Keith Gordon Keith Gordon (born February 3, 1961) is an American actor and film director. Early life Gordon was born in New York City, the son of Mark, an actor and stage director, and Barbara Gordon. He grew up in an atheist Jewish family. Gordon was in ...

's '' A Midnight Clear'', starring

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

. In a co-venture with Turner Pictures, Abraham executive produced

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...

's A Life in the Theatre. Beacon also produced '' Sugar Hill'', starring

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), ''New Jack City'' (1991), '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...

; ''

Princess Caraboo Mary Baker (née Willcocks; 11 November 1792 (alleged), Witheridge, Devonshire, England – 24 December 1864, Bristol, England) was an English impostor. Posing as the fictional Princess Caraboo, Baker pretended to come from a far-off island kin ...

'', starring

Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American former actress, known primarily for her roles in films such as ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), ''Gremlins'' (1984) and ''Drop Dead Fred'' (1991). Early life Cates was born ...

and Kevin Kline; '' The Road to Wellville'', directed by

Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English filmmaker. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After about ten years of filming adverts ...

and starring

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

; and ''

The Baby-Sitters Club ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 176 million copies. Martin wrote the first 35 novels in the series, but the subsequent nove ...

'', based on the best-selling series of books from Scholastic.

Strike Entertainment

Abraham and fellow producers

Thomas Bliss Thomas Albert Bliss (born December 13, 1952) is an American motion picture producer and executive producer. He is a founding partner at Strike Entertainment. From 1984 to the present, Bliss has been credited with producing more than 30 produ ...

and Eric Newman founded Strike Entertainment in 2002. They produced such films as '' Children of Men'', ''

The Rundown ''The Rundown'' (known internationally as ''Welcome to the Jungle'') is a 2003 American buddy action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and written by James Vanderbilt and R.J. Stewart. It stars Dwayne Johnson (credited as The Rock), Seann Will ...

'' (2003), '' Slither'' (2006), '' Flash of Genius'' (2008), '' The Thing'' (2011), and '' RoboCop'' (2014) under Strike's production name. In March 2013, Abraham, Bliss and Newman dissolved Strike Entertainment after 11 years as a Universal-based production company. The Universal first-look deal dissolved the company is Spring 2013, which marked the end of a 15-year tenure at the studio for Abraham, Bliss and Newman. Abraham and Newman said the partnership simply ran its course and that the parting is amicable. They will continue to work together on a projects they still have percolating under the Strike banner.

Awards and affiliations

Abraham is a member of the Writer's Guild, the Producer's Guild, and on the board of the

Virginia Film Festival The Virginia Film Festival is a film festival hosted by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The festival is held annually, usually in late October or early November. History Cr ...

and the

Violence Policy Center The Violence Policy Center (VPC) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control. Organizational background According to Josh Sugarmann, its founder, the VPC approaches violence, and firearms violence in particular, as a ...

. He has been honored with the Spirit of Chrysalis Award, which recognized Abraham for his outstanding commitment to helping change lives through jobs, and helping thousands of disadvantaged and homeless individuals and families in Los Angeles.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As writer ;As director ;As an actor ;Soundtrack

Television

;As writer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Marc American film producers Living people American film directors Year of birth missing (living people)