Peter O'Brian (born 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

film producer and broadcast executive. Films produced by O'Brian's company, Independent Pictures, have won nineteen

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

s. His production credits include '' Blood and Guts'', ''

The Grey Fox ''The Grey Fox'' is a 1982 Canadian biographical Western film directed by Phillip Borsos and written by John Hunter. It is based on the true story of Bill Miner, an American stagecoach robber who staged his first Canadian train robbery ...

'', ''

Outrageous! ''Outrageous!'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Benner. The film stars Craig Russell (Canadian actor), Craig Russell as Drag queen, female impersonator Robin Turner, and Hollis McLaren as Turner's schizophrenia ...

'', '' John and the Missus'', ''

Milk and Honey Milk and Honey may refer to: Music * The Milk and Honey Band, an English band * Milk and Honey (album), ''Milk and Honey'' (album), a 1984 album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono * Milk & Honey (Crowder album), ''Milk & Honey'' (Crowder album), 2021 * M ...

'' and '' My American Cousin''. Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, O'Brian was educated at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

and

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, graduating in 1969 with a double major in mass communications and film. He returned to Toronto and began working as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

and production manager. In 1975, he produced his first film, the

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

movie ''Love at First Sight''. In 1977, he founded Independent Pictures. He took a sabbatical from producing in the early 1990s to run the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

for its first three years of operation. In 1997, he became president of Mission Pictures. On September 29, 2005, O'Brian was appointed chair of the board of

TVOntario TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian Public broadcasting, publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates ...

, the province of Ontario's

public television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

network. O'Brian is married to former long serving federal Cabinet Minister Dr.

Carolyn Bennett Carolyn Ann Bennett (born December 20, 1950) is a Canadian ambassador and retired politician. A member of the Liberal Party, she represented Toronto—St. Paul's in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2024, and was a cabinet minister in the go ...

References

External links

Peter O'Brian profile at the Canadian Film Reference Library
1947 births Living people Film producers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni Emerson College alumni TVO executives Spouses of Canadian politicians Academic staff of the Canadian Film Centre Producers of Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners {{Canada-film-producer-stub