Council Biography

Sample some of the best American films over the past 25 years and there's a good chance Mike Medavoy played a role in the success of many of them. From agenting to studio chief, he has been involved with over 300 feature films.

Medavoy began his career at Universal Studios in 1964. He rose from the mailroom to become a casting director. In 1965, he became an agent, working first at General Artist Corporation and later as vice president at Creative Management Agency. Joining International Famous Agency as vice president in charge of the motion picture department in 1971, he worked with such prestigious clients as Steven Spielberg,

Francis Ford Coppola, Terrence Malick, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and Gene Wilder, among others. United Artists brought him in as senior vice president of production in 1974, where he was part of the team responsible for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Rocky and Annie Hall, all of which won the Best Picture Oscar over three successive years.

In 1978 Medavoy co-founded Orion Pictures. During his tenure, Platoon, Amadeus, Robocop, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Terminator, Dances with Wolves, and Silence of the Lambs were released. In 1990, after 12 fruitful years at Orion, Medavoy became

chairman of Tri-Star Pictures. Under his aegis, the critically acclaimed box office successes Philadelphia, Terminator 2: Judgement Day were produced.

Medavoy resigned as chairman of TriStar Pictures in January 1994 and in November 1995, less than two years later, Phoenix Pictures rose from the ashes, launched by Medavoy and ex-executive vice president of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Arnold Messer. The company's initial brief: to be a large-scale producer of major feature films with a target of a 20-picture library in the first five years. By the middle of this year, Phoenix will have released and/or started 10 films, most of which will be distributed globally by Sony. Medavoy is chairman and CEO of Phoenix Pictures and Messer is the president and COO.

Medavoy and Messer eagerly look forward to establishing Phoenix as one of the premiere labels in the film business, bringing quality entertainment to audiences around the world.

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