Overbrook Entertainment
Overbrook Entertainment is an American production company based in Culver City, California.[1] It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998,[2] around the same time production for Wild Wild West (1999) was started.
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | February 2, 1998 |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Culver City, California |
Key people |
|
| Products | Motion pictures, music, home entertainment, talent management, television production |
| Parent | Westbrook Inc. |
| Website | www |
The name "Overbrook" is derived from Will Smith's neighborhood in West Philadelphia. The company produces music, films and television shows. Smith claimed to have started the company in order to serve as producer and find roles. He uses his role in the company to help unknown artists record music and also records music for some of his films in Overbrook.
History
On November 11, 1997, actor Will Smith (age 29) and manager James Lassiter signed an overall first-look term deal at Universal Pictures.[3] Thus, Overbrook Entertainment was born. It was formally incorporated on February 2, 1998.
On September 16, 1998, David Tochterman, formerly employee of The Carsey-Werner Company, joined the company and decided to launch the television division. Tochterman produced shows for the broadcast and cable TV networks.[4]
On February 11, 1999, the music division was restructured with John Dukakis, formerly an employee of Southpaw Entertainment, signed as executive vice president of its music division.[5]
On May 10, 2000, it was announced that a merger with The Firm was proposed, but it was scrapped.[6]
On December 10, 2000, Overbrook Entertainment announced it was renewing its interest in the television division. Its plans were to include a 13-episode animated series commitment for Nickelodeon, as well as a slew of comedy, drama, and telemovies on the broadcast networks. The studio was landing deals for three sitcoms, three dramas and one telefilm for the web networks.[7]
On January 30, 2002, the studio's contract with Universal Pictures ended. It formally signed a contract with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop feature films.[8]
On January 3, 2018, it was announced that the studio wouldn't renew its deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.[9]
On July 10, 2019, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith announced the formation of Westbrook Inc., with Overbrook Entertainment being as one of the subsidiaries of the company.[10] It is reported that the Westbrook Studios company would sign a deal with National Geographic.[11]
Filmography
Films
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Bad Boys for Life | Adil & Bilall | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures, 2.0 Entertainment and Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You | Michael Fimognari | Netflix | Uncredited; co-production with Awesomeness Films and Ace Entertainment | |
| Charm City Kings | Angel Manuel Soto | HBO Max | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics and Warner Max | |
| Life in a Year | Mitja Okorn | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures | |
| 2021 | To All the Boys: Always and Forever | Michael Fimognari | Netflix | Uncredited; co-production with Awesomeness Films and Ace Entertainment |
| The Harder They Fall | Jeymes Samuel | Netflix | Uncredited | |
| King Richard | Reinaldo Marcus Green | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with Westbrook Studios and Star Thrower Entertainment | |
| 2022 | Emancipation | Antoine Fuqua | Apple TV+ | co-production with Westbrook Studios, McFarland Entertainment, Escape Artists and Apple Studios |
Television
2000s
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-2007 | All of Us | Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith Betsy Borns | UPN (seasons 1–3) The CW (season 4) | co-production with Warner Bros. Television |
2010s
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-2011 | Hawthorne | John Masius | TNT | continued from 100% Womon Productions; co-production with FanFare Productions, John Masius Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
| 2013-2015 | The Queen Latifah Show | Queen Latifah | Syndication | revival of the 1999 series; co-production with Flavor Unit Entertainment, Curly One Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
| 2018–present | Cobra Kai | Josh Heald Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg based on the Karate Kid film series by: Robert Mark Kamen | YouTube Premium (season 1–2) Netflix (season 3 – present) | co-production with Westbrook Studios, Heald Productions, Hurwitz & Schlossberg Productions, Counterbalance Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television Studios |
Soundtrack
| Year | Title | Artist | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | Various artists | Interscope Records | |
| 2000 | Love & Basketball | |||
| 2002 | Men in Black II | Danny Elfman | Columbia Records | |
| 2014 | Annie | Various artists | RCA Records |
Distribution
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The 7th Commandment | Theron Alford | DVD distribution; co-production with 25Eight Productions and A Free World Productions |
References
- ^ "Overbrook Entertainment". Kftv.com.
- ^ "Overbrook Entertainment company information, funding & investors". uktest1.dealroom.co. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- ^ Cox, Dan (1997-11-12). "Smith talks shingle at U". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Hontz, Jenny (1998-09-16). "Tochterman over to Overbrook". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Petrikin, Chris; Cox, Dan (1999-02-12). "Overbrook is ready". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (2000-05-10). "Overbrook, the Firm join forces". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Adalian, Josef; Schneider, Michael (2000-12-11). "Overbrook turns on TV". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Harris, Dana (2002-01-31). "Sony, Overbrook ink". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Lang, Brent; Kroll, Justin (2018-01-03). "Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment Not Re-Upping Sony First Look Deal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-07-10). "Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith Launch Multimedia Cross-Platform Venture Westbrook Inc". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ "Will Smith's Westbrook Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Nat Geo". TheWrap. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-19.