Jason Blumenthal

Biography

JASON BLUMENTHAL (Producer) was born and raised in Los Angeles and attended Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. After graduation, he joined Wizan/Black Films in 1990. There, Blumenthal was involved with the development and production of Iron Eagle II and Split Decisions, a family drama about three generations of prizefighters that starred Gene Hackman. He also worked on The Guardian, directed by William Friedkin; Short Time, with Dabney Coleman and Teri Garr; and Class Act, starring Kid N’ Play. Blumenthal executive produced Becoming Colette, written by Ruth Graham Black, and Fire in the Sky. Other credits include Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, directed by Randa Haines and starring Robert Duvall, Richard Harris and Shirley MacLaine; Dunston Checks In, starring Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway and Rupert Everett; A Family Thing, starring James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall; and Bio-Dome, starring Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin. Blumenthal was Senior Vice President of feature production at Mandalay Entertainment, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, from the company’s inception in 1995 through March of 1998. During his tenure, Blumenthal managed Mandalay’s production slate and films such as The Fan, starring Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes; Donnie Brasco, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp; Seven Years in Tibet, starring Brad Pitt; I Know What You Did Last Summer, No. 1 at the box office for three weeks while grossing $130 million worldwide; I Still Know What You Did Last Summer; Les Miserables, starring Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman; Wild Things, starring Neve Campbell, Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon; Gloria, starring Sharon Stone; and Deep End of the Ocean, starring Michelle Pfeiffer. In April 1998, Blumenthal and his partner Todd Black formed Black & Blu Entertainment, entering into a first-look production deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment. In 2001, Black & Blu merged with the Steve Tisch Co. (Forrest Gump) to become Escape Artists, while still maintaining their first-look deal at Sony Pictures. Escape Artists has since produced A Knight’s Tale, starring Heath Ledger; Antwone Fisher, directed by and starring Denzel Washington; The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith; and The Weather Man, starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine. Forthcoming Escape Artists films include Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith, and Tony Scott’s remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.