Marc Abraham
Marc Abraham | |
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| File:Marc Abraham (cropped).jpg Abraham at the Flash of Genius film premiere in September 2008 | |
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Marc Abraham is a film producer and director from the United States, who also served as the president of Strike Entertainment, a production company he co-founded in 2002 with a multi-year first look arrangement agreement with Universal Pictures.
Career
After earning his degree from the University of Virginia, Abraham started his professional journey as a copywriter at Young & Rubicam in New York. He later shifted from the advertising world to freelance sports journalism and authored two publications on the International Olympic Games for Universal Press.
Abraham’s entry into the film industry began with the documentary Playing to Win, which examined Cuba’s athletic training system. He developed screenplays for major studios such as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and CBS, while also contributing to television shows including 21 Jump Street and Moonlighting.
As a co-founder alongside Armyan Bernstein of Beacon Communications, launched in 1990, Abraham played a key role in both financing and producing films.
His first feature film as a director was Flash of Genius (2008), distributed by Universal Pictures and featuring performances by Greg Kinnear and Lauren Graham. The movie portrays the true story of an inventor who took on Detroit’s automotive giants. Additionally, he produced Trouble is My Business for Universal, an adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s classic detective noir, starring Clive Owen. While at Strike Entertainment, he was involved in producing the 2011 remake of The Thing together with Eric Newman.
After Strike Entertainment dissolved in 2013, Abraham and Newman continued collaborating under the Strike banner to produce the 2014 reboot of RoboCop, with production having commenced in 2012.
In 2015, Abraham took on directing, writing, and producing duties for I Saw the Light, a biographical film about Hank Williams starring Tom Hiddleston, adapted from Colin Escott’s biography Hank Williams: The Biography.
Beacon Pictures
During its formative years, Beacon Communications was responsible for producing notable films such as The Commitments, which received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in 1992 and earned four BAFTA awards. The company also produced Keith Gordon’s A Midnight Clear, featuring Ethan Hawke.
In collaboration with Turner Pictures, Abraham served as executive producer on David Mamet’s production of A Life in the Theatre. Beacon’s portfolio further includes titles like Sugar Hill starring Wesley Snipes, Princess Caraboo with Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline, Alan Parker’s The Road to Wellville featuring Anthony Hopkins, and The Baby-Sitters Club, adapted from the well-known Scholastic book series.
Strike Entertainment
In 2002, Abraham partnered with producers Thomas Bliss and Eric Newman to establish Strike Entertainment. This production company was responsible for films such as Children of Men, The Rundown (2003), Slither (2006), Flash of Genius (2008), The Thing (2011), and RoboCop (2014).
Following an 11-year collaboration with Universal, the trio amicably disbanded Strike Entertainment in March 2013 after their Universal first-look agreement concluded. This decision marked the end of a 15-year affiliation with the studio. Abraham and Newman have continued to work together on projects initially developed under the Strike banner.
Awards and affiliations
Abraham holds memberships in the Writer's Guild and Producer's Guild and contributes as a board member for both the Virginia Film Festival and the Violence Policy Center. He has been honored with the Spirit of Chrysalis Award in recognition of his dedication to job creation and support for vulnerable and homeless populations in Los Angeles.
Filmography
Unless specified otherwise, he acted as producer on all listed titles.
Film
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Producer
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Executive producer
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- Writer
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2015 | I Saw the Light |
- Director
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Flash of Genius |
| 2015 | I Saw the Light |
- Actor
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Trippin' | Speaker at Mission Life |
| 2002 | Red Dragon | Dinner Guest |
- Soundtrack contributions
| Year | Film | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | I Saw the Light | Writer: "Even Though You Let Me Go" |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | A Life in the Theatre | Executive producer | Made-for-TV movie |
| 2005 | Untitled David Diamond / David Weissman Project | Made-for-TV movie |
- As screenwriter
| Year | Title | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 21 Jump Street | |
| Moonlighting | ||
| 1990 | The Earth Day Special | Television special event |