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Sean Daniel

Sean Peter Daniel (born August 15, 1951)[1] is an American film producer and movie executive.

Life and career

Born to a Jewish family,[2][3] Daniel attended Manhattan's High School of Music & Art, graduating in 1969.[4] He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973.

In 1976, he joined Universal Pictures as a film production executive and in 1985, at the age of 34, he became the youngest production president in the studio's history.[5] He has built a nearly 50-year career in the entertainment industry. As a producer and studio executive, Daniel has helped shape the vernacular of modern cinema, overseeing some of the most widely beloved, critically acclaimed films ever made. During his tenure, Daniel supervised the financing and production of such acclaimed National Lampoon's Animal House, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Blues Brothers, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Brazil, Field of Dreams, Do the Right Thing, Back to the Future, Midnight Run, Born on the Fourth of July, Missing, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, Born in East L.A., Fletch, Rumble Fish, Gorillas in the Mist, Darkman, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

Following his tenure as an executive at the studio, Daniel started Alphaville Films with James Jacks and developed and produced 1999's blockbuster action adventure Mummy starring future Academy Awards winners Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Daniel produced the four subsequent films in the global franchise: The Mummy Returns, which launched the film career of Dwayne Johnson, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and The Scorpion King and Mummy. All told, the franchise has earned almost $2 billion worldwide.[6] [7]

Daniel also produced Malcolm D. Lee's hit romantic comedy The Best Man Holiday, the Richard Linklater classic Dazed and Confused, the renowned western Tombstone, Nora Ephron's supernatural comedy Michael, the Coen Brothers's film Intolerable Cruelty, the Chris Rock, Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz comedy Down to Earth, the rap-music comedy CB4, also with Chris Rock, and John Woo's first American film, Hard Target.

Daniel's recent credits include Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which he produced with Guillermo Del Toro, Richard Linklater's feature Everybody Wants Some!!, and the documentary Belushi.

He has served as an executive producer on the Netflix's phenomenon The Witcher, Peacock's The Best Man: The Final Chapters, the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series The Expanse, based on James S.A. Corey's The New York Times best-selling book franchise, and Graceland, from White Collar creator Jeff Eastin. He executive produced the TNT original film Freedom Song, directed by Phil Alden Robinson and starring Danny Glover, HBO's Everyday People; and the USA Network four-hour mini series Attila, starring Gerard Butler.[8]

Selected filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year Film Credit Notes
1991 Pure Luck
1992 American Me
1993 CB4 Executive producer
Dazed and Confused
Heart and Souls
Hard Target
Tombstone
1995 Village of the Damned Co-executive producer
Mallrats
1996 Michael
1997 The Jackal
1999 The Mummy
2000 Lucky Numbers
The Gift Executive producer
2001 Down to Earth
The Mummy Returns
Pootie Tang Executive producer
Rat Race
2002 The Scorpion King
Dark Blue
2003 The Hunted Executive producer
Intolerable Cruelty Executive producer
2004 Alfie Executive producer
2008 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Direct-to-video
2010 The Wolfman
2012 The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption Executive producer Direct-to-video
2013 The Best Man Holiday
2015 The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power Executive producer Direct-to-video
2016 Everybody Wants Some!! Executive producer
Ben-Hur
Hard Target 2 Executive producer Direct-to-video
2017 The Mummy
2018 The Scorpion King: Book of Souls Executive producer Direct-to-video
2019 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
2021 The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Executive producer
Production manager
Year Film Role Notes
1978 Animal House Executive in charge of production Uncredited
1980 Coal Miner's Daughter
1982 Missing
1985 The Breakfast Club
1985 Back to the Future
1985 Brazil
1985 Fletch
1989 Do the Right Thing
1989 Field of Dreams
As an actor
Year Film Role
1985 Spies Like Us Ace Tomato Driver
1990 Darkman Policeman #2
Thanks
Year Film Role
1995 Mallrats The director would like to thank: For bringing a pedigree to the project
1998 A Simple Plan Thanks

Television

Year Title Credit Notes
1996 Don't Look Back Executive producer Television film
2000 Freedom Song Executive producer Television film
2001 Attila Executive producer
2004 Everyday People Executive producer Television film
2013−15 Graceland
2015−2022 The Expanse Executive producer
2019 The Witcher Executive producer
2022 The Witcher: Blood Origin Executive producer

References

  1. ^ Sean Daniel, filmreference.com, January 21, 2014
  2. ^ New York Times: "THE DEMOCRATS: THE SHTICK; So Here's This Jewish Guy Who Gets Nominated..." By TODD S. PURDUM August 17, 2000
  3. ^ Portland Press Herald: "A ‘Ben-Hur’ for our time" by Steven Zeitchik August 21, 2016 | Downey and Burnett are staunch Catholics; Ridley is also a devout Christian, Huston and Bekmambetov, who was raised in a communist country, are more secular; Daniel and MGM principal Gary Barber are Jewish
  4. ^ "Notable Alumni," Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia High School official website. Accessed Oct. 31, 2016.
  5. ^ Los Angeles Times: "Sean Daniel Quits Universal to Head Geffen's Film Unit" by MICHAEL CIEPLY January 10, 1989
  6. ^ [1], boxofficemojo.com
  7. ^ [2], boxofficemojo.com
  8. ^ [3], IMDb.com