The Firm, Inc.

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The Firm, Inc.
Private
Industry Entertainment
Founded 1997
Headquarters Santa Monica, California
Key people
 Jeff Kwatinetz

The Firm is a film and television production and talent management company based in Santa Monica, California. Established in 1997, it ceased operations in November 2008 and was relaunched by its founder, Jeff Kwatinetz, in August 2015. The Firm's divisions also include a record label and a marketing group.[1][2]

History

The Firm was founded by managers Jeff Kwatinetz and Michael Green in 1997. Operating originally out of Kwatinetz' Malibu apartment, the company was described by the Los Angeles Times as "racing through the music industry with the velocity of a bullet train" and by 2000 represented a stable of actors and musicians that had generated more than $1.5 billion in gross revenue. [3]

In 2002 The Firm purchased Michael Ovitz's Artist Management Group (AMG) for a reported $12.7 million, and in 2004 it merged with entertainment consulting company Integrated Entertainment Partners (IEP), led by Rich Frank, a former president of Disney studios. [4][5][6] During its first incarnation, the company represented Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Robert De Niro, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Dixie Chicks, Linkin Park, Backstreet Boys, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Limp Bizkit, among others. In addition to the individual successes of their clients, the company was noted for its prescience in melding celebrities with consumer brands and for its role as an architect of the $2.6 billion acquisition of Warner Music by a private equity consortium.[7]

The Firm ceased operations in 2008, primarily due to issues related to integration, debt and real estate obligations which stemmed from the acquisition of AMG.

Prospect Park

Several months after the Firm was closed, Kwatinetz and Frank founded Prospect Park, an entertainment company which replicated the scope of The Firm.[7] [8][2] Financed through Kwatinetz' personal assets, Prospect Park focused on TV and film development and production, and included an artist management division and a record company. In 2012 it launched the short-lived Online Network with the soap operas One Life to Live and All My Children.[7][8]:{{{3}}}[2]

Reactivation

In August 2015 it was announced that the Firm had been reactivated, a decision which Kwatinetz said was based on feedback from the creative community. Prospect Park senior executives Jeremy Summers, Angelica Cob-Baehler and Josh Barry transitioned to The Firm, and Robbie Brenner, formerly the president of production at Relativity Media, was named president of The Firm's film division shortly after the company relaunched.[9]

Under the banner of Prospect Park Productions, the Firm produces the television series Salem for WGN America and USA Network's Royal Pains; as of 2015, Salem was in its third season and Royal Pains in its eighth. As of 2015, the company had projects in development for broadcast, cable and digital platforms which included Black Heart for ABC, Talent for NBC, Tough Love for Amazon, Hard Foul for Showtime, A Midsummer’s Nightmare (Lifetime), Relics (Sony International Networks), and a Christina Aguilera co-produced ABC Family program tentatively titled Hearts and Clubs. Prospect Park produced FX's Wilfred, which ran from 2011 through 2014. [1][10]

The Firm manages Ice Cube's production company, Cube Vision. Cube Vision produced Straight Outta Compton, as well as the Friday, Barbershop and the Ride Along film franchises. It has two films in development: Humbug and Rocky Mountain High. Kwatinetz has managed Ice Cube since 1996.[11] [12]

In addition to Ice Cube, the Firm manages P.O.D., and Dead Sara, among others. It operates Prospect Park Records, which has released records by artists including Azealia Banks, Korn, You Me at Six, and Five Finger Death Punch, who hit #1 on the album sales charts sales with their 2015 release Got Your Six. [13] [14]

The company is also developing non-basketball-related revenue and marketing opportunies for the National Basketball Players Association. [9]

See also

References

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