Village Roadshow Pictures Chairman and CEO, after 24 years at the production finance studio, is departing.
What franchises and big event pics hasn’t Berman been involved with? During his ride with VRP, he’s made several Warner Bros. tentpoles including The Matrixfranchise, multi-Oscar winner Mad Max Fury Road,and the highest grossing R-rated movie of all-time worldwide,The Jokeramong many others. Recently, VRP co-bankrolled the nextMatrixmovie,Matrix: The Resurrections,which will hit theaters and HBO Max in December. Berman is also executive producing theMad MaxspinoffFuriosa,primed to be the biggest Australian production ever starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The producer and executive will continue to look for new opportunities in the evolving theatrical-streaming atmosphere.
“I am incredibly grateful to have been involved in the inception of VRP and the impact our films and franchises have had not only on popular culture but also on the craft of filmmaking,” said Berman. “I have been fortunate to work with some of the most talented artists both behind and in front of the camera and look forward to taking the experience I have gained and transitioning it to the next stage in my career.”
Added Village Roadshow Entertainment CEO Steve Mosko, “Bruce was integral in helping to create Village Roadshow Pictures. He has done a great job building and maintaining our long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. and we are looking forward to seeing and supporting his next endeavor.”
Under the Village Roadshow Pictures banner, Berman also executive produced a broad range of tentpole films and strong character dramas including the “Ocean’s” franchise , Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One”; Clint Eastwood’s “Sully,” starring Tom Hanks; “American Sniper,” starring Bradley Cooper; George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron; “San Andreas,” starring Dwayne Johnson; and the original “LEGO® Movie,” directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. In total to date, the 101 films produced between Village and Warner Bros. garnered $18.5 Billion in worldwide grosses earning 19 Oscars.
Berman joined Warner Bros. Pictures in 1984 as Vice President of Production and was elevated in 1989 to President of Worldwide Production for the studio. He got his start in the motion picture business working with Jack Valenti at the MPAA while attending Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC. After earning his law degree, he landed a job at Casablanca Films in 1978 and worked his way up to production Vice President at Universal Pictures in 1982. Berman served as a trustee of the California Institute of the Arts, Bennington College, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. He is a founding member of the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Photographs Council.
Village Roadshow Pictures will continue developing and producing its own film content based on its vast library of IP as well as original ideas with leading filmmakers under the leadership of Jillian Apfelbaum and Tristen Tuckfield, Executive Vice Presidents, Feature Film. Both executives will continue to report to Mosko.