Brillstein Entertainment Partners
Brillstein Entertainment Partners (formerly known as Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and Brillstein-Grey Communications) is a talent management film and television production company formed by the 1991 addition of Brad Grey to The Brillstein Company, founded by Bernie Brillstein in 1969.
The Brillstein Company
Bernie Brillstein formed The Brillstein Company in 1969, where he continued to manage stars and develop television programming, a career he began in the fabled mailroom of the William Morris Agency. He produced such popular television hits as Hee Haw, The Muppet Show,[1] and Saturday Night Live.[2]
Brillstein managed Saturday Night Live cast members Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Lorne Michaels, as well as Jim Henson (of Muppets fame) and Paul Fusco (voice and operator of ALF). Productions for television included Alf: The Animated Series and Normal Life.
The company became Brillstein Entertainment Partners when Brad Grey left the company to become the head of Paramount Pictures. It is now headed by Jonathan Liebman, Marc Gurvitz, and Cynthia Pett.
Film productions
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
In 1984, Brillstein met Brad Grey at a television convention in San Francisco, California. In 1986,[3] the two formed a production company, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, which packaged programming and managed talent.
Film productions
Television productions
Client list
The company is regarded as one of the premier entertainment management groups in the world by many within the industry. Brillstein Entertainment Partners represents stars such as Selena Gomez, Brad Pitt, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jennifer Aniston, Heather Locklear, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Orlando Bloom, Paul Rudd, Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Chloë Sevigny, Timothy Olyphant, Aaron Johnson, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Maher, Courteney Cox, Anton Yelchin, Anna Paquin, Epic Meal Time, Charlie Hunnam, Norm Macdonald, James Maslow, Nina Dobrev, The Dan Band, Jim Gaffigan, [4] and many others.
Miscellaneous
The new management company Eric Murphy joins in HBO's Entourage is based on Brillstein Entertainment, as well as the character Murray Berenson based on the company's founder Bernie Brillstein.
Brillstein sold his shares in the company to Grey, his one time protégé, in 1996, giving Grey full rein over operations; the company's television unit was subsequently rechristened Brad Grey Television. Grey sold his interest in the company in 2005[2] due to his succeeding Sherry Lansing as Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures, which created a conflict of interest.
Several shows by the company now have ancillary rights owned by NBC Universal Television. Some of these shows are owned by Sony Pictures Television in North America.
References
- ↑ Rose, Frank (1995). The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business. New York: Harper. pp. 261, 415.
- 1 2 "Brillstein-Grey Entertainment". Hoover's. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
- ↑ "Bernie Brillstein Biography" (PDF). Wma.com. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
- ↑ "The Dan Band". Contacts. Retrieved 4 May 2015.