Gary Barber
Gary Barber | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Citizenship |
|
| Education | B.S. University of the Witwatersrand |
| Occupation | Media executive |
| Known for | CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2010–2018) Co-founder of Spyglass Media Group |
| Children | 3 |
Gary Barber (born 1957) is a South African and American film producer. Barber was the chairman and CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.[1] He is also co-founder of Spyglass Media Group.
Biography
Barber was born to a Jewish family[2] in Johannesburg, South Africa.[3][4] He was educated at King David School, Linksfield, in Johannesburg. He then received an accounting degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, also in Johannesburg.[1][5] He later worked as a Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant in South Africa and the United States, both with Price Waterhouse.[1]
In 1982, he won a trip to the Arlington Million horse race in Illinois.[5] In the same year, he moved to the United States, where his brother Cecil had been living since 1979. In the mid-1980s, Barber became a U.S. citizen.[3] In 1998, he and Roger Birnbaum founded Spyglass Entertainment in Los Angeles.[1] His highest-grossing film as producer was The Tourist (2010), which grossed close to US$280 million at the worldwide box office.[6]
In December 2010, Barber became Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).[1] Under his leadership, MGM together with Eon Productions and Sony Pictures financed the successful James Bond film Skyfall, which grossed US$1,1 billion. MGM then also financed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), 21 Jump Street (2012) and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013). MGM then moved forward with remakes of RoboCop and Poltergeist.[7][8] In March 2018, Barber was ousted from MGM, coming five months after the renewal of his contract with the studio to 2022; he received a $260M settlement.[9][10]
Barber has three daughters and lives in Los Angeles.[5]
Horse racing
Barber is also a Thoroughbred racehorse owner. The Deputy, owned in partnership with Team Valor, won the 2000 running of the Grade II Santa Catalina Stakes and the Grade I Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. In 2006, Becrux, also owned in partnership with Team Valor, won the Grade I Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.[11] In 2014, his filly Lexie Lou won the Queen's Plate and was named the Canadian Horse of the Year.[12] His horse War of Will won the 2019 Preakness Stakes.[13]
Filmography
Executive Producer
- Midnight Crossing (1988)
- Communion (1989)
- Howling V: The Rebirth (1990)
- Young Guns II (1990)
- Pacific Heights (1990)
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
- Freejack (1992)
- White Sands (1992)
- Stay Tuned (1992)
- The Crush (1993)
- True Romance (1993)
- Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
- Major League II (1994)
- Chasers (1994)
- Trial by Jury (1994)
- Imaginary Crimes (1994)
- Silent Fall (1994)
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
- Two If by Sea (1996)
- Big Bully (1996)
- Diabolique (1996)
- Bad Moon (1996)
- Wild America (1997)
- Incognito (1998)
- Major League: Back to the Minors (1998)
- Wrongfully Accused (1998)
- The King and I (1999)
- Keeping the Faith (2000)
- Shanghai Noon (2000)
- Unbreakable (2000)
- Out Cold (2001)
- Criminology 101 (2003)
- Bruce Almighty (2003)
- Seabiscuit (2003)
- One Love (2003)
- The Ranch (2004)
- Weekends (2004)
- The Legend of Zorro (2005)
- Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
- Eight Below (2006)
- Stay Alive (2006)
- Stick It (2006)
- Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
- The Ruins (2008)
- The Happening (2008)
- The Love Guru (2008)
- Wanted (2008)
- Ghost Town (2008)
- G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
- Invictus (2009)
- Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
- No Strings Attached (2011)
- Footloose (2011)
- G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
- Glass (2019)
- Scream (2022)
- Hellraiser (2022)
- Scream VI (2023)
- The Boys in the Boat (2023)
- Spy Kids: Armageddon (2023)
Producer
- The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
- Dragonfly (2002)
- Reign of Fire (2002)
- Abandon (2002)
- The Recruit (2003)
- Shanghai Knights (2003)
- Connie and Carla (2004)
- Mr. 3000 (2004)
- The Pacifier (2005)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
- The Lookout (2007)
- The Invisible (2007)
- Evan Almighty (2007)
- Underdog (2007)
- Balls of Fury (2007)
- 27 Dresses (2008)
- Flash of Genius (2008)
- Four Christmases (2008)
- Leap Year (2010)
- The Tourist (2010)
- The Vow (2012)
- RoboCop (2014) (Uncredited)
Special thanks
- The Unholy (1988)
References
- ^ a b c d e mgm.com Gary Barber: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer bei mgm.comm; retrieved, 14 January 2014.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Owner Profiles — 2013 Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, dmtc.com, 14 January 2014.
- ^ Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Kevin Tsujihara Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, kentuckyderby.com, 14 January 2014.
- ^ a b c Gary Barber Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine bei arlingtonpark.com; retrieved, 14 January 2014.
- ^ "The Tourist (2010)". Box Office Mojo. March 10, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
- ^ "MGM Looks Ahead with 'Mr. Mom', 'Idolmaker'", Variety, February 17, 2011
- ^ "MGM Finally Comes Back from the Dead with Five Projects including Remakes of "RoboCop" and "Poltergeist"". Collider.com. February 18, 2011. Archived from the original on January 5, 2012.
- ^ MGM Shakeup: Gary Barber Out as CEO, variety.com, Mar 19, 2018.
- ^ Big $260M Payout For MGM’s Former Chairman/CEO Gary Barber In Official Resolution With Company, deadline.com, June 14, 2018.
- ^ "Owner Statistics: Gary Barber". www.equibase.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Shinar, Jack. "Lexie Lou Adapts to Turf in Wonder Where Win". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Crosby, Claire (May 18, 2019). "War of Will Punches Back With Preakness Win". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
- 1957 births
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century South African Jews
- American film production company founders
- American film studio executives
- American people of South African-Jewish descent
- American racehorse owners and breeders
- Businesspeople from Johannesburg
- Businesspeople from Los Angeles
- Film producers from Los Angeles
- Jewish film people
- Jews from California
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives
- Living people
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Owners of King's Plate winners
- South African company founders
- South African emigrants to the United States
- South African film producers
- University of the Witwatersrand alumni