Overbrook Entertainment, Inc. is an American production company based in Culver City, California.[1] It was founded by partners Will Smith and James Lassiter in 1998,[2] around the same time production for Wild Wild West (1999) began.
 Logo used since 2003 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | February 2, 1998 |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | Culver City, California |
Key people |
|
| Products | Motion pictures, music, home entertainment, talent management, television production |
| Parent | Westbrook Inc. (2019–present) |
| Website | www |
The name "Overbrook" is derived from Will Smith's neighborhood in West Philadelphia. The on-screen logo consists of a spinning record with the company name. The company produces music, films and television shows. Smith claimed to have started the company in order to serve as producer and find roles. He uses his role in the company to help unknown artists record music, and also records music for some of his films in Overbrook.
History
editOn November 11, 1997, actor Will Smith (age 29) and manager James Lassiter signed an overall first-look term deal at Universal Pictures.[3] Thus, Overbrook Entertainment was born. It was formally incorporated on February 2, 1998.
David Tochterman, formerly employee of The Carsey-Werner Company, joined the company on September 16, 1998, and decided to launch the television division. Tochterman produced shows for the broadcast and cable TV networks.[4]
The music division was restructured with John Dukakis, formerly an employee of Southpaw Entertainment, signed as executive vice president of its music division on February 11, 1999.[5]
On May 10, 2000, it was announced that a merger with The Firm had been proposed, but it was later scrapped.[6]
Overbrook Entertainment announced on December 10, 2000 that it was renewing its interest in the television division. Its plans were to include a 13-episode animated series commitment for Nickelodeon, as well as a slew of comedy, drama and telemovies on various broadcast networks. The studio was landing deals for three sitcoms, three dramas and one telefilm for various web networks.[7]
The studio's contract with Universal Pictures ended on January 30, 2002. It then formally signed a contract with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop feature films.[8]
The studio announced that it wouldn't renew its deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment on January 3, 2018.[9]
On July 10, 2019, Smith and his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, announced the formation of Westbrook Inc., with Overbrook Entertainment being as one of the subsidiaries of the company.[10] It is reported that Westbrook Studios would sign a deal with National Geographic.[11]
Filmography
editFilms
edit2000s
edit2010s
edit2020s
edit| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Bad Boys for Life | Adil & Bilall | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures, 2.0 Entertainment and Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You | Michael Fimognari | Netflix | Uncredited; co-production with Awesomeness Films and Ace Entertainment | |
| Charm City Kings | Angel Manuel Soto | HBO Max | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics and Warner Max | |
| Life in a Year | Mitja Okorn | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production with Columbia Pictures | |
| 2021 | To All the Boys: Always and Forever | Michael Fimognari | Netflix | Uncredited; co-production with Awesomeness Films and Ace Entertainment |
| The Harder They Fall | Jeymes Samuel | Netflix | Uncredited | |
| King Richard | Reinaldo Marcus Green | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with Westbrook Studios and Star Thrower Entertainment | |
| 2022 | Emancipation | Antoine Fuqua | Apple TV+ | co-production with Westbrook Studios, McFarland Entertainment, Escape Artists and Apple Studios |
Television
edit2000s
edit| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2007 | All of Us | Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith Betsy Borns |
UPN (seasons 1–3) The CW (season 4) |
co-production with Warner Bros. Television |
2010s
edit| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–2011 | Hawthorne | John Masius | TNT | continued from 100% Womon Productions; co-production with FanFare Productions, John Masius Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
| 2013–2015 | The Queen Latifah Show | Queen Latifah | Syndication | revival of the 1999 series; co-production with Flavor Unit Entertainment, Curly One Productions and Sony Pictures Television |
| 2018–present | Cobra Kai | Josh Heald Jon Hurwitz Hayden Schlossberg based on the Karate Kid film series by: Robert Mark Kamen |
YouTube Red (season 1) YouTube Premium (season 2) Netflix (season 3–present) |
co-production with Hurwitz & Schlossberg Productions (seasons 1–2), Heald Productions (season 2), Counterbalance Entertainment (season 3–present), Westbrook Studios (season 3–present) and Sony Pictures Television |
2020s
edit| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–present | Bel–Air | Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz | Peacock | co-production with Arbolada Roads, Ra Shines Inc., Cooper Films, The 51, Westbrook Studios and Universal Television |
Soundtrack
edit| Year | Title | Artist | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | Various artists | Interscope Records | |
| 2000 | Love & Basketball | |||
| 2002 | Men in Black II | Danny Elfman | Columbia Records | |
| 2014 | Annie | Various artists | RCA Records |
Distribution
edit| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The 7th Commandment | Theron Alford | DVD distribution; co-production with 25Eight Productions and A Free World Productions |
References
edit- ^ "Overbrook Entertainment". Kftv.com.
- ^ "Overbrook Entertainment company information, funding & investors". uktest1.dealroom.co. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
- ^ Cox, Dan (1997-11-12). "Smith talks shingle at U". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Hontz, Jenny (1998-09-16). "Tochterman over to Overbrook". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Petrikin, Chris; Cox, Dan (1999-02-12). "Overbrook is ready". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Fleming, Michael (2000-05-10). "Overbrook, the Firm join forces". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Adalian, Josef; Schneider, Michael (2000-12-11). "Overbrook turns on TV". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Harris, Dana (2002-01-31). "Sony, Overbrook ink". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Lang, Brent; Kroll, Justin (2018-01-03). "Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment Not Re-Upping Sony First Look Deal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-07-10). "Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith Launch Multimedia Cross-Platform Venture Westbrook Inc". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- ^ "Will Smith's Westbrook Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Nat Geo". TheWrap. 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-19.