Broderick Johnson(I)

Producer Broderick Johnson is co-CEO and co-founder of Alcon Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based wholly independent production company that develops, finances, produces and markets theatrical motion pictures for distribution by Warner Bros. Johnson produced alongside co-CEO Andrew Kosove Alcon's critically acclaimed box-office hit "The Blind Side," for which they were Oscar nominated for producing the Best Picture nominee, and for which Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress. "The Blind Side" grossed more than $309 million worldwide and broke box office records as the first film with a female lead to surpass the $200 million mark, earned in its seventh week. It also is the most successful sports movie of all time. Johnson's nomination for Best Picture was also a milestone in Oscar history as prior to Johnson and Lee Daniel's nomination for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire," only one African American producer had been nominated in this category - Quincy Jones for "The Color Purple" in 1985. A native of Athens, Georgia, Johnson met partner Andrew Kosove while the two attended Princeton as undergraduates. An economics major, Johnson headed to Wall Street and took a position at Salomon Brothers in New York, where he worked as a quantitative analyst in the equity derivatives group. Ultimately, Smith chose to partner with Johnson and Kosove in the finance, development and production company Alcon Entertainment. The two producers set up a small apartment "office" they rented by the week after launching their first project, "Lost and Found," a failure at the box office and a momentary set back for the young producers. However, the second film they produced, "My Dog Skip," was released soon after and earned them their first bona fide success, and Smith's admiration for their persistence and business sense.