Thomas Tull
| Thomas Tull | |
|---|---|
|
Thomas Tull at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2014. | |
| Born |
June 9, 1970 Endwell, New York, United States |
| Alma mater | Hamilton College |
| Occupation | Film producer, businessman |
| Years active | 2003–present |
Thomas Tull (born 1970) is an American businessman and film producer. He is currently the Chairman of the Board and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. His firm has produced and/or financed several major motion pictures, including The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Hangover and its sequels, 300, Man of Steel and others.
Life and career
Tull grew up in Endwell, New York, the son of a dental hygienist single mother.[1][2][3] As a youth, Tull was an athlete, playing baseball and playing football, earning a football scholarship.[2] Tull graduated from nearby Hamilton College in 1992. After college, Tull abandoned plans to become a lawyer and instead went into business, starting a chain of laundromats. Tull went into the field of financing, buying and selling several tax and accounting offices.[2] In the private equity business, Tull rose to President of Convex Group and later as the Chief of Operations of Tax Services of America.[4] His firm invested in entertainment, where Tull began to learn the entertainment business. After discussing the potential of private equity with a film executive in 2003, Tull quit Convex, raising $600 million in equity to finance movies under the Legendary Pictures banner.[1] The company entered into a partnership in 2005 with Warner Bros. to jointly finance and produce films.[2] In 2009, Tull became the majority shareholder of Legendary, in a buyout of the original investors.[2] The Warner deal was followed by a similar deal with Universal Studios in 2013. He also helped produce the film Blackhat.
Tull describes himself as a "fanboy" of comics and several of the films produced by Legendary were personal favorites of Tull.[3] Watchmen had been in "development hell" for years when Tull arranged to pick up the rights.[3] 300 had been turned down by other studios.[2] Tull also describes himself as a "gamer", and founded the short-lived Brash Entertainment to work on film-to-video game conversions.[1]
Tull is a member of the Board of Trustees for the American Film Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, and the San Diego Zoo.[4] In 2009, Tull became a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.[2] Tull had been a fan of the Steelers since age four, watching the Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX.[5]
Tull is a billionaire.[6] He has donated US$1 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.[7]
Filmography as producer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Superman Returns | executive produce |
| The Ant Bully | executive producer | |
| Beerfest | executive producer | |
| We Are Marshall | executive producer | |
| 2007 | 300 | executive producer |
| Trick 'r Treat | executive producer | |
| 2008 | 10,000 B.C. | executive producer |
| The Dark Knight | executive producer | |
| It Might Get Loud | producer | |
| 2009 | Watchmen | executive producer |
| Observe and Report | executive producer | |
| The Hangover | executive producer | |
| Where the Wild Things Are | executive producer | |
| Ninja Assassin | executive producer | |
| 2010 | Clash of the Titans | executive producer |
| Jonah Hex | executive producer | |
| Inception | executive producer | |
| The Town | executive producer | |
| Due Date | executive producer | |
| 2011 | Sucker Punch | executive producer |
| The Hangover Part II | executive producer | |
| Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope | producer | |
| 2012 | Wrath of the Titans | executive producer |
| The Dark Knight Rises | executive producer | |
| 2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | executive producer |
| 42 | producer | |
| The Hangover Part III | executive producer | |
| Man of Steel | executive producer | |
| Pacific Rim | producer | |
| 2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire | producer |
| Godzilla | producer | |
| As Above, So Below | producer | |
| Dracula Untold | executive producer | |
| Interstellar | executive producer | |
| Unbroken | executive producer | |
| 2015 | Blackhat | producer |
| Seventh Son | producer | |
| Jurassic World | executive producer | |
| Straight Outta Compton | executive producer | |
| Crimson Peak | producer | |
| Krampus | producer | |
| 2016 | Warcraft | producer |
| Spectral | producer | |
| The Great Wall | producer | |
| 2017 | Kong: Skull Island | producer |
| 2018 | Godzilla 2 | producer |
| Pacific Rim: Maelstrom | producer | |
References
- 1 2 3 Lippold, Kye (April 21, 2008). "Thomas Tull '92 Discusses His Journey From Hamilton to Hollywood". Hamilton College. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Garahan, Matthew (December 5, 2010). "Producer follows his own script". Financial Times.
- 1 2 3 Brophy-Warren, Jamin (February 27, 2009). "A Producer of Superheroes". Wall Street Journal.
- 1 2 "Executive Profile: Thomas Tull". Business Week. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ↑ Labriola, Bob (April 7, 2010). "Investor profile: Thomas Tull". Pittsburgh Steelers.
- ↑ Robehmed, Natalie (February 10, 2016). "Box Office Billionaire: How Legendary's Thomas Tull Used Comics, China And A Secret Formula To Remake Hollywood". Forbes. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ↑ Johnson, Ted (January 31, 2016). "Thomas Tull, Haim Saban Give Seven-Figure Sums to Pro-Clinton SuperPAC". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Tull. |