Escape Artists

American production company

This article is about the production company. For other uses, see Escape Artists (disambiguation).

"Escape Artists Productions, LLC" redirects here. For the Indian film production company, see Escape Artists Motion Pictures.

Not to be confused with Escape artist (disambiguation).

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Escape Artists Productions, LLC

Company type| Production company
Industry| Film
Television
Predecessors| Steve Tisch Productions
Black & Blu
Founded| 2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Founders| Steve Tisch
Todd Black
Jason Blumenthal
Headquarters| Culver City, California, United States

Key people

| Steve Tisch
Todd Black
Jason Blumenthal
David Bloomfield
Website| escapeartists.com

Escape Artists Productions, LLC, commonly known as Escape Artists, is an independently financed motion picture and television production company with a first look non-exclusive deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment, headed by partners Steve Tisch, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and David Bloomfield.

The company's production office is located in the Astaire Building on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California.

## History

[edit]

In 2001, Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal's Black & Blu merged with the Steve Tisch Company to form Escape Artists.

The first produced movie under the Escape Artists banner was A Knight's Tale, starring Heath Ledger in May 2001. In the fall of 2005, Escape Artists released The Weather Man, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Caine. Their next film, The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith, was released in December 2006 and earned over $300 million in worldwide ticket sales, as well as best actor Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Will Smith. Seven Pounds, another Gabriele Muccino-directed film starring Will Smith, was released in December 2008. In 2009, Escape Artists released the Alex Proyas thriller Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, and The Taking of Pelham 123, directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Escape Artists produced 'The Upside, which was directed by Neil Burger and starring Kevin Hart. It was released through STX Entertainment and Lantern Entertainment on January 11, 2019 in the United States. Escape Artists produced all three film adaptations of The Equalizer, with the most recent being the 2023 film The Equalizer 3. All three movies star Denzel Washington in the main role of Robert McCall.

In February 2013, 12-year veteran David Bloomfield was promoted to partner Escape Artists.[1] In October 2014, the company inks its first-look pact with FX Productions.[2] In August 2019, MGM Television signed its first-look deal with Escape Artists.[3]

## List of films

[edit]

### Columbia Pictures

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Production partners

|
|

2001  | A Knight's Tale | N/A
2006  | The Pursuit of Happyness | Overbrook Entertainment
2008  | Seven Pounds
2009  | The Taking of Pelham 123 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Scott Free Productions
2012  | Hope Springs | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Mandate Pictures
2014  | Sex Tape | N/A
The Equalizer | Village Roadshow Pictures
2016  | The Magnificent Seven | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Village Roadshow Pictures
2017  | Roman J. Israel, Esq. | N/A
2018  | The Equalizer 2
2021  | A Journal for Jordan
2022  | The Man from Toronto | Netflix
2023  | The Equalizer 3 | N/A

### Others

[edit]

* Alex & Emma (with Warner Bros. Pictures, Franchise Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment and Epsilon Motion Pictures) (2003)
* The Weather Man (with Paramount Pictures) (2005)
* Knowing (with Summit Entertainment) (2009)
* The Back-up Plan (with CBS Films) (2010)
* Unfinished Business (with 20th Century Fox and Regency Enterprises) (2015)
* Southpaw (with The Weinstein Company) (2015)
* Fences (with Paramount Pictures) (2016)
* The Upside (with STX Entertainment and Lantern Entertainment) (2019)
* Troop Zero (with Amazon Studios) (2020)
* Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (with Netflix) (2020)
* Being the Ricardos (with Amazon Studios) (2021)
* Emancipation (with Apple TV+) (2022)
* Cassandro (with Amazon Studios) (2023)
* Masters of the Universe (with Amazon MGM Studios and Mattel Films) (2026)[4]
* High and Low (with Apple TV+ and A24) (TBA)

## List of television shows

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Network  | Production partners

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|
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2019  | Perpetual Grace, LTD | Epix | MGM Television, Chi-Town Pictures, Elephant Pictures and FXP
2019  | Why We Hate | Discovery Channel | Amblin Television and Jigsaw Productions
2019-2023  | Servant | Apple TV+ | Blinding Edge Pictures and Dolphin Black Productions
2021  | Dr. Death | Peacock | Universal Content Productions, Wondery and Littleton Road Productions
2023  | Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe | Amazon Prime Video | Amazon Studios, MGM Television, Dorothy Street Pictures & PMZ Pictures

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Abrams, Rachel (February 12, 2013). "Escape Artists lifts David Bloomfield to partner". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
2. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (October 28, 2014). "Escape Artists Inks First-Look Pact with FX Prods". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
3. ^ Petski, Denise (August 8, 2019). "MGM Television Inks First-Look Deal With Escape Artists". Deadline. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
4. ^ "Mattel's 'Masters of the Universe' Moves From Netflix to Amazon for Summer 2026 Release, Travis Knight to Direct". Variety. May 1, 2024. Retrieved May 1, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official site Archived February 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Israel