Mark Seiler, a former studio executive and the longtime fiancee of actress Morgan Fairchild, died July 7 from a heart attack. He was 75
At the time of his death, en route to a hospital in Burbank, Seiler had been battling Parkinson’s disease and was currently suffering his third Covid-19 infection, his family said in a statement on Aug. 1.
Born May 2, 1948 in Glen Cove New York, Seiler was raised on Long Island and later graduated from Tulane University with a Bs in Economics.
‘s roles in Hollywood included serving as president of Rko Pictures, the successor to the original studio founded in the late 1970s, president of Hemdale Films, and the CEO of 90s production powerhouse Capella Films.
While at Hemdale, films overseen by Seiler include “Carbon Copy” (1981), the screen debut of Denzel Washington.
At Rko he oversaw the production of films including “Plenty” (1985), starring Meryl Streep, “Half Moon Street” (1986), starring Sigourney Weaver,...
At the time of his death, en route to a hospital in Burbank, Seiler had been battling Parkinson’s disease and was currently suffering his third Covid-19 infection, his family said in a statement on Aug. 1.
Born May 2, 1948 in Glen Cove New York, Seiler was raised on Long Island and later graduated from Tulane University with a Bs in Economics.
‘s roles in Hollywood included serving as president of Rko Pictures, the successor to the original studio founded in the late 1970s, president of Hemdale Films, and the CEO of 90s production powerhouse Capella Films.
While at Hemdale, films overseen by Seiler include “Carbon Copy” (1981), the screen debut of Denzel Washington.
At Rko he oversaw the production of films including “Plenty” (1985), starring Meryl Streep, “Half Moon Street” (1986), starring Sigourney Weaver,...
- 8/2/2023
- by Ross A. Lincoln
- The Wrap
Mark Edwin Seiler, the former president of Rko Pictures and Hemdale Films and CEO of Capella Films, died on July 7 of Parkinson’s disease. He was 75.
While Seiler was at the helm of Rko, the company produced notable films including “Plenty” (1985) starring Meryl Streep, “Half Moon Street” (1986) with Sigourney Weaver and Michael Caine and “Campus Man” (1987), where he met his longtime fiancée Morgan Fairchild.
Another one of his proudest achievements was producing the war film “Hamburger Hill” (1987) alongside his partner Jerry Offsay. Together, Seiler and Offsay formed the cast of the film, giving Don Cheadle, Dylan McDermott, Courtney B. Vance and Steven Weber some of their first roles. Then, as CEO of Capella Films, Seiler helped to finance and produce “The Shadow” (1994) starring Alec Baldwin and “Nobody’s Fool” (1994), which earned Paul Newman a best actor Oscar nomination.
Born on May 2, 1948 in Glen Cove, N.Y., Seiler was raised in Long...
While Seiler was at the helm of Rko, the company produced notable films including “Plenty” (1985) starring Meryl Streep, “Half Moon Street” (1986) with Sigourney Weaver and Michael Caine and “Campus Man” (1987), where he met his longtime fiancée Morgan Fairchild.
Another one of his proudest achievements was producing the war film “Hamburger Hill” (1987) alongside his partner Jerry Offsay. Together, Seiler and Offsay formed the cast of the film, giving Don Cheadle, Dylan McDermott, Courtney B. Vance and Steven Weber some of their first roles. Then, as CEO of Capella Films, Seiler helped to finance and produce “The Shadow” (1994) starring Alec Baldwin and “Nobody’s Fool” (1994), which earned Paul Newman a best actor Oscar nomination.
Born on May 2, 1948 in Glen Cove, N.Y., Seiler was raised in Long...
- 8/1/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Mark Seiler, the former president of Rko Pictures and Hemdale Films and CEO of Capella Films, died July 7 after a long battle with Parkinson’s and complications from Covid-19. He was 75.
A veteran studio executive, Seiler’s long career at the helm of three significant film financing and production companies included the release of a slew of successful and critically acclaimed films including Meryl Streep’s Plenty, Sigourney Weaver’s Half Moon Street and the war movie Hamburger Hill at Rko and the comedies Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery at Capella.
Mark Edwin Seiler was born in Glen Cove, New York, on May 2, 1948, to Carl Seiler and Madelyn (née Hughes) Seiler. He was raised in Sands Point, Long Island, where he attended Buckley Day School, Choate Rosemary Hall and Paul D. Schreiber High School before graduating from Tulane University with an economics degree.
A veteran studio executive, Seiler’s long career at the helm of three significant film financing and production companies included the release of a slew of successful and critically acclaimed films including Meryl Streep’s Plenty, Sigourney Weaver’s Half Moon Street and the war movie Hamburger Hill at Rko and the comedies Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery at Capella.
Mark Edwin Seiler was born in Glen Cove, New York, on May 2, 1948, to Carl Seiler and Madelyn (née Hughes) Seiler. He was raised in Sands Point, Long Island, where he attended Buckley Day School, Choate Rosemary Hall and Paul D. Schreiber High School before graduating from Tulane University with an economics degree.
- 8/1/2023
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The trail-blazing Us showrunner was speaking at Miptv in Cannes.
Trail-blazing Us showrunner Ilene Chaiken told a Miptv keynote on Tuesday that she expects the sequel of her pioneering show The L Word to hit Us network Showtime by the end of 2019.
The ground-breaking show, capturing the lives of a group of lesbian women and bisexuals living in Los Angeles, originally ran from 2004 to 2009 and was loosely inspired by Chaiken’s own experiences.
It marked the beginning of a hugely successful career in TV for the former feature film writer which also includes show-running Empire and spearheading The Handmaid’s Tale.
Trail-blazing Us showrunner Ilene Chaiken told a Miptv keynote on Tuesday that she expects the sequel of her pioneering show The L Word to hit Us network Showtime by the end of 2019.
The ground-breaking show, capturing the lives of a group of lesbian women and bisexuals living in Los Angeles, originally ran from 2004 to 2009 and was loosely inspired by Chaiken’s own experiences.
It marked the beginning of a hugely successful career in TV for the former feature film writer which also includes show-running Empire and spearheading The Handmaid’s Tale.
- 4/10/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The first and most important thing that happened as a result of the staging of "Sticks and Stones" at the Met Theater as part of the Act One Festival was that Scott Swan and I got our first agent. Barbara Baruch worked for Ambrosio/Mortimer, a smaller boutique agency at the time, and from the moment we met her, she seemed like what I imagined an agent to be. She was nurturing, she was a cheerleader, she was a ballbuster, and she was always, always, always in our corner. Our time with her was unfortunately too short, and by the time the agency imploded in accusations of embezzlement, we were already repped by Gersh out of New York. Barbara was first, though, and she was the first one to start pushing people to come see our show and to read our work. The strangest thing about those early days is...
- 6/11/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
There was never anything like it and there will never be.
Those are the words of actress Sharon Gless talking about the gone-but-not-forgotten series, Queer As Folk, the Us take on the British hit series which ran on Showtime from December 2000- August 2005.
And while the actors from the show have been busy in multiple projects – Peter Paige (Emmett) is Exec Producing the ABC Family series, The Fosters, Gale Harold (Brian) has been acting in series like Defiance and The Secret Circle and Randy Harrison (Justin) has concentrated mostly onstage though he appears with Michael Urie in Such Good People, which is currently on the film festival circuit – is there a chance we could see them, along with co-stars Hal Sparks, Scott Lowell, Thea Gill, Michelle Clunie and, of course, multi Emmy-winner Sharon Gless, reprise their roles?
According to Gless, who talked to TheBacklot last week, the answer is yes.
Those are the words of actress Sharon Gless talking about the gone-but-not-forgotten series, Queer As Folk, the Us take on the British hit series which ran on Showtime from December 2000- August 2005.
And while the actors from the show have been busy in multiple projects – Peter Paige (Emmett) is Exec Producing the ABC Family series, The Fosters, Gale Harold (Brian) has been acting in series like Defiance and The Secret Circle and Randy Harrison (Justin) has concentrated mostly onstage though he appears with Michael Urie in Such Good People, which is currently on the film festival circuit – is there a chance we could see them, along with co-stars Hal Sparks, Scott Lowell, Thea Gill, Michelle Clunie and, of course, multi Emmy-winner Sharon Gless, reprise their roles?
According to Gless, who talked to TheBacklot last week, the answer is yes.
- 6/12/2014
- by Jim Halterman
- The Backlot
Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook) and Julian Sands ( A Room With A View, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) have been added to the cast of Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks, the feature film based on Richard Alfieri ’s international hit play of the same name.
Gena Rowlands, Cheyenne Jackson, Rita Moreno, Kathleen Rose Perkins (Showtime’s Episodes), Anthony Zerbe and Simon Miller were previously set for lead roles.
“We’re particularly excited to have Jacki Weaver join the cast as a follow-up to her Oscar-nominated role in Silver Linings Playbook,” said producer Andras Somkuti. “She, Gena Rowlands, Cheyenne Jackson and Julian Sands reflect the caliber of actors that our casting director Paul Ruddy has reached out to for key roles in the film.”
Filming is underway at Astra Film Studios in Budapest, Hungary, to be followed by location shoots in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Arthur Allan Seidelman,...
Gena Rowlands, Cheyenne Jackson, Rita Moreno, Kathleen Rose Perkins (Showtime’s Episodes), Anthony Zerbe and Simon Miller were previously set for lead roles.
“We’re particularly excited to have Jacki Weaver join the cast as a follow-up to her Oscar-nominated role in Silver Linings Playbook,” said producer Andras Somkuti. “She, Gena Rowlands, Cheyenne Jackson and Julian Sands reflect the caliber of actors that our casting director Paul Ruddy has reached out to for key roles in the film.”
Filming is underway at Astra Film Studios in Budapest, Hungary, to be followed by location shoots in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Arthur Allan Seidelman,...
- 5/6/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exclusive: On the heels of his comedy pilot getting picked up by NBC, Sean Hayes is finalizing a deal for the lead opposite Gena Rowlands in the independent movie 6 Dance Lessons In 6 Weeks, based on Richard Alfieri’s play. Directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman from a screenplay by Alfieri, 6 Dance Lessons In 6 Weeks is described as a touching comedy about a retired woman, Lily Harrison (Rowlands), who hires a handsome, energetic dance instructor, Michael Minetti (Hayes), to give her private dance lessons —one per week for six weeks— in her gulf-front condo in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. What begins as an antagonistic relationship blossoms into an intimate friendship as these two people from very different backgrounds reveal their secrets, fears, and joys while dancing the Swing, Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha-Cha, and Contemporary Dance. Andras Somkuti is producing the film, with Marc Platt and Jerry Offsay executive producing. Since its Los...
- 1/24/2013
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
First Serve Prods. has acquired film rights to "Revolutions," a Richard Alfieri play being staged at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va.
First Serve chief Jerry Hanks said the play's director, Arthur Allan Seidelman, will helm the big-screen adaptation. Alfieri and Seidelman also teamed on "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks," which producers Marc Platt, Jerry Offsay, Mark Harris and Jan Korbelin are developing as a film with Seidelman attached to direct.
Stage productions also are planned in New York and L.A. for "Revolutions," a college-reunion yarn that flashes back to the 1960s.
Based in L.A. and New Mexico, First Serve also is developing coming-of-age film "Chrome Bike" and TV miniseries "A Story of the Renaissance," an eight-hour production set in Italy.
First Serve chief Jerry Hanks said the play's director, Arthur Allan Seidelman, will helm the big-screen adaptation. Alfieri and Seidelman also teamed on "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks," which producers Marc Platt, Jerry Offsay, Mark Harris and Jan Korbelin are developing as a film with Seidelman attached to direct.
Stage productions also are planned in New York and L.A. for "Revolutions," a college-reunion yarn that flashes back to the 1960s.
Based in L.A. and New Mexico, First Serve also is developing coming-of-age film "Chrome Bike" and TV miniseries "A Story of the Renaissance," an eight-hour production set in Italy.
- 6/8/2010
- by By Carl DiOrio
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Former Showtime programming president Jerry Offsay has come on board at a newly launched production company, America Saga Prods., that seeks to resurrect longform television content.
The company's first project is "The Line," a four-hour miniseries starring and directed by Robert Duvall. Asp will shop the project to networks in the next couple of weeks while proposing a financial arrangement whereby producers will shoulder all of the production costs in exchange for sharing first-year advertising revenue.
Offsay was brought aboard the company by founder and chairman Michael Leighton, who also tapped producer Nick Grillo to run production. Asp was born as an affiliate of Sentinel America Corp., an investment company chaired by Leighton. The group has secured private financing, including a $15 million budget for "Line," and claim about eight other projects in development that are slated for about $8 million each.
The executives said they are confident they can find network buyers for their planned projects and added that producing a miniseries without a previous agreement also is an option given the number of alternative outlets including international buyers and home video.
"We're not looking for funding from the networks, we don't want any license fees," Leighton said. "It's just good business to know somebody wants the product when it's finished."
Nobody in the industry has balked at their ad-sharing model, Leighton added, and Offsay pointed to Mrc taking over the CW's Sunday night programming block as an example of how network deals are no longer one size fits all.
"We think we're going to be the next new innovative deal that comes out of the woodwork," Offsay said. "We have the intention to maximize the revenue for everybody and do it in a most sensible fashion."
The group also hopes its formation will result in more quality longform projects, with many of these having been shelved in recent years as networks reduce their movie divisions.
Each Asp project has a heroic, Americana theme -- ranging from historical biopics to tackling current issues. The group will shy away from topics relying heavily on sex or violence.
"It's material that shows the good side of being an American but can be literally any topic or story," Leighton said. "These are not vanilla projects."
"Line" centers on American-Mexican border tensions, with Duvall playing a Department of Agriculture "tick rider" who patrols the border for pests. Duvall's character unintentionally becomes the target of Mexican drug lords, the Mexican police, the FBI and Texas Rangers. The project is executive produced by Rob Carliner and written by Alan Geoffrion, both of whom worked on Duvall's Emmy-winning "Broken Trail."
"It's a classic Western chase movie, it will exasperate everybody because the (immigration) issues exasperate everybody," Offsay said. "It's a wonderful kickoff project."...
The company's first project is "The Line," a four-hour miniseries starring and directed by Robert Duvall. Asp will shop the project to networks in the next couple of weeks while proposing a financial arrangement whereby producers will shoulder all of the production costs in exchange for sharing first-year advertising revenue.
Offsay was brought aboard the company by founder and chairman Michael Leighton, who also tapped producer Nick Grillo to run production. Asp was born as an affiliate of Sentinel America Corp., an investment company chaired by Leighton. The group has secured private financing, including a $15 million budget for "Line," and claim about eight other projects in development that are slated for about $8 million each.
The executives said they are confident they can find network buyers for their planned projects and added that producing a miniseries without a previous agreement also is an option given the number of alternative outlets including international buyers and home video.
"We're not looking for funding from the networks, we don't want any license fees," Leighton said. "It's just good business to know somebody wants the product when it's finished."
Nobody in the industry has balked at their ad-sharing model, Leighton added, and Offsay pointed to Mrc taking over the CW's Sunday night programming block as an example of how network deals are no longer one size fits all.
"We think we're going to be the next new innovative deal that comes out of the woodwork," Offsay said. "We have the intention to maximize the revenue for everybody and do it in a most sensible fashion."
The group also hopes its formation will result in more quality longform projects, with many of these having been shelved in recent years as networks reduce their movie divisions.
Each Asp project has a heroic, Americana theme -- ranging from historical biopics to tackling current issues. The group will shy away from topics relying heavily on sex or violence.
"It's material that shows the good side of being an American but can be literally any topic or story," Leighton said. "These are not vanilla projects."
"Line" centers on American-Mexican border tensions, with Duvall playing a Department of Agriculture "tick rider" who patrols the border for pests. Duvall's character unintentionally becomes the target of Mexican drug lords, the Mexican police, the FBI and Texas Rangers. The project is executive produced by Rob Carliner and written by Alan Geoffrion, both of whom worked on Duvall's Emmy-winning "Broken Trail."
"It's a classic Western chase movie, it will exasperate everybody because the (immigration) issues exasperate everybody," Offsay said. "It's a wonderful kickoff project."...
- 7/7/2008
- by By James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
TBS is debuting a new microseries Monday night titled "Commuter Confidential", which will center around a group of women who travel to and from work together each day.
The microseries, presented by Match.com and Revlon, will consist of 20 episodes airing weeknights across four consecutive weeks within a branded commercial pod from "Sex and the City" at 11 p.m.
"Commuter" stars Dorie Barton, Idalis De Leon, Keri Lynn Pratt and Dee Ryan and was written by Wendy Biller and Chris Hawthorne. Jerry Offsay and David Gadarian are the producers, while Thom Eberhardt.
The microseries, presented by Match.com and Revlon, will consist of 20 episodes airing weeknights across four consecutive weeks within a branded commercial pod from "Sex and the City" at 11 p.m.
"Commuter" stars Dorie Barton, Idalis De Leon, Keri Lynn Pratt and Dee Ryan and was written by Wendy Biller and Chris Hawthorne. Jerry Offsay and David Gadarian are the producers, while Thom Eberhardt.
The WB Network has beefed up its comedy pilot roster with three projects, including a sitcom from Will & Grace creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick to star Sara Gilbert, a show from writer-producer Mike Sikowitz toplined by Dean Cain and a flash-animation comedy to be exec produced by former Showtime programming chief Jerry Offsay. The untitled Kohan/Mutchnick project, from Warner Bros. TV, revolves around fraternal twin sisters who have nothing in common. Gilbert will play one of sisters. Kohan and Mutchnick are repped by Vision Art's Scott Schwartz. Gilbert, who recently completed a multiepisode arc on NBC's ER, is repped by Innovative Artists and manager Steven Levy.
Showtime has picked up Mike Newell's drama pilot Huff to series, sources said. The Sony Pictures Television project stars Hank Azaria as Craig Huffstodt, a psychiatrist suffering a midlife crisis. Oliver Platt, Paget Brewster and Blythe Danner co-star in the show, which is written by Bob Lowry and executive produced by Newell, Lowry and Cam Jones. Huff marks the first series greenlighted by Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's new entertainment president . The show's two-hour pilot was one of three pilots put into production in early 2003 by Greenblatt's predecessor, Jerry Offsay, along with Paradise and Spike Lee's SFC. Showtime declined comment late Friday.
- 12/15/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Showtime has picked up Mike Newell's drama pilot Huff to series, sources said. The Sony Pictures Television project stars Hank Azaria as Craig Huffstodt, a psychiatrist suffering a midlife crisis. Oliver Platt, Paget Brewster and Blythe Danner co-star in the show, which is written by Bob Lowry and executive produced by Newell, Lowry and Cam Jones. Huff marks the first series greenlighted by Robert Greenblatt, Showtime's new entertainment president . The show's two-hour pilot was one of three pilots put into production in early 2003 by Greenblatt's predecessor, Jerry Offsay, along with Paradise and Spike Lee's SFC. Showtime declined comment late Friday.
- 12/14/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After six years in the trenches as a producer, Robert Greenblatt is returning to the executive ranks as entertainment president at Showtime Networks. Greenblatt, a partner in the Greenblatt Janollari Studio and a former Fox Broadcasting Co. development executive, will take over programming duties at Showtime and its offshoot channels as of July 14 (HR 6/13). He succeeds Jerry Offsay, who previously announced his plan to step down from his post as programming president by year's end (HR 3/18).
- 6/26/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Is Kevin Reilly headed back to NBC? Reilly, FX's highly regarded entertainment president, has been hotly pursued by the peacock for a senior post that would bring Reilly back to the network where he started his TV career in the late 1980s. Sources said Reilly was in New York on Tuesday for a meeting with NBC chairman and CEO Robert Wright. However, sources close to the situation stressed that as of Tuesday night, there was no formal deal between Reilly and the network. It's also no secret that Reilly, whose contract with FX expires in the summer, has been courted by Showtime to become the new head of programming once president Jerry Offsay steps down at year's end. The specifics of the prospective job opening for Reilly at NBC are still murky, but industry insiders have been buzzing for some time about a pending shake-up at the NBC Entertainment and NBC Studios divisions. Reilly joined FX in 2000 and has made his mark there with the critically embraced drama series The Shield and the offbeat comedy Lucky. Before that, Reilly spent six years at Brillstein-Grey's TV unit. He began his career in 1988 at NBC, where he rose through the development ranks and was part of the team that developed such dramas as ER and Homicide: Life on the Street. NBC declined comment, while FX executives could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
- 5/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After 10 years at the helm, Jerry Offsay is set to step down as Showtime's president of programming at year's end. The search for his replacement is expected to begin in the next few weeks. It's still early in the process, and "there are no candidates for that job at the moment," Showtime chairman and CEO Matthew Blank said. Sources said Viacom Prods. president Perry Simon, former Columbia TriStar TV production president Tom Mazza and FX entertainment president Kevin Reilly are among the potential replacements on Showtime's shortlist. Offsay said Monday that he had always planned to shift his life into a lower gear by 2004. He said he made the decision to retire at age 50 on the day he turned 25. Offsay, who sealed his first deal with Showtime on his 40th birthday -- Dec. 13, 1993 -- turns 50 this year. It is understood that he had an option for another year in his current contract but decided not to exercise it.
- 3/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After 10 years at the helm, Jerry Offsay is set to step down as Showtime's president of programming at year's end. The search for his replacement is expected to begin in the next few weeks. It's still early in the process, and "there are no candidates for that job at the moment," Showtime chairman and CEO Matthew Blank said. Sources said Viacom Prods. president Perry Simon, former Columbia TriStar TV production president Tom Mazza and FX entertainment president Kevin Reilly are among the potential replacements on Showtime's shortlist. Offsay said Monday that he had always planned to shift his life into a lower gear by 2004. He said he made the decision to retire at age 50 on the day he turned 25. Offsay, who sealed his first deal with Showtime on his 40th birthday -- Dec. 13, 1993 -- turns 50 this year. It is understood that he had an option for another year in his current contract but decided not to exercise it.
- 3/18/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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