Sean Peter Daniel (born August 15, 1951)[1] is an American film producer and movie executive.

Sean Daniel
Born
Sean Peter Daniel

(1951-08-15) August 15, 1951 (age 73)
EducationHigh School of Music & Art
Alma materCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Occupation(s)Film producer, film executive
SpouseRuth Hunter

Life and career

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Born to a Jewish family,[2][3] Daniel attended Manhattan's High School of Music & Art, graduating in 1969.[4] He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film from the California Institute of the Arts in 1973.[citation needed]

In 1976, he joined Universal Pictures as a film production executive and in 1985, at the age of 34, he became production president,[5] the youngest in the studio's history, a position he held for five years.[citation needed] At Universal he supervised the financing and production of such acclaimed films as National Lampoon's Animal House, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Blues Brothers, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Brazil, Field of Dreams, Do the Right Thing, Back to the Future, Out of Africa, Midnight Run, Born on the Fourth of July, Missing, Weird Science, Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, Born in East L.A., Fletch, Gorillas in the Mist, Darkman, and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.[citation needed]

Following his tenure as an executive at the studio, Daniel started Alphaville Films with James Jacks. The production company was formed around the development and production of the first Mummy film that, based on its success, created a franchise yielding The Mummy Returns, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, and The Scorpion King. Through their company, Daniel and Jacks also produced such films as Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, the renowned western Tombstone; Nora Ephron’s comedy Michael, which starred John Travolta; Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan; the Coen BrothersIntolerable Cruelty; the Chris Rock/Weitz Brothers comedy Down to Earth; the rap-music comedy CB4, also with Chris Rock; Jerry Zucker’s Rat Race; John Woo’s first American film, Hard Target; The Jackal, which starred Richard Gere and Bruce Willis; Sam Raimi's The Gift starring Cate Blanchett; and American Me which starred and was directed by Edward James Olmos.

Daniel's 2016 films are Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!!, and Ben-Hur, an adaptation that returns to the original novel, with Timur Bekmambetov directing a script by Academy Award-winner John Ridley.

Daniel is currently the principal in The Sean Daniel Company, an independent production company that is developing projects at several studios and networks. At Universal, Daniel partnered with the producing team of Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan to create a new series of re-imagined Mummy movies, starting with 2017's The Mummy. In development is the follow-up to Universal's The Best Man Holiday which Daniel produced alongside writer/director/producer Malcolm D. Lee.

Daniel is the Executive Producer of the TV series The Expanse, for SyFy and Alcon Television Group. Based on the New York Times Best-Selling franchise by James S. A. Corey and adapted to screen by Academy Award-nominated screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man), the sci-fi thriller series is among the cable networks most ambitious project to date. The Expanse first aired December 2015 and stars Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. In addition to The Expanse, The Sean Daniel Company's television credits include Graceland, from Jeff Eastin, the creator of White Collar, now in its third season on the USA Network. The Sean Daniel Company has also just partnered with Google to develop a TV drama based on Ingress, a game with millions of participants, that uses real locations and social media activity. Additionally, Daniel has executive produced the TNT original film Freedom Song, directed by Phil Alden Robinson and which starred Danny Glover; HBO's Everyday People; and the USA Network’s four-hour mini series Attila, starring Gerard Butler.

Among the company's other projects is a partnership with independently funded Valiant Entertainment to make films based on their comic book characters, and Agent 13, based on the novel series, with Charlize Theron starring and producing with The Sean Daniel Company and Rupert Wyatt directing.

Daniel has been a participant in the debate about media and culture, appearing on TV’s The McLaughlin Group and NPR’s Which Way L.A., and in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post.

Personal life

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Daniel is married to Ruth Hunter, a staffer for the NRDC.[6]

Selected filmography

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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Year Film Credit Notes
1991 Pure Luck
1992 American Me
1993 CB4 Executive producer
Dazed and Confused
Heart and Souls
Hard Target
Tombstone
1995 Village of the Damned Co-executive producer
Mallrats
1996 Michael
1997 The Jackal
1999 The Mummy
2000 Lucky Numbers
The Gift Executive producer
2001 Down to Earth
The Mummy Returns
Pootie Tang Executive producer
Rat Race
2002 The Scorpion King
Dark Blue
2003 The Hunted Executive producer
Intolerable Cruelty Executive producer
2004 Alfie Executive producer
2008 The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior Direct-to-video
2010 The Wolfman
2012 The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption Executive producer Direct-to-video
2013 The Best Man Holiday
2015 The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power Executive producer Direct-to-video
2016 Everybody Wants Some!! Executive producer
Ben-Hur
Hard Target 2 Executive producer Direct-to-video
2017 The Mummy
2018 The Scorpion King: Book of Souls Executive producer Direct-to-video
2019 Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
2021 The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf Executive producer
Production manager
Year Film Role Notes
1980 Coal Miner's Daughter Executive in charge of production Uncredited
1984 Sixteen Candles
1988 The Great Outdoors
1990 Darkman
As an actor
Year Film Role
1985 Spies Like Us Ace Tomato Driver
1990 Darkman Policeman #2
Thanks
Year Film Role
1995 Mallrats The director would like to thank: For bringing a pedigree to the project
1998 A Simple Plan Thanks

Television

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Year Title Credit Notes
1996 Don't Look Back Executive producer Television film
2000 Freedom Song Executive producer Television film
2001 Attila Executive producer
2004 Everyday People Executive producer Television film
2013−15 Graceland
2015−2022 The Expanse Executive producer
2019 The Witcher Executive producer
2022 The Witcher: Blood Origin Executive producer

References

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  1. ^ Sean Daniel, filmreference.com, January 21, 2014
  2. ^ New York Times: "THE DEMOCRATS: THE SHTICK; So Here's This Jewish Guy Who Gets Nominated..." By TODD S. PURDUM August 17, 2000
  3. ^ Portland Press Herald: "A ‘Ben-Hur’ for our time" by Steven Zeitchik August 21, 2016 | Downey and Burnett are staunch Catholics; Ridley is also a devout Christian, Huston and Bekmambetov, who was raised in a communist country, are more secular; Daniel and MGM principal Gary Barber are Jewish
  4. ^ "Notable Alumni," Alumni & Friends of LaGuardia High School official website. Accessed Oct. 31, 2016.
  5. ^ Los Angeles Times: "Sean Daniel Quits Universal to Head Geffen's Film Unit" by MICHAEL CIEPLY January 10, 1989
  6. ^ The Atlantic: "The Hollywood Campaign - Want big money to get elected to national office? If you're a Democrat, you need to head for the hills—Beverly Hills. A miner's map for the liberal Gold Rush" by Eric Alterman September 2004
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