Bill Block

William Hunt Block (born April 2, 1954) is an American film producer who has been CEO of Miramax since April 2017. His producing credits include W. (2008), District 9 (2009), Fury (2014), Bad Moms (2016), Dirty Grandpa (2016), Halloween (2018), and Halloween Kills (2021)

Early life

Block was born in New York City, where he attended Columbia University.

Career

Block began his career as a literary agent before founding the Intertalent Agency in 1988, where he represented such artists as Kim Basinger, Samuel L. Jackson, Steven Seagal, Charlie Sheen, John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Sam Raimi, Roland Emmerich and William Friedkin. In 1992, he joined International Creative Management as head of West Coast Operations.[1]

Block founded Artisan Entertainment, an independent film studio that produced films including The Blair Witch Project; The Buena Vista Social Club; Darren Aronofsky's Pi and Requiem For A Dream; The Limey directed by Steven Soderbergh; The Ninth Gate starring Johnny Depp and directed by Roman Polanski; and David Koepp's Stir of Echoes and Made starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn.[2][3]

In 2002, Block founded film finance, production and sales company QED International. He was CEO of QED for 12 years, producing films including Neill Blomkamp's District 9 and Elysium, Oliver Stone's W and David Ayer's WWII thriller Fury starring Brad Pitt.[4] In 2014, after Media Content Capital took a controlling interest in QED, Block left the company to launch Merced Media with producer Kevin Frakes.[5]

From 2015–17, he was managing director of Bill Block Media, producing the commercially successful Bad Moms starring Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, and Dirty Grandpa starring Robert De Niro and Zac Efron. In November 2015, he settled a legal disput with QED, after his former company filed a federal lawsuit alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition concerning the rights to Dirty Grandpa.[6]

He was named CEO of Miramax in April 2017.[4]

Personal life

Block lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife, model/actress/comedian Eugenia Kuzmina, two sons and a daughter.[7]

References
  1. Claudia Eller (October 13, 1992). "Block Bound for ICM". Variety.
  2. Pamela, McClintock (9 February 2006). "Block makes indie move". Daily Variety. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2018 – via High Beam Research.
  3. Mike Goodridge (August 15, 2001). "Bill Block resigns from Artisan Entertainment". ScreenDaily.
  4. McNary, Dave (April 26, 2017). "Miramax Hires Veteran Producer Bill Block as CEO". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  5. Fleming Jr, Mike (October 8, 2014). "'Fury' Producer Bill Block, Kevin Frakes Launch Merced Media With $500 Million For Slate Financing". Deadline. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  6. McNary, Dave (November 5, 2015). "Bill Block, QED Settle Legal Dispute". Variety. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  7. "At Home With Eugenia Kuzmina In Hollywood Hills". Pump Magazine. June 25, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
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