Marco Weber(I)
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
German-born Marco Weber started his career in 1992 at German
broadcaster RTL and received critical acclaim with his documentary
"Annie's Shooting" about famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Driven by his love and passion for cinema, he went to Los Angeles at
the age of 25 hoping to make motion pictures. One year later, in 1994,
the stars aligned and he produced his first feature "Don't do it" with
young and upcoming actors as Heather Graham and David Arquette. His
next two productions were "Red Meat" and "No Strings attached".
In 1997, together with blockbuster director Roland Emmerich, he set out
to produce the $20M sci-fi thriller "The Thirteenth Floor" for Columbia
Tristar, directed by Josef Rusnak, starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Armin
Mueller Stahl.
In 1998, he founded his company Atlantic Streamline, which was to
produce, among others, the heist comedy "You Are Dead," starring John
Hurt and Rhys Ifans. He went on to produce "All the Queens Men" which
was directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, who went on to win the Academy Award
for best foreign picture for his film "The Counterfeiters" in 2007. One
year later, Weber was able to celebrate his biggest success up to that
point, the black comedy "Igby Goes Down," starring Susan Sarandon, Jeff
Goldblum, Ryan Phillipe, Claire Danes, and Kieran Culkin. The film
earned Weber his first Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award
nominations. The film was distributed through MGM/United Artists and on
the heels of "Igby Goes Down," the studio offered Weber a first
look/co-financing deal, starting a long relationship with Studio
Chairman Chris McGurk.
In 2006, Weber acquired, together with his partner Helge Sasse, 50.1%
in German Distributor Senator Entertainment AG. As newly appointed
Chief Creative Officer, he was responsible for the acquisition and
theatrical releases of films like "Pan's Labyrinth," "Death Proof,"
"Planet Terror," "1408," "The Mist," "The Reader," "Hard Candy," and
"Splice," amongst many others. He also invented the genre label,
Autobahn.
Concurrently, he also remained active as producer. In 2007 he financed
and produced "Fireflies in the Garden", starring Julia Roberts, Ryan
Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Hayden Panetierre. The film
screened in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in 2008. Following
this film, Weber joined forces with acclaimed author Bret Easton Ellis
and went on to finance and produce "The Informers", starring Mickey
Rourke, Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger and Winona Ryder.
In August 2008, Weber stepped down from the Board of Senator
Entertainment AG in order to focus entirely on filmmaking.
In 2009 he went on to finance and produce the thriller "Unthinkable",
starring Samuel Jackson, Michael Sheen, and Carrie-Anne Moss and was
the executive Producer on Antoine Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest", starring
Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, and Ethan Hawke.
In 2012 Weber decided to transition into writing and directing with his
debut "California Scheming". This tale of four troubled Teenagers was
financed and produced through his label Rapid Eye Film. The film was
shot entirely in Malibu, California and stars teen actors Gia Mantegna,
Rachel Seiferth, Devon Werkheiser and Spencer Daniels.
In 2014 and following the distribution of "California Scheming", Weber
entered into a 15 Picture US Distribution Deal with Cinedigm
Entertainment. Under the agreement, Rapid Eye will produce, co-produce,
or acquire three to four genre-centric films per year. Cinedigm will
handle the theatrical and home entertainment release and distribution
strategy, with RES producing and managing the marketing. This deal
reunites Weber and Cinedigm Chairman and CEO, Chris McGurk. The first
film in development under the deal with Cinedigm is called "Datum" and
is expected to go into production in late 2014.
The international distribution on each Rapid Eye production will be
handled by Nicolas Chartier of Voltage Pictures (The Hurt Locker,
Dallas Buyers Club).
In addition to the deal with Cinedigm, Weber created and co-wrote a
series pilot entitled "Children of the Machine". He invented and
created a unique and innovative distribution model in collaboration
with BitTorrent. Under this model, Rapid Eye Studios will finance and
produce the pilot and launch and distribute it for free to all
BitTorrent subscribers. After reviewing the pilot, users will have the
opportunity to help finance an additional 8 hour-long episodes by
subscribing to the show via BitTorrent paygates. If the threshold of
subscribers is met, the full series will be produced and launched in
Summer 2015 to those users who donated. "Children of the Machine" is
co-written by Jeff Stockwell.
Weber lives with his wife, Anne Caroline, and their four children
Moritz, Nikita, Winona, and Lola in Malibu, California.
broadcaster RTL and received critical acclaim with his documentary
"Annie's Shooting" about famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Driven by his love and passion for cinema, he went to Los Angeles at
the age of 25 hoping to make motion pictures. One year later, in 1994,
the stars aligned and he produced his first feature "Don't do it" with
young and upcoming actors as Heather Graham and David Arquette. His
next two productions were "Red Meat" and "No Strings attached".
In 1997, together with blockbuster director Roland Emmerich, he set out
to produce the $20M sci-fi thriller "The Thirteenth Floor" for Columbia
Tristar, directed by Josef Rusnak, starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Armin
Mueller Stahl.
In 1998, he founded his company Atlantic Streamline, which was to
produce, among others, the heist comedy "You Are Dead," starring John
Hurt and Rhys Ifans. He went on to produce "All the Queens Men" which
was directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky, who went on to win the Academy Award
for best foreign picture for his film "The Counterfeiters" in 2007. One
year later, Weber was able to celebrate his biggest success up to that
point, the black comedy "Igby Goes Down," starring Susan Sarandon, Jeff
Goldblum, Ryan Phillipe, Claire Danes, and Kieran Culkin. The film
earned Weber his first Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award
nominations. The film was distributed through MGM/United Artists and on
the heels of "Igby Goes Down," the studio offered Weber a first
look/co-financing deal, starting a long relationship with Studio
Chairman Chris McGurk.
In 2006, Weber acquired, together with his partner Helge Sasse, 50.1%
in German Distributor Senator Entertainment AG. As newly appointed
Chief Creative Officer, he was responsible for the acquisition and
theatrical releases of films like "Pan's Labyrinth," "Death Proof,"
"Planet Terror," "1408," "The Mist," "The Reader," "Hard Candy," and
"Splice," amongst many others. He also invented the genre label,
Autobahn.
Concurrently, he also remained active as producer. In 2007 he financed
and produced "Fireflies in the Garden", starring Julia Roberts, Ryan
Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Hayden Panetierre. The film
screened in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in 2008. Following
this film, Weber joined forces with acclaimed author Bret Easton Ellis
and went on to finance and produce "The Informers", starring Mickey
Rourke, Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger and Winona Ryder.
In August 2008, Weber stepped down from the Board of Senator
Entertainment AG in order to focus entirely on filmmaking.
In 2009 he went on to finance and produce the thriller "Unthinkable",
starring Samuel Jackson, Michael Sheen, and Carrie-Anne Moss and was
the executive Producer on Antoine Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest", starring
Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, and Ethan Hawke.
In 2012 Weber decided to transition into writing and directing with his
debut "California Scheming". This tale of four troubled Teenagers was
financed and produced through his label Rapid Eye Film. The film was
shot entirely in Malibu, California and stars teen actors Gia Mantegna,
Rachel Seiferth, Devon Werkheiser and Spencer Daniels.
In 2014 and following the distribution of "California Scheming", Weber
entered into a 15 Picture US Distribution Deal with Cinedigm
Entertainment. Under the agreement, Rapid Eye will produce, co-produce,
or acquire three to four genre-centric films per year. Cinedigm will
handle the theatrical and home entertainment release and distribution
strategy, with RES producing and managing the marketing. This deal
reunites Weber and Cinedigm Chairman and CEO, Chris McGurk. The first
film in development under the deal with Cinedigm is called "Datum" and
is expected to go into production in late 2014.
The international distribution on each Rapid Eye production will be
handled by Nicolas Chartier of Voltage Pictures (The Hurt Locker,
Dallas Buyers Club).
In addition to the deal with Cinedigm, Weber created and co-wrote a
series pilot entitled "Children of the Machine". He invented and
created a unique and innovative distribution model in collaboration
with BitTorrent. Under this model, Rapid Eye Studios will finance and
produce the pilot and launch and distribute it for free to all
BitTorrent subscribers. After reviewing the pilot, users will have the
opportunity to help finance an additional 8 hour-long episodes by
subscribing to the show via BitTorrent paygates. If the threshold of
subscribers is met, the full series will be produced and launched in
Summer 2015 to those users who donated. "Children of the Machine" is
co-written by Jeff Stockwell.
Weber lives with his wife, Anne Caroline, and their four children
Moritz, Nikita, Winona, and Lola in Malibu, California.