Jeffrey Schwarz

Jeffrey Schwarz (born 1969) is President & CEO of Automat Pictures, a Los Angeles based entertainment company specializing in the production of studio EPKs (electronic press kits), Blu-ray and DVD content, original television programming, and feature films.

Jeffrey launched Automat in the early days of the DVD format, realizing the potential for compelling documentary programming in the tried-and true "behind the scenes" genre. He has since contributed to the success of dozens of major studio DVD releases for directors such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, Ron Howard, Sam Mendes, Wes Craven, Rob Reiner, Joe Dante, Barry Sonnenfeld, Paul Verhoeven, John Carpenter, Chris Columbus (filmmaker), the Coen Brothers, Sidney Lumet, and many more. Jeffrey's documentary People Like Us: Making Philadelphia, premiered at the 2003 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Schwarz also executive produced Whether You Like It Or Not: The Story of Hedwig, (Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)) which enjoyed a run at film festivals around the world. "No Day But Today: The Story of Rent (musical)" was featured on the DVD release of that musical's feature film adaptation, Rent (film).

Television productions include Starz (TV channel)'s "Sex and the Cinema," a look at sexuality on film, "In the Gutter," a history of the gross-out movie, "Hitchcocked!," a tribute to the artistry of Alfred Hitchcock, and "Shooting the Police: Cops on Film." For the Independent Film Channel he produced Reservoir Dogs Revisited, a celebration of Quentin Tarantino's classic, and Still Swingin, a tribute to the indie classic Swingers, as well as several episodes of HBO First Look.

In 2008, Jeffrey premiered the GayVN award winning feature documentary Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, a portrait of 1970s adult film star Jack Wrangler. It premiered at 2008's Newfest and is distributed by TLA Releasing. It frequently airs on Logo (TV channel). Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, about the legendary Hollywood showman, premiered at the 2007 American Film Institute's AFIFest and was awarded the Audience Award for Best Documentary among many other festival honors. It was released as part of the William Castle box set in 2009 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and in 2011 was released as a stand-alone Special Edition DVD.

In 2010, Automat Pictures provided exclusive backstage content for the 82nd Academy Awards produced by Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic.

Schwarz's latest feature documentary is HBO Documentary Films' "Vito," about the life of Vito Russo, gay activist, film scholar, and author of The Celluloid Closet. It premiered at the 2011 New York Film Festival. Future projects include feature documentaries on the lives of Divine ("I Am Divine") and Tab Hunter ("Tab Hunter Confidential"). Schwarz is also in development on Planet Kuchar, a narrative biopic about underground filmmaking legends George Kuchar and Mike Kuchar.

A New York native, Jeffrey is a graduate of the SUNY Purchase Film Department, where he produced Al Lewis in the Flesh, a profile of Grampa Al Lewis, octogenarian star of TV's The Munsters. This film observes the American pastime of celebrity adulation and led to Jeffrey's on-going interest in producing films about popular culture and Americana. His first job in the film industry was as an apprentice editor on The Celluloid Closet, Rob Epstein and [Jeffrey Friedman (filmmaker)]]’s film adaptation of Vito Russo’s seminal book.

External links

• Automat Pictures official site
• Jeffrey Schwarz at the Internet Movie Database
• "I Am Divine" official site
• "I Am Divine" Facebook page
• "Vito" official site
• "Vito" Facebook page
• Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon official site
• Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon Facebook page
• "Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story" official site
• "Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story" Facebook page

References

• Jeffrey Schwarz bio