Thomas Tull
Thomas Tull | |
|---|---|
 Tull at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015 | |
| Born | June 9, 1970 Endwell, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Hamilton College |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer, businessman |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Political party | Democratic |
Thomas Tull (born June 9, 1970) is an American billionaire businessman and film producer. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Legendary Entertainment. His firm has produced and/or financed several major films, including The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, The Hangover and its sequels, 300, Man of Steel and others.
Early life
Tull grew up in Endwell, New York, the son of a dental hygienist single mother.[2][3][4] As a youth, Tull was an athlete, playing baseball and football, earning a football scholarship.[3] Tull graduated from nearby Hamilton College in 1992.
Career
After college, Tull abandoned plans to become a lawyer and instead went into business, starting a chain of laundromats. Among his innovations were different prices according to demand at different times of day. Tull went into the field of financing, buying and selling several tax and accounting offices.[3] In the private equity business, Tull rose to president of Convex Group and later, chief of operations of Tax Services of America.[5] His firm invested in entertainment, where Tull began to learn the entertainment business. After discussing the potential of private equity with a film executive in 2003, Tull quit Convex, raising $600 million in equity to finance movies under the Legendary Pictures banner.[2] The company entered into a partnership in 2005 with Warner Bros. to jointly finance and produce films.[3] In 2009, Tull became the majority shareholder of Legendary, in a buyout of the original investors.[3] The Warner deal was followed by a similar deal with Universal Studios in 2013. He also helped produce the film Blackhat. Tull actively volunteered in the After School All Stars, a charity led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, which some credit for further fueling his interest in the entertainment business.
Tull describes himself as a "fanboy" of comics and several of the films produced by Legendary were personal favorites of Tull.[4] Watchmen had been in "development hell" for years when Tull arranged to pick up the rights.[4] 300 had been turned down by other studios.[3] Tull also describes himself as a "gamer", and founded the short-lived Brash Entertainment to work on film-to-video game conversions.[2]
Tull is a member of the board of trustees for the American Film Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame Board of Directors, and the San Diego Zoo.[5] In 2009, Tull became a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.[3] Tull had been a fan of the Steelers since age four, watching the Steelers take on the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX.[6]
Tull is a billionaire.[7] He has donated US$1 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.[8]
Personal life
He resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife Alba and their children. [9] They used to live in Thousand Oaks, California with his wife Alba and their children. In January 2018, his home was listed for $85 million, and is one of the largest private residences in the world.[10]
Filmography as producer
All films, he was producer unless otherwise noted.
Film
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Superman Returns | Executive producer |
| The Ant Bully | Executive producer | |
| Beerfest | Executive producer | |
| We Are Marshall | Executive producer | |
| 300 | Executive producer | |
| 2007 | Trick 'r Treat | Executive producer |
| 2008 | 10,000 BC | Executive producer |
| The Dark Knight | Executive producer | |
| 2009 | Watchmen | Executive producer |
| Observe and Report | Executive producer | |
| The Hangover | Executive producer | |
| Where the Wild Things Are | Executive producer | |
| Ninja Assassin | Executive producer | |
| 2010 | Clash of the Titans | Executive producer |
| Jonah Hex | Executive producer | |
| Inception | Executive producer | |
| The Town | Executive producer | |
| Due Date | Executive producer | |
| 2011 | Sucker Punch | Executive producer |
| The Hangover Part II | Executive producer | |
| 2012 | Wrath of the Titans | Executive producer |
| The Dark Knight Rises | Executive producer | |
| 2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | Executive producer |
| 42 | ||
| The Hangover Part III | Executive producer | |
| Man of Steel | Executive producer | |
| Pacific Rim | ||
| 2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire | Executive producer |
| Godzilla | ||
| As Above, So Below | ||
| Dracula Untold | Executive producer | |
| Interstellar | Executive producer | |
| Unbroken | Executive producer | |
| Seventh Son | ||
| 2015 | Blackhat | |
| Jurassic World | Executive producer | |
| Straight Outta Compton | Executive producer | |
| Crimson Peak | ||
| Krampus | ||
| 2016 | Warcraft | |
| Spectral | ||
| The Great Wall | ||
| 2017 | Kong: Skull Island | |
| 2018 | Pacific Rim: Uprising | |
| 2019 | Godzilla: King of the Monsters | |
| 2020 | Dune | Executive producer |
| 2021 | Godzilla vs. Kong | Executive producer |
- As an actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Dark Knight Rises | Gotham Rogues Owner |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017−19 | Make It Work | Documentary Executive producer |
| 2019 | Carnival Row | Co-executive producer |
- As an actor
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Stranger Things | Man on Street |
References
- ^ "Forbes profile: Thomas Tull". Forbes. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- ^ a b c Lippold, Kye (April 21, 2008). "Thomas Tull '92 Discusses His Journey From Hamilton to Hollywood". Hamilton College. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Garahan, Matthew (December 5, 2010). "Producer follows his own script". Financial Times.
- ^ a b c Brophy-Warren, Jamin (February 27, 2009). "A Producer of Superheroes". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b "Executive Profile: Thomas Tull". Business Week. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
- ^ Labriola, Bob (April 7, 2010). "Investor profile: Thomas Tull". Pittsburgh Steelers. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014.
- ^ Robehmed, Natalie (February 10, 2016). "Box Office Billionaire: How Legendary's Thomas Tull Used Comics, China And A Secret Formula To Remake Hollywood". Forbes. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (January 31, 2016). "Thomas Tull, Haim Saban Give Seven-Figure Sums to Pro-Clinton SuperPAC". Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
- ^ SHERIDAN AND MARYLYNNE PITZ, PATRICIA. "Thomas Tull buys Glen Meakem's Edgeworth house for $15 million". Post-Gazette. Post-Gazette. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Leitereg, Neal J. "Billionaire Thomas Tull lists a small village in Thousand Oaks for $85 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
External links
- Thomas Tull at IMDb
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