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Polly Cohen Johnsen

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Polly Cohen Johnsen is an American film executive and producer.[1] She went to college at the University of California at San Diego, where she majored in Chinese, and is also a graduate of the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California.

Johnsen began her career working at Warner Bros. in the physical production department while in graduate school. She then became a story editor for producers Stacey Sher and Michael Shamberg at Jersey Films, where she worked on such projects as Gattaca. During her tenure at Jersey Films she teamed up with producer Roy Lee and Glen Gregory of Propaganda Films to create an online tracking board, where script readers could discuss the scripts they read. Online tracking boards have since become a useful tool throughout the film industry.[citation needed]

Johnsen re-joined Warner Bros. in 1997 as a creative executive and worked on such movies as Three Kings, The Perfect Storm and Analyze This.[2] She was promoted to production executive in 1998 and then to vice president, production in 1999. In 2003 she was named senior vice president, production and in 2006, executive vice president, production. As an executive, she was noted for recommending the first Harry Potter book for a potential film series, which became one of the studio's most successful franchises of all time.[3] As a senior executive, she oversaw the Harry Potter films, Blood Diamond, I Am Legend, the Scooby Doo series, and Superman Returns, among others.

Again in 2006, Johnsen was tapped by former Warner Bros. studio head Jeff Robinov to take over as president of production at Warner Independent Pictures.[4] Among the films she oversaw at the arthouse division were The Painted Veil and Slumdog Millionaire. In 2008, The Hollywood Reporter recognized her on their Power 100 list, as one of the most influential women in Hollywood, and Glamour featured her in their editorial, "Success Secrets from the Women who Run Hollywood."[5][6] Once Warner Independent Pictures closed in 2008, Johnsen agreed to a first-look producing deal with Warner Bros. under her banner, Polymorphic Pictures. She has since produced Cats and Dogs 2 and Wrath of the Titans for the studio. She also produced Ceremony, written and directed by Max Winkler and starred Uma Thurman and Jake Johnson.

In 2013, Johnsen launched mytruestory.com, a website in which writers could share their true stories and Hollywood producers could read them in consideration for potential projects.[7] Johnsen recently served as a panelist at the Shanghai Film Festival and also sits on the USC School of Cinematic Arts Alumni Board.[8] She is married to Robert Johnsen, co-founder of mywedding.com, with whom she has one child.

Filmography

Year Film Credit
2012 Wrath of the Titans Producer
2010 Ceremony Producer
2010 Cats and Dogs 2 Producer
2010 Cop Out Producer
2008 Yes Man (film) Studio Executive
2008 Slumdog Millionaire Studio Executive
2007 P.S. I Love You Studio Executive
2007 I Am Legend (film) Studio Executive
2007 Mama's Boy Studio Executive
2007 Darfur Now Studio Executive
2007 License to Wed Studio Executive
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Studio Executive
2007 The 11th Hour Studio Executive
2007 Introducing the Dwights Studio Executive
2006 Blood Diamond Studio Executive
2006 Superman Returns Studio Executive
2005 Must Love Dogs Studio Executive
2005 House of Wax (2005 film) Studio Executive
2004 Catwoman Studio Executive
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Studio Executive
2004 Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed Studio Executive
2004 Starsky & Hutch Studio Executive
2004 The Big Bounce (2004 film) Studio Executive
2003 Gothika Studio Executive
2002 Scooby-Doo Studio Executive
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Studio Executive
2000 The Perfect Storm Studio Executive
1999 Three Kings Studio Executive

References

  1. ^ "Polly Johnsen", [Internet Movie Database]
  2. ^ Brooks, Bryan. "Polly Cohen Named New President of Warner Independent Pictures", [Indiewire], May 8, 2006. Retrieved on January 9, 2014.
  3. ^ Weintraub, Bernard. "New Harry Potter Book Becoming a Publishing Phenomenon", [The New York Times], July 3, 2000. Retrieved on January 9, 2014.
  4. ^ Eller, Claudia. "Cohen Named Chief of Warner Division", [Los Angeles Times], May 9, 2006. Retrieved on January 9, 2014.
  5. ^ Tella, James. "Independent Woman", [USC School of Cinematic Arts News], February 15, 2008. Retrieved on January 9, 2014.
  6. ^ Apodaca, Rose. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-14. Retrieved 2014-01-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "Success Secrets from the Women who Run Hollywood", [Glamour], March 2008. Retrieved on January 14, 2013.
  7. ^ Gendreau, Paul. "mytruestory.com Provides Link Between Filmmakers and Those With Compelling True Stories", [MarketWired], July 30, 2013. Retrieved on January 9, 2014.
  8. ^ The 17th Shanghai International Film Festival. "Industry Summit" Archived 2013-12-10 at the Wayback Machine