Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
{{short description|American television and film producer (born 1963)}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{puffery|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Ellen Lee Goldsmith
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1963}}
| birth_place = La Jolla, San Diego, California, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| nationality =
| alma mater = Hollins University, UCLA
| employer =
| occupation = CEO, The Gotham Group
| spouse = Jon F. Vein
| children = 2
}}
Ellen Lee Goldsmith-Vein ({{nee}} Goldsmith; born 1963) is an American television and film producer. She is the founder and CEO of the Gotham Group, a management company founded in 1993. Goldsmith-Vein is the only woman to own her own management company, and she was the first talent manager ever featured on the cover of the “Power 100” special issue of The Hollywood Reporter in 2006.{{cite web|title=FROM HOLLINS TO HOLLYWOOD: ALUMNA WHO HEADS TOP ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY TO SPEAK AT 172ND COMMENCEMENT|url=https://www.hollins.edu/news/from-hollins-to-hollywood-alumna-who-heads-top-entertainment-company-to-speak-at-172nd-commencement/|access-date=2016-02-15|archive-date=2016-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223052314/https://www.hollins.edu/news/from-hollins-to-hollywood-alumna-who-heads-top-entertainment-company-to-speak-at-172nd-commencement/|url-status=live}} Hollins.edu{{cite web|title=Women in Entertainment Power 100|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=5 December 2006|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/women-entertainment-power-100-145286|access-date=16 May 2017|archive-date=30 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630000916/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/women-entertainment-power-100-145286|url-status=live}} Hollywood Reporter
Early life
Ellen Lee Goldsmith was born in Los Angeles in 1963. She was raised in La Jolla, San Diego.{{cite news|last1=Eller|first1=Claudia|title=Gotham Animation Group Joins Ovitz's New Company|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-25-fi-1386-story.html|access-date=February 15, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=January 25, 1999|archive-date=February 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222231713/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/jan/25/business/fi-1386|url-status=live}} She attended Hollins University and graduated from UCLA in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Hollins University in 2014.{{cite web|title=FROM HOLLINS TO HOLLYWOOD: ALUMNA WHO HEADS TOP ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY TO SPEAK AT 172ND COMMENCEMENT|url=https://www.hollins.edu/news/from-hollins-to-hollywood-alumna-who-heads-top-entertainment-company-to-speak-at-172nd-commencement/|website=Hollins University|accessdate=February 15, 2016|date=February 24, 2014|archive-date=February 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223052314/https://www.hollins.edu/news/from-hollins-to-hollywood-alumna-who-heads-top-entertainment-company-to-speak-at-172nd-commencement/|url-status=live}}
Career
Goldsmith-Vein founded the Gotham Group, a diversified management and production company serving the entertainment industry, in 1993, after the death of her partner in Atlas Management, Stuart Kaplan.{{cite news|last1=Horst|first1=Carole|title=10 Producers to Watch: The Gotham Group|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/spotlight/10-producers-to-watch-the-gotham-group-1201353016/|accessdate=February 15, 2016|work=Variety|date=November 11, 2014|archive-date=February 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219002246/http://variety.com/2014/film/spotlight/10-producers-to-watch-the-gotham-group-1201353016/|url-status=live}} Five years later, in 1999, Gotham Group merged with Michael Ovitz's Artist Management Group. As CEO of The Gotham Group, she signed a $300 million contract with the government of South Korea to make eight animated movies in 2008, in conjunction with The Weinstein Company.{{cite news|last1=Verrier|first1=Richard|title=S. Korea animation venture set|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-06-fi-gotham6-story.html|access-date=February 15, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=December 6, 2008|archive-date=April 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428205347/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/06/business/fi-gotham6|url-status=live}}
Goldsmith-Vein is also a television and film producer. She was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2008 for her work on the television series Creature Comforts, which went on to win an Annie Award.{{cite web|title=Ellen Goldsmith-Vein|url=http://www.emmys.com/bios/ellen-goldsmith-vein|website=Emmy Awards|accessdate=February 15, 2016|archive-date=February 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223084900/http://www.emmys.com/bios/ellen-goldsmith-vein|url-status=live}} She produced The Maze Runner film series which has grossed $1 billion at the box office worldwide. The third installment of the series, The Death Cure, released on January 26, 2018.{{cite web|title=Maze Runner|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mazerunner2.htm|access-date=2017-05-16|archive-date=2015-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150802072857/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mazerunner2.htm|url-status=live}} Box Office Mojo{{cite web|title=Maze Runner|url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mazerunner.htm|access-date=2017-05-16|archive-date=2015-08-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806075642/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mazerunner.htm|url-status=live}} Box Office Mojo
She produced the films Stargirl and the sequel Hollywood Stargirl for Disney+, based on the best-selling work of author Jerry Spinelli, with America's Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal making her film debut as the eponymous lead, Stargirl Caraway. She produced the animated feature film Wendell & Wild at Netflix in collaboration with Jordan Peele and acclaimed director Henry Selick and starring the voice talent of Key & Peele and Lyric Ross. Goldsmith-Vein/The Gotham Group also produced My Best Friend’s Exorcism, based on the Grady Hendrix novel of the same name, directed by Damon Thomas, and starring Elsie Fisher, Amiah Miller, Cathy Ang, and Rachel Ogechi Kanu for Amazon. Goldsmith-Vein/The Gotham Group will next be producing Justin Lin's upcoming film The Last Days of John Allen Chau which will be directed by Justin Lin. In March 2024 it was announced that Goldsmith-Vein along with Scott Stuber and Eric Robinson would produce the film Deliver Me from Nowhere for 20th Century Studios. The film is based on the book of the same name and is about the recording of Bruce Springsteen's 1982 album, Nebraska. The film will star Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen.{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=2024-03-26 |title=Scott Stuber Sets First Post-Netflix Film: Bruce Springsteen & 'Nebraska'; Scott Cooper Directing, Jeremy Allen White Circling Along With A24; Ellen Goldsmith-Vein & Eric Robinson Producing: The Dish |url=https://deadline.com/2024/03/bruce-springsteen-jeremy-allen-white-movie-scott-stuber-nebraska-scott-cooper-directing-a24-ellen-goldsmith-vein-1235868961/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ&fbclid=IwAR3WZ5yiJ8yCiBSa_wW6b6L7y5Uljx8e36mwJApPKvz0Nij1whfke4OJRlc_aem_Ac8Cfid7b9fKnfNue1QpkcVtoWwJp02AepzzUDiQo35wFdksFGn8YQHuZA58jGtC3qIF4iZScFbOTAI7uyL0OCFX#recipient_hashed=23ac0e45edd3b68140967b5b016cff78c6c5fe74cdb0d921bc77dfc01ea1b3c0&recipient_salt=c6f3b4a0273df22d6ce505d46c0d428cd052d560cc2e7f0ffe05f02523e692a9|access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{cite web|title=In Coup For New Chief David Greenbaum, 20th Century Lands 'Deliver Me From Nowhere'; Jeremy Allen White Plays Bruce Springsteen For Scott Cooper In Drama On Making Of 'Nebraska' Album|website=Deadline Hollywood|first1=Mike Jr|last1=Fleming|first2=Justin|last2=Kroll|date=8 April 2024|access-date=8 April 2024|url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/bruce-springsteen-movie-jeremy-allen-white-20th-century-1235876983/}}
In television, Goldsmith-Vein and Gotham have a first-look deal at 20th Television, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The Gotham Group is currently in production on the animated series The Search for WondLa for Apple, based on Tony DiTerlizzi’s bestselling book trilogy published by Simon & Schuster, and Percy Jackson for Disney+, based on the blockbuster series by Rick Riordan for Hyperion Books. Gotham is also in production on The Spiderwick Chronicles series with Paramount Television, also for Disney+. Gotham is in post-production on Washington Black for Hulu, based on Esi Edugyan’s critically acclaimed novel, alongside Selwyn Hinds and Sterling K. Brown.
Personal life
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein is married to entrepreneur and founder of MarketShare Jon F. Vein.{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Ted|title=Thomas Tull, Haim Saban Give Seven-Figure Sums to Pro-Clinton SuperPAC|url=https://variety.com/2016/biz/news/hillary-clinton-superpac-thomas-tull-haim-saban-1201693446/|accessdate=February 15, 2016|work=Variety|date=January 31, 2016|archive-date=November 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120193137/http://variety.com/2016/biz/news/hillary-clinton-superpac-thomas-tull-haim-saban-1201693446/|url-status=live}} They have a son, Jack, and a daughter, Caroline,{{cite web|title=Jon Vein|url=http://www.marketshare.com/company/team-member/jon-vein|website=MarketShare|accessdate=February 22, 2016|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222214856/http://www.marketshare.com/company/team-member/jon-vein|archivedate=February 22, 2016}} (Internet Archive) and they reside in Hancock Park, Los Angeles.{{cite news|last1=Reyes|first1=Emily Alpert|title=L.A. council candidate Ryu takes aim at council 'secret slush funds'|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ryu-targets-funds-20150414-story.html|accessdate=February 15, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=April 14, 2015|archive-date=February 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214104521/http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ryu-targets-funds-20150414-story.html|url-status=live}} They hosted a US$2,700 fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign on February 22, 2016.{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Ted|title=Bernie Sanders' Blowout Elicits Hope and Anxiety Among Hollywood Democrats|url=https://variety.com/2016/biz/news/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-new-hampshire-1201701831/|accessdate=February 16, 2016|work=Variety|date=February 10, 2016|archive-date=February 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214145722/http://variety.com/2016/biz/news/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-new-hampshire-1201701831/|url-status=live}}
Goldsmith-Vein is a prolific political fundraiser and champion of many charities. She has served on the Board of NAB/NFC for the Democratic National Committee, is a member of the National Finance Committee for Cory Booker and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for whom she has been a longtime supporter, and served on the National Finance Committees for Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. She is a founding member of Barbara Boxer’s PAC for Change (March On) and sits on the Advisory Board of Common Sense Media in Los Angeles. She is a member of the Blue Ribbon of the Los Angeles Music Center along with a past member of the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Goldsmith-Vein recently joined the Advisory Board for the Center for Scholars & Storytellers at UCLA and is a longtime advisory board member of Young Storytellers. Ellen was named Animation Is Film’s Person of Distinction in 2023.{{Cite web |last=Hipes |first=Patrick |date=2022-09-22 |title='Wendell & Wild' To Kick Off Expanding Animation Is Film In October |url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/animation-is-film-2022-lineup-wendell-and-wild-1235124400/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303024649/https://deadline.com/2022/09/animation-is-film-2022-lineup-wendell-and-wild-1235124400/ |url-status=live }}
She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and an Academy Gold mentor and judge for AMPAS’ Nicholl Fellowship for screenwriting. She is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Science and serves as a mentor for the Junior Hollywood Radio & Television Society. She is a member of the advisory board for 826LA and serves on the Board of Directors of P.S. Arts. She is a past board member of Girls, Inc. – a highly regarded national non-profit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold – and was honored by the organization for her work and contributions to the arts, girls and women. She is also a member of the National Coalition Against Censorship Advisory Council, the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, Women in Animation and ASIFA-Hollywood.
Filmography
=Producer / Released Film & Television=
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
---|
rowspan="2" | 2007
| Executive producer | TV series |
Elmo's Christmas Countdown
| Executive producer | TV special |
rowspan=2|2008
| Producer | |
Dead Space: Downfall
| Executive producer | Video |
2010
| Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey | Executive producer | |
rowspan=2|2011
| Executive producer | Video |
Abduction
| Producer | |
2013
| Producer | |
rowspan=3|2014
| Executive producer | |
The Maze Runner
| Producer | |
Camp X-Ray
| Executive producer | |
rowspan=2|2015
| Blackway | Producer | |
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
| Producer | |
2017
| Producer | |
2017
| Producer | |
2018
| Producer | |
2020
| Stargirl | Producer | |
2020
| Producer | |
rowspan=3|2022
| Producer | |
Wendell & Wild
| Producer | |
My Best Friend's Exorcism
| Producer | |
2023–present
| Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Executive producer | TV series |
2024–present
| Executive producer |
2024
| WondLa | Executive producer | TV series |
2024
| Executive producer | |
2025
| Producer | |
2025
| Producer | Post-production |
TBA
| By All | Producer | In Development |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1650412}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith-Vein, Ellen}}
Category:People from La Jolla, San Diego
Category:People from Los Angeles
Category:Hollins University alumni
Category:American company founders
Category:American women company founders
Category:Film producers from California
Category:American women film producers
Category:Television producers from California
Category:American women television producers