Section Eight Productions

{{short description|American film production company}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2019}}

{{More citations needed|date=May 2018}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Section Eight Productions

| type = Production company

| industry = Entertainment

| predecessor = Maysville Pictures

| foundation = {{start date and age|1999|12}}

| founders = George Clooney
Steven Soderbergh

| defunct = {{start date and age|2006}}

| fate = Defunct

| successor = Smokehouse Pictures

| key_people = Jennifer Fox
Gregory Jacobs
Ben Cosgrove

}}

Section Eight Productions, or just Section Eight, was an American film production company founded in late 1999 by film director Steven Soderbergh and actor/director George Clooney, following the success of the film Out of Sight.{{Cite book|last=Stone|first=Rob|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1n1JDwAAQBAJ&dq=section+eight+productions+was+founded+in+2000+by+george+clooney+and+steven+soderbergh&pg=PA13|title=The Cinema of Richard Linklater: Walk, Don't Run|date=2018-04-10|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-85124-4|pages=13|language=en}}

The company's predecessors was Mirador Entertainment, with partner Deborah Leoni (joined July 1996) and Maysville Pictures (formerly Left Bank Productions) with partner Robert Lawrence, both of these were formed in 1996, and also founded by George Clooney. When the company formed, the company signed a deal with Warner Bros. Pictures, and took the exiting Maysville staff with them, including Ben Cosgrove, who was with Maysville before Section Eight was formed.{{Cite book |last=McDonald |first=Paul |title=George Clooney |date=2019-05-02 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=9781911239321 |publication-date=May 2, 2019}}{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Dan |date=1998-08-05 |title=Maysville will add 3 exex to expand bill |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/maysville-will-add-3-exex-to-expand-bill-1117479162/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

It produced the critical hits Far from Heaven, Insomnia, Syriana,{{Cite web|last=McLean|first=Thomas J.|date=2006-10-13|title=Section Eight goes up in Smoke|url=https://variety.com/2006/film/features/section-eight-goes-up-in-smoke-1117951781/|access-date=2021-08-29|website=Variety|language=en}} A Scanner Darkly and Michael Clayton, as well as Clooney-directed films Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night, and Good Luck. In 2005, Syriana and Good Night, and Good Luck picked up eight Oscars nominations between them.

In 2003, the company set up a television division, led by Grant Heslov.{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=2003-07-31 |title=Section Eight musters deal with WBTV |url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/section-eight-musters-deal-with-wbtv-1117890171/ |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

With Soderbergh citing a desire to focus on directing, and Clooney forming production company Smokehouse Pictures with Grant Heslov, the two decided to shut down Section Eight at the end of 2006.