Thom Mount

{{short description|American film producer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

{{Infobox person

|name=Thom Mount

|birth_date={{birth date and age|df=yes|1948|05|26}}

|birth_place=United States

|death_date=

|death_place=

|occupation= Studio executive

}}

Thomas Henderson Mount (born 26 May 1948) is an American film producer, who was formerly the President of Universal Pictures.

{{cite book|title=Creative differences: profiles of Hollywood dissidents|year=1978|publisher=South End press|location=Boston|isbn=978-0-89608-043-0|pages=145ff|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=39wuAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Thom+Mount%22|author=Barbara Zheutlin|edition=1st|author2=David Talbot |accessdate=1 February 2011}}

{{cite news|last=Harmetz|first=Aljean|title=Film Official Dismissed|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E7D61239F934A25752C1A965948260|accessdate=1 February 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|date=17 November 1983}}

Born in Durham, North Carolina, he studied art at Bard College where he received a BA. He received an MFA in Film and Video at the California Institute of the Arts.

Starting as assistant to Executive VP Ned Tanen in 1972 Mount rose quickly through the MCA/Universal ranks to become Universal President in 1975 through early 1985. There he developed, supervise, financed and distributed over 200 features.

After leaving Universal in late 1984,

{{cite web|last=Crowe|first=Cameron|title=Independents: Thom and Nicolette Bret Mount|url=http://www.theuncool.com/journalism/thom-and-nicole-mount-interview-magazine/|publisher=Interview Magazine|date=September 1985|accessdate=17 April 2013}}

Mount founded his own company, which produced acclaimed films like

Bull Durham,

Tequila Sunrise,

Frantic,

Natural Born Killers,

Can't Buy Me Love,

The Indian Runner,

Night Falls on Manhattan, and

Death and the Maiden,

which he first produced on stage in London's West End and on Broadway.{{cite web|title=Death and the Maiden|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/Cast/8008/Death-and-the-Maiden-at-Brooks-Atkinson-Theatre#credits|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130630040129/http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/Cast/8008/Death-and-the-Maiden-at-Brooks-Atkinson-Theatre%23credits#credits|url-status=dead|publisher=Playbill|archive-date=30 June 2013}} Although The Mount Company had outgoing agreements with various film studios like Warner Bros., Tri-Star Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios and Lorimar Motion Pictures, on June 11, 1986, The Mount Company received a three-year, two-picture-a-year, non-exclusive deal with Columbia Pictures, in order that Mount would develop projects for the studio.{{Cite news|date=1986-06-11|title=Mount Co. In 3-Year, Non-Exclusive Deal With Col For 2 Pix Annually|page=6|work=Variety}}

Mount is a co-founder of the Los Angeles Film School, two-term president of the Producers Guild of America,{{cite web|last=Madigan|first=Nick|title=Mount elected prez of Producers Guild|url=https://variety.com/1998/more/news/mount-elected-prez-of-producers-guild-1117477964/|publisher=Variety|date=29 June 1998|accessdate=17 April 2013}} and has been a consultant for RKO Pictures.

He has been an active Academy member since 1977.

Frequently rumored to be the model for Robert Altman's The Player, Mount said "Not me. I've never murdered a screenwriter".{{cite web|last=Neumer|first=Chris|title=Animal House: The Movie that Changed Comedy|url=http://www.stumpedmagazine.com/articles/animal-house/|publisher=Stumped Magazine|accessdate=19 April 2013}}