Sidney Kimmel

Veteran producer Sidney Kimmel is chairman and CEO of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the Los Angeles and New York-based production, finance, and distribution company.

Active in the motion picture industry for more than 20 years, Mr. Kimmel is responsible for such pictures as Michael Hoffman's The Emperor's Club (starring Kevin Kline and Emile Hirsch); Stanley Donen's Blame It on Rio (starring Michael Caine and Michelle Johnson); and Adrian Lyne's 9 1/2 Weeks (starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger). His passion as an independent producer eventually led to the founding of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment in October 2004. Producing up to ten features per year, the company works with esteemed filmmaking talent to create quality commercial films.

Mr. Kimmel and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, in association with Universal Pictures, financed Academy Award nominee Paul Greengrass' critically acclaimed United 93, as well as executive-produced Billy Ray's Breach (starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, and Laura Linney). Universal also released Nick Cassavetes' controversial Alpha Dog (starring Emile Hirsch, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, and Justin Timberlake), which Mr. Kimmel produced and financed.

He is producing a diverse slate of films for release in 2007. In addition to Talk to Me, upcoming releases include Frank Oz' Death at a Funeral, starring Matthew Macfadyen and Peter Dinklage; Jon Poll's Charlie Bartlett, starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., and Hope Davis; Ira Sachs' Married Life, starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, and Rachel McAdams; Craig Gillespie's Lars and the Real Girl, starring Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson, and Emily Mortimer; and Marc Forster's The Kite Runner, based on the acclaimed novel of the same name. The latter is being produced with DreamWorks Pictures, Participant Productions, and Parkes/MacDonald Productions, to be released by Paramount Vantage in the fall.

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment is gearing up for its 2008 slate, going into production with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche, New York.

In addition to his success in filmed entertainment, Mr. Kimmel founded Jones Apparel Group in 1975, which has since grown into a $4.5 billion diversified fashion industry empire. Still active as the chairman of Jones' board of directors, he has also established the Sidney Kimmel Foundation and its subsidiary, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, which is one of the nation's largest individual donors to cancer research.

Mr. Kimmel is extremely involved in philanthropic endeavors benefiting his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Jewish education and continuity. He recently oversaw the opening of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, home of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra.

He is also a partner in Cipriani International, the acclaimed international restaurant and catering establishment, and is a part owner of the Miami Heat basketball team.