John Nicholas Calley (July 8, 1930 – September 13, 2011) was an American film studio executive and producer. He was quite influential during his years at Warner Bros. (where he worked from 1968 to 1981) and "produced a film a month, on average, including commercial successes like The Exorcist and Superman." During his seven years at Sony Pictures Entertainment starting in 1996, five of which he was chairman and chief executive, he was credited with "reinvigorat[ing]" that major film studio.
July 8, 1930, Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Died
September 13, 2011, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Profession
Producer, Actor
Education
Columbia University
Spouse
Meg Tilly (m. 1995–2002), Olga Schoberová (m. 1972–1992)
Children
Sabrina Harris
Star Sign
Cancer
#
Quote
1
You're very unhappy for a long period of time. And you don't experience joy. At the end you experience relief, if you're lucky. (2009)
2
(Re 1960s- 70s in Hollywood): Kids were kings. We were all young, it was our time, and it was very exciting.
3
[Why he quit Hollywood in 1980] I wasn't enjoying it. I felt in some wacky way that I had lost myself, that I had no sense of myself and that I was being described by myself by my phone list and the invitations which I never responded to.
4
[on returning to LA in 1993] The first month or two were harrowing interview. I didn't know the grammar, the people. I hadn't seen a movie in eight or 10 years. I made dopey mistakes, like Tank Girl (1995) not getting it, thinking, 'Is this the world I've re-entered? Does everybody have a safety pin through their tongue now?'
5
I've been lucky over my career to be able to transition back and forth between my two great passions - managing studios and producing movies. It feels like the right time to close this chapter and begin a new one. (2003)
6
One problem with Hollywood is that most of the people in studio jobs nowadays are afraid of the process of making movies. The actual fact of filmmaking is an alien thing to them...You try to get somebody to do a movie for you, but then, once that person commits to the project, you do everything you possibly can to neutralize him so that he can't do what you've hired him to do in the first place. (1994)
$14 Million
