John Calley

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For other people named John Calley, see John Calley (disambiguation).
John Calley
Born
John Nicholas Calley

July 8, 1930
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation(s)American film studio executive, film producer
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1972; div. 1992)​
  • Sandra Hotz Lean
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1995; div. 2002)​

John Nicholas Calley (July 8, 1930 – September 13, 2011)

major film studio.[4]

Awards and nominations

Together with Mike Nichols and Ismail Merchant, Calley produced 1993's The Remains of the Day, for which the trio received an Oscar nomination—Calley's only such Best Picture nomination.

A best picture nomination Calley potentially missed was when, as Sony's new head, he nixed the studio's backing of Terrence Malick's 1998 film The Thin Red Line, reportedly because he thought Malick couldn't keep to the budget. (The film stayed on budget and received seven Academy Award nominations.)

He was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the inaugural Governors Awards ceremony on November 11, 2009.[5] For the ceremony, Calley, unable to attend in person due to illness, recorded remarks that were projected on a giant video screen, remarks characterizing the life of a film studio executive and called "one of the night's more startling bits of honesty": "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."[6]

According to Mervyn LeRoy in his autobiography Mervyn LeRoy: Take One, Calley played a big role in LeRoy's exit of Warner Bros. when The Kinney Company acquired it. Calley notified LeRoy that due to a "change in corporate thinking," the studio was not going to support his effort in producing the story Thirteen Clocks. When LeRoy asked Calley about the promises that he had made before, Calley answered "We'll have to wait and see."[7]

In 2000, Calley was presented with a commemorative plaque honoring 750,000 copies sold of the soundtrack to the hit 1999 film Cruel Intentions.

Personal life

Calley was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He grew up in poverty and was raised by a single mother during the Great Depression. As a child, he worked at a button factory and then as a janitor at his own high school.[8]

He attended Columbia University in the late 1940s, and then briefly served in the Army.[9] His first significant industry job was at NBC's New York headquarters, at age 21,[10] when he started in the mailroom.[11]

From 1972 until a divorce in 1992, he was married to Czech actress and former Playboy cover girl[12] Olga Schoberová. Calley adopted her daughter Sabrina, who became a set costumer.[13]

When he left Warner Bros. in the early 1980s, citing an unhappy marriage and burn-out after involvement in the production of 120 films, Calley settled into a quieter life in his 35-room house on

Washington, CT. [See Discussion] In 1995, he married actress Meg Tilly; they divorced in 2002.[14]

John Calley's best friend, director/producer

Closer, said this after Calley's death from a long-term, undisclosed illness:[15] "John was unique. As a friend he was always there and always funny. He made life a joy for those he loved. As a studio head he was unfailingly supportive and didn't try to do the filmmaker's job. When he believed in someone he trusted and supported him and when very rarely he had a suggestion it was usually a lifesaver. In fact that's what he was: a lifesaver."[9]

John Calley was also immediately familiar to the James Bond community. While at Warner Bros., he had trained Sean Connery to be cast in the movie Never Say Never Again. He was later instrumental in getting back to revive the EON James Bond film franchise with GoldenEye, during his tenure at United Artists. After he left United Artists, when he was at Sony, he attempted to sign with Kevin McClory and his Spectre Associates company to do another Bond film franchise based on the material used for Thunderball.[16] Following it was a two-year lawsuit between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Sony, where MGM lawyers claimed it was "a disgruntled former executive at United Artists Pictures.", and it was resolved in March 1999, with MGM trading Spider-Man to Sony in exchange for auxiliary Bond claims.[17]

After seven years at Sony, he launched John Calley Productions with a Sony deal.[18]

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year Film Credit Notes
1963 The Wheeler Dealers Associate producer
Face in the Rain
1964 The Americanization of Emily Associate producer
1965 The Sandpiper Associate producer
The Loved One
The Cincinnati Kid Associate producer
1966 Eye of the Devil
1967 Don't Make Waves
1968 Ice Station Zebra
Uncredited
1969 Castle Keep
1970 Catch-22
1989 Fat Man and Little Boy Executive producer
1990 Postcards from the Edge
1993 The Remains of the Day
2004
Closer
2006 The Da Vinci Code
2007 The Jane Austen Book Club
2009 Angels & Demons Final film as a producer
As an actor
Year Film Role
1997 One Night Stand Charlie's Father

Television

Year Title Credit
2007 The Company Executive producer

Philanthropy

The John N. Calley Foundation was founded in 2012 after John Calley's death in 2011.[19] Given his reputation for identifying and nurturing creative visionaries, The Calley Foundation honors John Calley's legacy by providing opportunities for unrecognized, talented youth.[8] The Foundation is based in Southern California and funds various non-profit organizations, including the Ghetto Film School - Los Angeles.[20]

References

  1. ^ Notice of John Calley's death in The Los Angeles Times
  2. ^ Weinraub, Bernard; Fabrikant, Geraldine (June 13, 1999). "The Revenge of the Bean Counters; Studios Yell 'Cut!' As Costs Spiral For Filmmaking". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  3. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (May 26, 1997). "A Strong Debut Helps, as a New Chief Tackles Sony's Movie Problems". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  4. ^ "Chief Steps Down At Sony Pictures". The New York Times. October 3, 2003. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  5. World News Australia
    . November 16, 2009. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  6. ^ Cieply, Michael (November 15, 2009). "Hollywood Dinner Has Oscars on Menu". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  7. ^ LeRoy, Mervyn; Kleiner, Dick; Mervyn LeRoy: Take One, Hawthorn Books, Inc. 1974 p. 219
  8. ^ a b "About The Calley Foundation".
  9. ^ a b Natale, Richard (13 September 2011). "John Calley, studio lion, dies at 81". Variety. Retrieved 13 September 2011.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Finke, Nikki (13 September 2011). "R.I.P John Calley". Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  11. ^ a b c Owen, David. "Return of the Mogul". The New Yorker. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  12. ^ Schoberová, Olga. "Olga Schoberová IMDb". IMDb.com inc. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  13. ^ "Sabrina Calley – Biography". imdb.com inc. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Meg Tilly- Biography". imdb.com inc. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  15. ^ Barnes, Brooke (14 September 2011). "John Calley, Hollywood Chief, Dies at 81". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Who Owns James Bond?". Los Angeles Times. 1997-10-17. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  17. ^ "Shaking MGM's Bond Cocktail". Slate Magazine. 1999-03-31. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  18. ^ LaPorte, Nicole (2003-10-03). "Calley calling it quits". Variety. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  19. ^ "Calley Foundation Guidestar Profile".
  20. ^ "Ghetto Film School Supporters".

External links

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