Nationality American Years active 1990–present Occupation Film producer Spouse Anne Biondi (m. 1999) | Alma mater Yale University Role Film producer Other names Bob Simonds Name Robert Simonds Education Yale University | |
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Full Name Robert Bruce Simonds, Jr. Born 1964 Phoenix, Arizona Known for Cheaper by the Dozen, Big Daddy, The Wedding Singer Movies Happy Gil, The Pink Panther, This Means War, Billy Madison, Just Married Similar People Tim Herlihy, Jack Giarraputo, Tamra Davis, Brian Levant, Dennis Dugan | ||
Parents Robert Bruce Simonds, Sr. | ||
Robert Simonds - Producer
Robert Bruce Simonds, Jr. (born 1964) is an American film producer, entrepreneur and the founder, chairman and CEO of STX Entertainment, which produces, distributes, finances and markets film, television, virtual reality and digital media. In his years producing for Hollywood studios, his over 30 films have generated well in excess of $6 billion in worldwide revenue. To this extent, throughout his hands-on producing career Simonds had the single best studio track record for profitability on his films.
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Early life and education
Simonds was born in Phoenix, Arizona, the son of Robert Bruce Simonds, Sr., a businessman. He graduated from Yale University.
Producing
From 1990 to 2012, Simonds produced over 30 Hollywood studio films, including Cheaper by the Dozen and The Pink Panther with Steve Martin, Big Daddy and The Waterboy with Adam Sandler, and This Means War with Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hardy. Simonds has also produced a number of highly-profitable cult films, including The Wedding Singer, Joe Dirt, Half Baked, and Happy Gilmore.
STX Entertainment
In March 2014, Simonds announced the formation of STX Entertainment. Investors in STX include TPG Growth, the growth equity arm of TPG Capital; Hony Capital, a leading Chinese private equity firm; Tencent, a Chinese Internet company; PCCW, a Hong Kong-based telecommunications company; and the business interests of Hollywood producer and entrepreneur Gigi Pritzker, Beau Wrigley and others. Debt is provided by a consortium of banks including JP Morgan, Bank of America and Seer Capital.
Company Management:
The Board of Directors is composed of investors and industry veterans, including:
STX Entertainment has four divisions: STXfilms, STXtv, STXinternational and STXdigital.
STXfilms' initial releases included Secret in Their Eyes, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts and directed by Billy Ray, and Free State of Jones, starring Matthew McConaughey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw and directed by Gary Ross. The studio financed and distributed actor Joel Edgerton's directorial debut, The Gift, a thriller from Jason Blum's Blumhouse. The film stars Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Edgerton, who also wrote the script. Released in August 2015, it received a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In January 2015, the studio announced a multi-year premium television output deal that "covers the studio's theatrical releases through 2019, which will be shown exclusively on Showtime Networks and its multiplex channels including SHOWTIME, THE MOVIE CHANNEL and FLIX."
In 2016, after less than a year in existence, STXfilms became the fastest studio ever to hit $100 million at the domestic box office with its R-rated comedy Bad Moms, with the film winning a People's Choice Award for Favorite Comedic Movie. STX's The Edge of Seventeen garnered a 2017 Golden Globe nomination for Hailee Steinfeld, and The Edge of Seventeen and The Gift both received DGA Best First-Time Feature Film Director nominations. Through June 2017, six of the studio's slate of 11 films starred or were directed by women. All six of its slated 2017 and 2018 releases feature women in leading roles.
In August 2016, STXdigital acquired virtual reality studio Surreal, which was founded in 2015 and in its first year produced over 70 immersive VR experiences.
In November 2016, STXtv's Reality division launched the variety show Number One Surprise, the first television show created by a US-based company specifically for broadcast in China. Its premiere on Hunan TV and digital platforms was viewed nearly 300 million times, and by March 2017 it was the #1 show in China with over 1 billion total views.
In 2017, the company announced a three-year agreement with Luc Besson's EuropaCorp to distribute and market its slate of films in the US.
In 2017, STXinternational opened its headquarters in London with a slate of six films that includes Andy Serkis's directorial debut, Breathe (which will open the 2017 London Film Festival), the Reese Witherspoon-starring Home Again, and the thriller Wind River starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, in addition to titles from the main STX slate.
Personal life
Simonds and his wife Anne live in Los Angeles with their son and four daughters.