Nationality United States Name Scott Rosenberg Education University of Denver | Occupation Producer, publisher Role Film producer Books Cowboys and Aliens | |
Born 1963 (age 51–52) United States Known for Sunrise Distribution
Malibu Comics
Cowboys & Aliens
Platinum Studios Movies Cowboys & Aliens, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night Children Karlee Rosenberg, Kendall Rosenberg Organizations founded Platinum Studios, Malibu Comics Similar People Mark Fergus, Jon Favreau, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Kevin Munroe | ||
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (born 1963) is a film, television producer, comic book publisher, and the chairman of Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls a large independent library of comic book characters and adapts them for film, television and other media. He is also the former founder and president of Malibu Comics, and is a former senior executive vice president for Marvel Comics.
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Early career
Rosenberg began his career in the comic book industry at age 13 when he started a mail order company. Rosenberg graduated from the University of Denver in 1985 with a business degree and is listed as one of the institution’s Influential Alumni. Rosenberg, who created Cowboys & Aliens in 1975, has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List fourteen times for both hardcover and softcover.
Sunrise Distribution and Malibu Comics
In the mid-1980s, Rosenberg founded the small Commerce, California-based comics distributor Sunrise Distribution. Rosenberg's experience running Sunrise showed him that the new way comics were being distributed created openings for new, smaller publishers. He also recognized that the advent of the Macintosh computer and desktop publishing software allowed small companies to look bigger.
In 1986, Rosenberg financed Malibu Comics; and in 1987, he also financed a number of other independent publishers, including Eternity Comics, Aircel Comics, and Adventure Comics.
Malibu's first launch, Ex-Mutants, as Rosenberg once said in an interview, "turned out to be a hit" and "all on a $400 marketing budget." During his time at Malibu, Rosenberg led comic spin-offs into toys, television, and feature films, including the billion-dollar film and television franchise Men in Black, based on the Marvel/Malibu comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham.
Rosenberg's experience with Sunrise, however, was not as fortuitous, as the distributor began to suffer cash flow issues in 1987, and was acquired by Oregon-based Second Genesis Distribution during the infamous "black-and-white implosion." Sunrise's disappearance from the scene left a number of small publishers without the cash flow to continue, and they went out of business.
Malibu survived, however, and Rosenberg brokered a deal in 1992, in which seven top-selling artists defected from Marvel Comics to form Image Comics. Rosenberg signed the artists to a label deal which made Malibu the publisher of record for the first comics from Image, giving the upstart creator-run publisher access to the distribution channels. This subsequently led to Malibu breaking all sales records for independent comics, as in 1992 Malibu grabbed almost 10% of the American comics market share, temporarily moving ahead of industry giant DC Comics. By the middle of 1993, however, Image's financial situation was secure enough to publish its titles independently, and per the agreed upon distribution agreement with Malibu, launched out on its own.
During this period, Rosenberg also worked with Adobe Photoshop software to develop the then-leading standard for the computer coloring of comic books.
Rosenberg sold Malibu to Marvel Comics in 1994. As part of the deal, Rosenberg was given the title senior executive vice president of Marvel, the second highest position at the company.
Platinum Studios
Rosenberg left Marvel in January 1997, and co-founded Platinum Studios with European rights agent Ervin Rustemagic. Platinum produces based on two distinctive categories: Those from the "Macroverse Bible," a multi-thousand page bible of interrelated comic characters created by Rosenberg, including titles such as Cowboys & Aliens, and properties acquired from other companies or creators such as Dylan Dog and Jeremiah (the latter two having been represented by Rustemagic for publishing rights only, with Platinum acquiring all other rights including film and television). Rustemagic left Platinum Studios in 2000. The company’s comic publishing philosophy is for the original publishers or rights holders to continue publishing their comics with Platinum Studios handling all other rights and development. Comics have been published based on Platinum’s properties, continuously since inception, whether by Platinum itself or the original rights holders. Film productions in 2009-2011 were Cowboys & Aliens and Dylan Dog.
Platinum Studios posted net losses of $4.3 million in 2006 and $5.1 million in 2007. The company became a public company, trading continuously since February 2008.
In early 2012, Platinum Studios moved to new offices in West Los Angeles. In 2014, 27 million shares of Platinum were acquired by KCG Holdings.
Personal life
Rosenberg lives in California with his two daughters, Karlee and Kendall, both of which are in college. Married since 1992, he and his wife divorced in 2015.