Producer Broderick Johnson is co-CEO and co-founder of Alcon Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based wholly independent production company that develops, finances, produces and markets theatrical motion pictures for distribution by Warner Bros.
Johnson produced, alongside co-CEO Andrew Kosove, Alcon’s critically acclaimed box-office hit The Blind Side, for which they were Oscar nominated for producing the Best Picture nominee and for which Sandra Bullock won the Oscar for Best Actress. The Blind Side grossed more than $309 million worldwide and broke box office records as the first film with a female lead to surpass the $200 million mark, earned in its seventh week. It also is the most successful sports film of all time.
Johnson’s nomination for Best Picture was a milestone in Oscar history as prior to Johnson and Lee Daniel’s nomination for Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ By Sapphire, only one African American producer had been nominated in this category – Quincy Jones for The Color Purple in 1985.
Alcon followed the success of The Blind Side with the hit action thriller The Book of Eli, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis. It marked Denzel Washington’s second biggest opening, and third highest grossing film.
Alcon additionally produced the critically acclaimed Prisoners, a dramatic thriller directed by Denis Villeneuve starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo, Terrance Howard and Paul Dano, and the family hit Dolphin Tale 2, a sequel to its original starring Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson.
Alcon’s upcoming projects include the road trip comedy Bastards, currently in production starring Owen Wilson and Ed Helms, and a sequel to Blade Runner, now in pre-production with Ryan Gosling starring alongside Harrison Ford. Denis Villeneuve is directing with Ridley Scott Executive Producing.
Alcon Television Group recently produced a four-hour Emmy nominated documentary mini-series for HBO about the life and times of Frank Sinatra, directed Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and the new series The Expanse, a space thriller for Syfy Network, which was recently picked up for a second season.
In November of 2015, Alcon Entertainment extended its long-standing output distribution agreement with Warner Bros. through 2019. Alcon’s distribution partnership with Warner Bros. was initiated in 1998 and is one of the industry’s most enduring arrangements between an independent company and a major studio.
Ultimately, Alcon has financed and produced 30, including both Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films starring Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel; P.S. I Love You, the hit romantic comedy starring Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler and directed by Richard LaGravenese; the critical favorite My Dog Skip; the hit comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? starring Ashton Kutcher; Insomnia, starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank and directed by Chris Nolan; 16 Blocks starring Bruce Willis; and inspiring true story The 33, a firsthand account of the of the 33 survivors who lived through the 2010 Chilean mine collapse starring Antonio Banderas and Juliette Binoche, among others.
A native of Athens, Georgia, Johnson met partner Andrew Kosove while the two attended Princeton as undergraduates. An economics major, Johnson headed to Wall Street and took a position at Salomon Brothers in New York, where he worked as a quantitative analyst in the equity derivatives group.
However, Johnson shared with Kosove a love for movies and an interest in filmmaking. Ultimately they moved to Los Angeles involving themselves in a low budget production, which was sufficient to convince them that their passion for films was potentially viable.
Soon after, the two were introduced to FedEx Chairman and founder Frederick W. Smith. Johnson and Kosove took the opportunity to present Smith with a 221-page business plan for an independently financed film company. The plan called for guaranteed distribution from a major studio, disciplined management of overhead, production & marketing costs, and ownership of a film library. Smith liked what he read.
Ultimately, Smith chose to partner with Johnson and Kosove in the finance, development and production company Alcon Entertainment. The two producers set up a small apartment “office” they rented by the week after launching their first project, Lost and Found, a failure at the box office and a momentary set back for the young producers. However, the second film they produced, My Dog Skip, was released soon after and earned them their first bona fide success, and Smith’s admiration for their persistence and business sense.
Essence Magazine listed Johnson third behind Will Smith and Tyler Perry in its 2009 Power List of the most influential African American agents, producers and directors in Hollywood.
Johnson lives in Los Angeles and is married to Jennifer Johnson. They have three children.