{{short description|American businessman (born 1960)}} {{Use American English|date=November 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom Ortenberg | image = Tom Ortenberg in 2024.jpg | caption = Ortenberg in 2024 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|08|8}} | birth_place = Briarcliff Manor, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | employer = Briarcliff Entertainment | occupation = {{hlist|Businessman|film studio executive}} | title = Chief executive officer | spouse = | children = 3 }} '''Tom Ortenberg''' (born August 8, 1960) is an American businessman.
==Early life and career== Ortenberg was born on August 8, 1960, in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He attended Pennsylvania State University<ref name="THRFeb2016">{{Cite web |last=McClintock |first=Pamela |date=February 25, 2016 |title='Spotlight' Executive Tom Ortenberg on Oscar Campaign Reform, Why He's "Feeling the Bern" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/spotlight-executive-tom-ortenberg-oscar-867968 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509004030/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/spotlight-executive-tom-ortenberg-oscar-867968 |archive-date=May 9, 2017 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> and graduated in 1982. While at Penn State he first dabbled in film, showing recent theatrical movies on campus to raise money for non-profit student groups, including the Consumer Party, a political organization which he co-founded and ran for office with.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Diacont |first=Patti |date=September 4, 1984 |title=Ortenberg campaign focuses on University, economic issues |url=https://www.psucollegian.com/archives/article_2e02565d-751d-5439-92ae-0d7cf0febf74.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713011936/https://www.psucollegian.com/archives/article_2e02565d-751d-5439-92ae-0d7cf0febf74.html |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |newspaper=Daily Collegian |publisher=Pennsylvania State University}}</ref> After moving to San Francisco, he began his film career with Columbia Pictures in 1985 as a clerk and joined Hemdale Film Corporation in 1989, where he briefly became president of distribution and marketing after the company filed for bankruptcy and laid off the C-level officers of the company.
He then joined Lionsgate Films as its President of Theatrical Films, where he was the first employee in its Los Angeles office.<ref name="THRFeb2016" /> Ortenberg led Lionsgate's film division as it quickly grew from an independent arthouse distributor into one of Hollywood's leading movie studios. In 2009, he left Lionsgate to join The Weinstein Company as president of theatrical films.
In 2011, it was announced that he would become the founding CEO of Open Road Films, a newly formed movie studio owned by the theatre chains AMC Theatres and Regal Entertainment Group.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=March 7, 2011 |title=Theater Chains AMC, Regal Launch Distribution Venture Open Road With Tom Ortenberg At Helm |url=https://deadline.com/2011/03/theater-chains-amc-regal-launch-distribution-venture-open-road-with-tom-ortenberg-at-head-111698/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804121044/https://deadline.com/2011/03/theater-chains-amc-regal-launch-distribution-venture-open-road-with-tom-ortenberg-at-head-111698/ |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> In 2016, he endorsed Bernie Sanders for President of the United States.<ref name="THRFeb2016" />
After seven years at the helm, which included a Best Picture Oscar win for ''Spotlight'' at the 2016 Academy Awards, as well as films such as ''Nightcrawler'' and ''End of Watch'', Ortenberg left Open Road in 2017 after Tang Media Partners acquired it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=November 2, 2017 |title=Tom Ortenberg Exiting Open Road Films |url=https://deadline.com/2017/11/tom-ortenberg-open-road-films-founding-ceo-exit-global-road-entertainment-1202200393/ |access-date=January 1, 2019 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref>
He then founded Briarcliff Entertainment, a distribution company which has since released over a dozen films theatrically.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=August 30, 2018 |title=How Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 11/9' Landed Its Release Date |url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/donald-trump-michael-moore-fahrenheit-11-9-tom-ortenberg-briarcliff-distribution-comscore-1202453789/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014720/https://deadline.com/2018/08/donald-trump-michael-moore-fahrenheit-11-9-tom-ortenberg-briarcliff-distribution-comscore-1202453789/ |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |access-date=January 1, 2019 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> During the summer of 2024, it was reported that Briarcliff was close to a deal to release the controversial Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |date=June 27, 2024 |title=Trump Biopic 'The Apprentice' Nears Distribution Deal |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/27/business/media/apprentice-movie-trump.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=October 4, 2024 |archive-date=September 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901124811/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/27/business/media/apprentice-movie-trump.html |url-status=live }}</ref> after it initially languished without a distributor in America following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and a deal was later confirmed with an October 11 release date set.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Yuan |first1=Jada |last2=Chery |first2=Samantha |date=August 30, 2024 |title=Controversial Trump film 'The Apprentice' finally gets a release date |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2024/08/30/the-apprentice-trump-movie-release-date/ |access-date=October 4, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
Ortenberg revealed Briarcliff was the only distributor to make a serious theatrical release offer for the film due to Trump's legal threats, lambasting the industry's "cowardice."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=2024-10-10 |title=Exec Bringing 'The Apprentice,' Jonathan Majors' 'Magazine Dreams' to Screens Decries Hollywood's "Cowardice" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/briarcliff-entertainment-exec-the-apprentice-jonathan-majors-magazine-dreams-1236027528/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he said "The creative community is supposed to be bolder than this. We’re supposed to take chances."<ref>https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/film/canceled-movie-studio-briarcliff-magazine-dreams-239cc675?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=ASWzDAjJHh4w8T7noLRPORB2v3mE2mf16ffns_oGbCw4muDo0XJ9YpVnEH7kE02eK18%3D&gaa_ts=68c8938d&gaa_sig=Q1EGwOXxDuq-5KhDD_wmFcQWE5T6aSKpFK7BKO974J7qFVStAU9ngS4LdGfOkNF5_tN6mm0pef153PjpONm9sA%3D%3D</ref>
==Personal life== Ortenberg lives with his wife Edie and his three children, Jason, Andrew, and Cole, in Santa Monica, California. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and is a trustee of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tom Ortenberg |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0650973/bio |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003110908/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0650973/bio |archive-date=October 3, 2016 |access-date=May 28, 2017 |publisher=IMDb}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name}}
{{Authority control}} {{Portal bar|Biography|United States|New York City|New York (state)|Business|Film}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortenberg, Tom}} Category:1960 births Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:20th-century American Jews Category:21st-century American Jews Category:American film studio executives Category:Living people Category:Pennsylvania State University alumni Category:People from Briarcliff Manor, New York {{US-business-bio-1960s-stub}}