2019-10-16 The Hollywood Reporter

The Business

Creative Space

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 42 OCTOBER 16, 2019

GRO

OM

ING

BY

HE

ATH

ER^

HAR

RIS

AT^

DEW

BE

AUT

Y^ A

GEN

CY.^

STY

LIN

G^ B

Y^ J

VM

ES^ C

VRR

OLL

.

Photographed by Damon Casarez

Aaron L. Gilbert

The CEO of Bron Media Corp. on embracing

controversy with Joker and Bombshell, how streaming

has changed his investment strategy and why he’s

getting into the Ghostbusters business By Pamela McClintock

W

hen Charlize Theron
phoned Aaron L.
Gilbert earlier this
year, she was understandably
distraught. Just two weeks before
shooting was to begin, Megan
Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures
was pulling out of Bombshell,
the Fox News/Roger Ailes movie
she’s producing and starring in
alongside Nicole Kidman and
Margot Robbie. Would Gilbert’s

Canadian company Bron Media

Corp., which had helped Theron’s

2019 pic Tu l ly get made, take over

as lead producer and backer?

Within four or five days, Theron

got her wish. Bombshell (open i ng

Dec. 20 via Lionsgate) is among

a number of upcoming titles sig-

naling Bron’s growing profile as

a go-to financing and production

company. Gilbert and his wife,

Brenda, founded Bron in 2010 and

have since partnered with Jason

Cloth’s Toronto-based Creative

Wealth Media, which is backed by

Canadian pension plans, mutual

funds and private investment

groups. Together, they’ve poured

more than $600 million into 50

films since 2014, including Nate

Parker’s The Birth of a Nation,

Jason Reitman’s The Front Runner,

Denzel Washington’s Fences —

and Joker. The latter, which has

A new poster for

Jay Roach’s Fox News

pic, starring Charlize

Theron opposite

Margot Robbie and

Nicole Kidman. It hits

theaters Dec. 20.

Gilbert is

working on a secret

project about

New York City in the

Andy Warhol era.

This book is research

provided by a

production staffer.

“I think we are

hitting our stride

right now,” says

Gilbert, who was

photographed

Oct. 9 in his

Beverly Hills office.