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Escape Artists

About Us

The Company

Escape Artists is an independently financed motion picture and television production company with a first-look deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment for film and a first-look deal with MGM Television for TV, headed by Partners Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and David Bloomfield. In 2000, Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal’s Black & Blu merged with the Steve Tisch Company to form Escape Artists.

Producers

Who We Are

Productions

Our History

  1. A Knight's Tale

    A Knight’s Tale

    Inspired by “The Canterbury Tales,” as well as the story of Ulrich von Lichtenstein, this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country’s jousting competition, and finds romance along the way.

  2. The Weather Man

    The Weather Man

    Dave Spritz is a local weatherman in his home town of Chicago, where his career is going well while his personal life — his relationship with his perfectionist writer father, his neurotic ex-wife, and his now-separated children — is spiraling downward. Despite being both loathed and loved by the local masses, Dave is a guy who doesn’t seem to have it all together, and in this film, he begins to feel it. An attractive job offer presents Dave with a major question: to pursue his career in New York City, or to remain at home with his family.

  3. The Pursuit of Happyness

    The Pursuit of Happyness

    In Columbia Pictures’ The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a bright and talented but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them.

  4. The Great Debaters

    The Great Debaters

    Professor Melvin Tolson, a brilliant but volatile debate team coach, uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and ferocious teaching methods as well as his radical plitical views. In their pursuit for excellence, Tolson’s debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University’s championship team.

  5. Seven Pounds

    Seven Pounds

    Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (2006, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, The Pursuit of Happyness) stars as Ben Thomas, a man at a crossroads searching for a way to redeem his heavy conscience. He discovers he has the power to change the circumstances of seven strangers who deserve a second chance. But when one of them captures his heart, he must decide if he should reveal his secret — even if it means giving up on his plan. From the creators of The Pursuit of Happyness, SEVEN POUNDS is an “emotionally charged, captivating mystery with a soulful, tender love story and a tearful but joyfully inspiring ending”.

  6. Knowing

    Knowing

    Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in this heart-pounding sci-fi thriller as John Koestler, a professor who deciphers a coded message with terrifyingly accurate predictions about ever major world disaster. Looking to protect his family and prevent future calamities he enlists the reluctant help of Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne), daughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies. His race to understand the message and his own family’s involvement in them becomes a heart-pounding race against time as he faces the ultimate disaster.

  7. The Taking of Pelham 123

    The Taking of Pelham 123

    Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day’s work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.

  8. The Backup Plan

    The Backup Plan

    The Back-up Plan is a comedy that explores dating, love, marriage and family in reverse.

    After years of dating, Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has decided waiting for the right one is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, she commits to a plan, makes an appointment and decides to go it alone. That same day, Zoe meets Stan (Alex OLoughlin) a man with real possibilities. Trying to nurture a budding relationship and hide the early signs of pregnancy becomes a comedy of errors for Zoe and creates confusing signals for Stan. When Zoe nervously reveals the reason for her unpredictable behavior, Stan commits fully and says he’s in. Never before has love seen a courtship where a wild night of sex involves three in a bed Stan, Zoe and the ever-present massive pregnancy pillow. Or, where date night consists of being the focal point at a near-strangers water birth which does for kiddie pools what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean. The real pregnancy test comes when both of them realize they really don’t know each other outside of hormonal chaos and birth preparations. With the nine month clock ticking, both begin to experience cold feet. Anyone can fall in love, get married and have a baby but doing it backwards in hyper-drive could be proof positive that they were made for each other.

  9. Hope Springs

    Hope Springs

    Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.

  10. Sex Tape

    Sex Tape

    When Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) first got together, their romantic connection was intense – but ten years and two kids later, the flame of their love needs a spark. To kick things up a notch, they decide – why not? – to make a video of themselves trying out every position in The Joy of Sex in one marathon three-hour session. It seems like a great idea – until they discover that their most private video is no longer private. With their reputations on the line, they know they’re just one click away from being laid bare to the world… but as their race to reclaim their video leads to a night they’ll never forget, they’ll find that their video will expose even more than they bargained for.

  11. The Equalizer

    The Equalizer

    In The Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he cant standby he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

  12. Unfinished Business

    Unfinished Business

    Hard-working small business owner (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

  13. Southpaw

    Southpaw

    A boxer fights his way to the top, only to find his life falling apart around him.

  14. The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano

    The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano

    The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano follows top NYC photographer Phil Toledano, who becomes obsessed with his own fear of aging in the wake of his father’s death. Part dark comedy, part exploration of each of our deepest, most human fears, the film follows Toledano as he embarks on a strange, provocative three-year journey to experience all of his futures. Through the help of a DNA test, a special effects makeup artist, and psychics, the one project his wife asked him not to pursue becomes an obsession as Toledano transforms into all the futures that might befall each of us – obesity, stroke, desolation, violent death, suicide – capturing them in a series of vivid photographic portraits. The film focuses on Toledano’s strained relationship with his wife who says “this is the one project I asked him not to pursue,” and his mother-in-law who calls his obsessive three-year journey “the worst idea he’s ever had.”

  15. The Magnificent Seven

    The Magnificent Seven

    Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.

  16. The Equalizer

    The Equalizer 2

    Denzel Washington returns to one of his signature roles in the first sequel of his career. Robert McCall serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed – but how far will he go when that is someone he loves?

  17. The Upside

    The Upside

    THE UPSIDE, director Neil Burger’s heartfelt comedy about a recently paroled ex-convict (Kevin Hart) who strikes up an unusual and unlikely friendship with a paralyzed billionaire (Bryan Cranston). The Upside also stars Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies and Aja Naomi King.

  18. Troop Zero

    Troop Zero

    In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a competition offers her a chance to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime.

  19. Perpetual Grace, LTD

    Perpetual Grace, LTD

    Perpetual Grace LTD is a modern noir drama which follows James (Jimmi Simpson, Emmy Award®-nominee), a mysterious young grifter who sets his eyes on Pastor Byron Brown (Sir Ben Kingsley, Academy Award®-winner) as his next prey. The pastor and his wife Lillian (Jacki Weaver, Academy Award®-nominee) – known to their parishioners as Ma and Pa – use their religious influence to dupe hundreds of innocent people out of their life savings.

  20. Why We Hate

    Why We Hate

    “Why We Hate” hails from Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions in association with Escape Artists for Discovery Channel, and went into production earlier this year. Sam Pollard (“Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me”) and Geeta Gandbhir (“Love the Sinner”) co-direct the multi-part documentary.

    “Why We Hate” will draw on research in psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and history, to trace the evolutionary basis of hate and use stories from both the past and present to reveal the nature of this primal and universal emotion.

    The television event aims to reveal contemporary links to ancient behavior and use science as a basis for explaining the nature of hatred and the human mind. At the heart of the show is this question: If we can figure out why we hate, where hate originates, and how it is amplified, can we find a way to prevent it?

    “Why We Hate” is executive produced by Spielberg, Gibney, Frank Marshall, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Yael Melamede, Erica Sashin and Steve Tisch. Nancy Daniels and Howard Swartz will executive produce for Discovery.

  21. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

    Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

    Tensions and temperatures rise at a Chicago music studio in 1927 when fiery, fearless blues singer Ma Rainey joins her band for a recording session. Adapted from August Wilson’s play.

  22. Dr. Death

    Dr. Death

    Based on Wondery’s hit podcast, DR. DEATH is inspired by the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Joshua Jackson), a rising star in the Dallas medical community. Young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, Dr. Duntsch was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed. Patients entered his operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries and left permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin) and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby (Christian Slater), as well as Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart (AnnaSophia Robb), set out to stop him. DR. DEATH explores the twisted mind of Dr. Duntsch and the failures of the system designed to protect the most defenseless among us.

    DR. DEATH is executive produced by Patrick Macmanus (“The Girl from Plainville”) via his Littleton Road Productions banner, and under his overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. Macmanus also serves as showrunner. Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and Taylor Latham also executive produce via Escape Artists, as well as Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery.

    DR. DEATH features an all-female directing team. Directors include Maggie Kiley (“Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story,” “Riverdale”), who will also executive produce the first two episodes, Jennifer Morrison (Peacock’s ONE OF US IS LYING, “Euphoria”) and So Yong Kim (“Lovesong,” “Grand Army”).

    Dr. DEATH premieres on PeacockTV July 15.

  23. A Journal for Jordan

    A Journal For Jordan

    Directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan with a screenplay by Virgil Williams, A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN is based on the true story of Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child. A sweeping account of a once-in-a-lifetime love, the film is a powerful reminder of the importance of family and the all-too-human cost of war.

  24. Being the Ricardos

    Being the Ricardos

    During one production week of “I Love Lucy” — from Monday table read through Friday audience taping — Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) face a series of personal and professional crises that threaten their show, their careers and their marriage, in writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama.

  25. ¡Viva Maestro!

    ¡Viva Maestro!

    When conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s international tours are disrupted by deadly protests across his native Venezuela, one of the world’s greatest and most beloved musicians faces the challenge of a lifetime —one that will deepen his commitment to the mentor who changed his life, upend relationships with friends and musicians he’s led since his teens, and test his belief in art’s transformative capacity. ¡VIVA MAESTRO!, the uplifting and timely new documentary from acclaimed director Ted Braun, follows Dudamel around the world as he responds to these unexpected and daunting obstacles with powerful music-making and an innovative and triumphant concert that celebrates the power of art to renew and unite.

  26. The Man From Toronto

    The Man From Toronto

    A case of mistaken identity arises after a screw-up sales consultant and the world’s deadliest assassin—known only as The Man from Toronto— run into each other at a holiday rental.

  27. Emancipation

    Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.

  28. Servant

    From M. Night Shyamalan, Servant follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.

    Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are available now only on the Apple TV app with an Apple TV+ subscription.

    Season 4, the final season, premieres on January 13 via Apple TV+ followed by a new episode each week.

  1. A Knight's Tale

    A Knight’s Tale

    Inspired by "The Canterbury Tales," as well as the story of Ulrich von Lichtenstein, this is the story of William, a young squire with a gift for jousting. After his master dies suddenly, the squire hits the road with his cohorts Roland and Wat. On the journey, they stumble across an unknown writer, Chaucer. William, lacking a proper pedigree, convinces Chaucer to forge genealogy documents that will pass him off as a knight. With his newly-minted history in hand, the young man sets out to prove himself a worthy knight at the country's jousting competition, and finds romance along the way.

  2. The Weather Man

    The Weather Man

    Dave Spritz is a local weatherman in his home town of Chicago, where his career is going well while his personal life -- his relationship with his perfectionist writer father, his neurotic ex-wife, and his now-separated children -- is spiraling downward. Despite being both loathed and loved by the local masses, Dave is a guy who doesn't seem to have it all together, and in this film, he begins to feel it. An attractive job offer presents Dave with a major question: to pursue his career in New York City, or to remain at home with his family.

  3. The Pursuit of Happyness

    The Pursuit of Happyness

    In Columbia Pictures' The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a bright and talented but marginally employed salesman. Struggling to make ends meet, Gardner finds himself and his five-year-old son evicted from their San Francisco apartment with nowhere to go. When Gardner lands an internship at a prestigious stock brokerage firm, he and his son endure many hardships, including living in shelters, in pursuit of his dream of a better life for the two of them.

  4. The Great Debaters

    The Great Debaters

    Professor Melvin Tolson, a brilliant but volatile debate team coach, uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small African American college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. A controversial figure, Professor Tolson challenged the social mores of the time and was under constant fire for his unconventional and ferocious teaching methods as well as his radical plitical views. In their pursuit for excellence, Tolson's debate team receives a groundbreaking invitation to debate Harvard University's championship team.

  5. Seven Pounds

    Seven Pounds

    Academy Award® nominee Will Smith (2006, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, The Pursuit of Happyness) stars as Ben Thomas, a man at a crossroads searching for a way to redeem his heavy conscience. He discovers he has the power to change the circumstances of seven strangers who deserve a second chance. But when one of them captures his heart, he must decide if he should reveal his secret -- even if it means giving up on his plan. From the creators of The Pursuit of Happyness, SEVEN POUNDS is an "emotionally charged, captivating mystery with a soulful, tender love story and a tearful but joyfully inspiring ending"

  6. Knowing

    Knowing

    Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage stars in this heart-pounding sci-fi thriller as John Koestler, a professor who deciphers a coded message with terrifyingly accurate predictions about ever major world disaster. Looking to protect his family and prevent future calamities he enlists the reluctant help of Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne), daughter of the now-deceased author of the prophecies. His race to understand the message and his own family's involvement in them becomes a heart-pounding race against time as he faces the ultimate disaster.

  7. The Taking of Pelham 123

    The Taking of Pelham 123

    Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.

  8. The Backup Plan

    The Backup Plan

    The Back-up Plan is a comedy that explores dating, love, marriage and family in reverse.

    After years of dating, Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has decided waiting for the right one is taking too long. Determined to become a mother, she commits to a plan, makes an appointment and decides to go it alone. That same day, Zoe meets Stan (Alex OLoughlin) a man with real possibilities. Trying to nurture a budding relationship and hide the early signs of pregnancy becomes a comedy of errors for Zoe and creates confusing signals for Stan. When Zoe nervously reveals the reason for her unpredictable behavior, Stan commits fully and says he’s in. Never before has love seen a courtship where a wild night of sex involves three in a bed Stan, Zoe and the ever-present massive pregnancy pillow. Or, where date night consists of being the focal point at a near-strangers water birth which does for kiddie pools what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean. The real pregnancy test comes when both of them realize they really don’t know each other outside of hormonal chaos and birth preparations. With the nine month clock ticking, both begin to experience cold feet. Anyone can fall in love, get married and have a baby but doing it backwards in hyper-drive could be proof positive that they were made for each other.

  9. Hope Springs

    Hope Springs

    Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place.

  10. Sex Tape

    Sex Tape

    When Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) first got together, their romantic connection was intense - but ten years and two kids later, the flame of their love needs a spark. To kick things up a notch, they decide - why not? - to make a video of themselves trying out every position in The Joy of Sex in one marathon three-hour session. It seems like a great idea - until they discover that their most private video is no longer private. With their reputations on the line, they know they're just one click away from being laid bare to the world... but as their race to reclaim their video leads to a night they'll never forget, they'll find that their video will expose even more than they bargained for.

  11. The Equalizer

    The Equalizer

    In The Equalizer, Denzel Washington plays McCall, a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (Chloe Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he cant standby he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

  12. Unfinished Business

    Unfinished Business

    Hard-working small business owner (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

  13. Southpaw

    Southpaw

    A boxer fights his way to the top, only to find his life falling apart around him.

  14. The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano

    The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano

    The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano follows top NYC photographer Phil Toledano, who becomes obsessed with his own fear of aging in the wake of his father’s death. Part dark comedy, part exploration of each of our deepest, most human fears, the film follows Toledano as he embarks on a strange, provocative three-year journey to experience all of his futures. Through the help of a DNA test, a special effects makeup artist, and psychics, the one project his wife asked him not to pursue becomes an obsession as Toledano transforms into all the futures that might befall each of us – obesity, stroke, desolation, violent death, suicide – capturing them in a series of vivid photographic portraits. The film focuses on Toledano’s strained relationship with his wife who says “this is the one project I asked him not to pursue,” and his mother-in-law who calls his obsessive three-year journey “the worst idea he’s ever had.”

  15. The Magnificent Seven

    The Magnificent Seven

    Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.

  16. The Equalizer

    The Equalizer 2

    Denzel Washington returns to one of his signature roles in the first sequel of his career. Robert McCall serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed – but how far will he go when that is someone he loves?

  17. The Upside

    The Upside

    THE UPSIDE, director Neil Burger’s heartfelt comedy about a recently paroled ex-convict (Kevin Hart) who strikes up an unusual and unlikely friendship with a paralyzed billionaire (Bryan Cranston). The Upside also stars Nicole Kidman, Julianna Margulies and Aja Naomi King.

  18. Troop Zero

    Troop Zero

    In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a competition offers her a chance to be recorded on NASA's Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime.

  19. Perpetual Grace, LTD

    Perpetual Grace, LTD

    Perpetual Grace LTD is a modern noir drama which follows James (Jimmi Simpson, Emmy Award®-nominee), a mysterious young grifter who sets his eyes on Pastor Byron Brown (Sir Ben Kingsley, Academy Award®-winner) as his next prey. The pastor and his wife Lillian (Jacki Weaver, Academy Award®-nominee) – known to their parishioners as Ma and Pa – use their religious influence to dupe hundreds of innocent people out of their life savings.

  20. Why We Hate

    Why We Hate

    “Why We Hate” hails from Spielberg’s Amblin Television and Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions in association with Escape Artists for Discovery Channel, and went into production earlier this year. Sam Pollard (“Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me”) and Geeta Gandbhir (“Love the Sinner”) co-direct the multi-part documentary.

    “Why We Hate” will draw on research in psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and history, to trace the evolutionary basis of hate and use stories from both the past and present to reveal the nature of this primal and universal emotion.

    The television event aims to reveal contemporary links to ancient behavior and use science as a basis for explaining the nature of hatred and the human mind. At the heart of the show is this question: If we can figure out why we hate, where hate originates, and how it is amplified, can we find a way to prevent it?

    “Why We Hate” is executive produced by Spielberg, Gibney, Frank Marshall, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Yael Melamede, Erica Sashin and Steve Tisch. Nancy Daniels and Howard Swartz will executive produce for Discovery.

  21. Servant

    From M. Night Shyamalan, Servant follows a Philadelphia couple in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.

    Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are available now only on the Apple TV app with an Apple TV+ subscription.

    Season 4, the final season, premieres on January 13 via Apple TV+ followed by a new episode each week.

  22. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

    Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

    Tensions and temperatures rise at a Chicago music studio in 1927 when fiery, fearless blues singer Ma Rainey joins her band for a recording session. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

  23. Dr. Death

    Dr. Death Season 1

    Based on Wondery’s hit podcast, DR. DEATH is inspired by the terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Joshua Jackson), a rising star in the Dallas medical community. Young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, Dr. Duntsch was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed. Patients entered his operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries and left permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson (Alec Baldwin) and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby (Christian Slater), as well as Dallas prosecutor Michelle Shughart (AnnaSophia Robb), set out to stop him. DR. DEATH explores the twisted mind of Dr. Duntsch and the failures of the system designed to protect the most defenseless among us.

    DR. DEATH is executive produced by Patrick Macmanus (“The Girl from Plainville”) via his Littleton Road Productions banner, and under his overall deal with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group. Macmanus also serves as showrunner. Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and Taylor Latham also executive produce via Escape Artists, as well as Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy of Wondery.

    DR. DEATH features an all-female directing team. Directors include Maggie Kiley (“Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story,” “Riverdale”), who will also executive produce the first two episodes, Jennifer Morrison (Peacock’s ONE OF US IS LYING, “Euphoria”) and So Yong Kim (“Lovesong,” “Grand Army”).

    Dr. DEATH premieres on PeacockTV July 15.

  24. A Journal for Jordan

    A Journal For Jordan

    Directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan with a screenplay by Virgil Williams, A JOURNAL FOR JORDAN is based on the true story of Sergeant Charles Monroe King (Jordan), a soldier deployed to Iraq who begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy (Chanté Adams) revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child. A sweeping account of a once-in-a-lifetime love, the film is a powerful reminder of the importance of family and the all-too-human cost of war.

  25. Being the Ricardos

    Being the Ricardos

    During one production week of “I Love Lucy” — from Monday table read through Friday audience taping — Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) face a series of personal and professional crises that threaten their show, their careers and their marriage, in writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s behind-the-scenes drama.

  26. ¡Viva Maestro!

    ¡Viva Maestro!

    When conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s international tours are disrupted by deadly protests across his native Venezuela, one of the world’s greatest and most beloved musicians faces the challenge of a lifetime —one that will deepen his commitment to the mentor who changed his life, upend relationships with friends and musicians he’s led since his teens, and test his belief in art’s transformative capacity. ¡VIVA MAESTRO!, the uplifting and timely new documentary from acclaimed director Ted Braun, follows Dudamel around the world as he responds to these unexpected and daunting obstacles with powerful music-making and an innovative and triumphant concert that celebrates the power of art to renew and unite.

  27. The Man From Toronto

    The Man From Toronto

    A case of mistaken identity arises after a screw-up sales consultant and the world’s deadliest assassin—known only as The Man from Toronto— run into each other at a holiday rental.

  28. Emancipation

    Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.

  29. The Equalizer 3

    Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friends protector by taking on the mafia.

  30. Cassandro

    Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, rises to international stardom after he creates the character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world but also his own life.

  31. Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe

    As journalist Alice Hines looks for a new story, her attention is drawn toward the wacky and weird fringes of internet culture. Her research takes her into love and romance and the controversial world of spiritual communities when she comes across the Twin Flames Universe. Blown away by the level of obsession its members have for founders Jeff and Shaleia Divine, Alice knows she has found her story. Little does she know how wild things are about to get.

    Goaded on by the flamboyant founders, Alice cannot believe what Jeff and Shaleia are able to encourage people to do. Paying thousands of dollars for the promise of finding their ultimate lover, members of the Twin Flames Universe will seemingly stop at nothing to claim their Twin Flame, crossing boundaries and even influencing members’ genders. Instead of a loving spiritual community, Alice wonders if she has in fact come across an internet cult.

    With real life testimony from former Twin Flames Universe members, as well as hearing from family of those who remained involved, this spellbinding docuseries recounts the true story of the ongoing Twin Flames Universe from its origin. From hysterical to outrageous, each episode tells real stories. It is a jaw-dropping, emotional rollercoaster that, at times, is barely believable.

    What would you do to claim your ‘twin flame?’

  32. Dr. Death Season 2

    This season of Dr. Death, based on the Wondery podcast, follows “Miracle Man” Paolo Macchiarini (Edgar Ramírez), a charming surgeon renowned for his innovative operations. When investigative journalist Benita Alexander (Mandy Moore) approaches him for a story, the line between personal and professional begins to blur, changing her life forever. As she learns how far Paolo will go to protect his secrets, a group of doctors halfway across the world make shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about Paolo into question.

Escape Artists

Our Story

The first movie under the Escape Artists banner was A Knight’s Tale, starring Heath Ledger in 2001. In 2005, Escape Artists released The Weather Man, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Nic Cage and Michael Caine. Their next film, The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith, was released in 2006 and earned over $300 million in worldwide ticket sales, as well as best actor Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Will Smith. Seven Pounds, another Gabriele Muccino directed film starring Will Smith, was released in 2008. In 2009, Escape Artists released the Alex Proyas thriller, Knowing, starring Nic Cage and The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, directed by Tony Scott, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Then followed Hope Springs in 2012, directed by David Frankel and starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell.

In 2014, Escape Artists released the comedy Sex Tape, starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel; followed by The Equalizer, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington. In 2015, Escape released Unfinished Business, directed by Ken Scott and starring Vince Vaughn; and Southpaw, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker and Rachel McAdams. Escape’s solo release of 2016 was a remake of The Magnificent Seven, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.

In 2017, Escape released The Equalizer 2, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington; and The Upside (a remake of the 2011 French film, The Intouchables), directed by Neil Burger and starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman, which was released via STXfilms and earned over $100 million at the domestic box office. In 2019, Escape released Troop Zero, starring Viola Davis, Allison Janney, McKenna Grace and Jim Gaffigan via Amazon Studios, which is streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Also available to stream on Netflix is the critically acclaimed, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Oscar winner Viola Davis, opposite Chadwick Boseman, written by Ruben Santiago-Hudson from an adaptation of August Wilson’s play. Ma Rainey garnered 188 nominations and 80 wins during the 2020 Awards Season; including a Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance Win and Best Actress nominations for both the Golden Globes and the Oscars for Viola Davis, and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, a Golden Globe Best Actor win and a Screen Actors Guild Outstanding Performance win for the late Chadwick Boseman. Ma Rainey was also named an AFI Movie of the Year, Best Picture by the Black Film Critics Circle Awards, and won 2 Academy Awards for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Achievement in Costume Design.

The next feature release for Escape, Being the Ricardos, based on the marriage of I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, was released in theaters in December of 2021 and is currently available to stream via Amazon Prime. The film received three nominations at the 94th Academy Awards, including Best Actress (for Kidman), Best Actor (for Bardem), and Best Supporting Actor (for Simmons). It also received three nominations at the 79th Golden Globe Awards including Best Screenplay (for Sorkin), Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (for Bardem), and Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (for Kidman), winning for Best Actress.

Also released in December of 2021 via Columbia Pictures, and available now via On Demand, is A Journal For Jordan, based on the novel by Dana Canedy, directed by Denzel Washington and starring Michael B. Jordan and Chanté Adams.

Released June 2022 via Netflix was The Man from Toronto, starring Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, directed by Patrick Hughes. In December of 2022, Escape via AppleTV, released Emancipation, which was written by Bill Collage, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith and is currently available to stream on Apple TV+.

Cassandro, directed by Roger Ross Williams and starring Gael García Bernal, premiered in 2023 at Sundance and is available to stream on Amazon Prime. Also released in 2023 was The Equalizer 3, directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by Richard Wenk and starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, marking the 3rd film in the franchise for the creative team and Columbia Pictures. 

Recently wrapped for Escape is The Piano Lesson, August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning stage play set to be released by Netflix, with Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington starring after finishing a successful Broadway revival co-starring Danielle Brooks.

On the television side, Escape Artists first straight to series show, Perpetual Grace, LTD., from Steve Conrad and Bruce Terris, and starring Ben Kingsley, Jimmi Simpson and Jacki Weaver, premiered in 2019 on EPIX, with a limited run conclusion currently in the works. Also recently airing on the Discovery Channel is Why We Hate, a six-part docu-series from Steven Spielberg and Alex Gibney, which examines the origins and dangers of hate.

Currently streaming on Peacock is Dr. Death, Season 1, based on the Wondery podcast, starring Joshua Jackson, Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin. Dr. Death Season 2, starring Edgar Ramirez & Mandy Moore, was released by Peacock in December of 2023, as the show takes on an anthology format and follows a new case each season.

Also streaming on Apple TV, are Seasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Servant, in association with M. Night Shyamalan, and starring Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free and Rupert Grint.

Escape also produced Desperately Seeking Soulmate: Escaping Twin Flames Universe, a three-part docuseries, available to stream on Amazon Prime, based on the explosive investigation first published in Vanity Fair, the series unveils the dark truth behind the Twin Flames Universe, an alleged online love cult.