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Sid GanisPresident of the American Film Academy
Country:
 USA |
Biography of Sid Ganis
Early YearsSid Ganis was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is of Greek-Jewish descent from the city of Ioannina in northwest Greece.
Career
Ganis entered the world of entertainment when he worked as a messenger for theatrical publicists Lee Solters and Harvey Sabinson. This led him to a career in marketing and advertising at several studios, including 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Seven Arts, and Warner Bros. He eventually joined Lucasfilm, where he held the position of Senior Vice President for several years. There, he was responsible for the marketing of films such as "The Empire Strikes Back," "Return of the Jedi," and the first two installments of the Indiana Jones tetralogy.
In 1986, Ganis joined Paramount Pictures and eventually became the President of the Motion Picture Group, where he helped launch "Top Gun" and "Fatal Attraction." As President, he oversaw the development and production of the worldwide hit "Ghost" and acquired the major rights to the film "Forrest Gump," which later became one of Paramount's biggest hits of all time both financially and critically.
Leaving Paramount in 1990, Ganis became the President of Marketing and Distribution at Columbia Pictures. He eventually became the Deputy Chairman of the studio. In 1996, he left to form his independent production company, Out of the Blue... Entertainment. Within this company, Ganis served as an executive producer on the ABC series "Pan Am" (2011–2012) alongside his wife, Nancy Hult Ganis, a fellow film and television producer who developed and served as an executive producer on the series.
Ganis has also worked extensively in China, collaborating with the Chinese government on various film projects. He is a co-founder and Chairman of Jiaflix Enterprises, an American company with a long-term exclusive agreement with China Movie Channel and the 1905 website, both under the SAPPRFT (SARFT). He served as an Honorary Chairman of Wuxi Studios, located near Shanghai. Notably, Jiaflix played a significant role in the record-breaking success of "Transformers: Age of Extinction" in China for Paramount Pictures, surpassing the previous box office record set by "Avatar."
Currently, he is producing the feature film "Shadow Song" with partners at The H Collective Holdings in Los Angeles. "Shadow Song" is based on the short film "Child's Song," which Ganis directed in 2015.
