Adam Leipzig

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title: "Adam Leipzig" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1958-births", "film-producers-from-los-angeles", "american-theatre-managers-and-producers", "living-people", "national-geographic-society", "yale-university-alumni"] description: "American film and theater producer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Leipzig" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American film and theater producer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Adam Leipzig
image	TNW USA 2013 - Day 2 (10326942656).jpg
caption	Adam Leipzig in 2013
alma_mater	Yale University
birth_date	c. 1958
occupation
years_active	1979–present
website
::

| honorific_prefix = | name = Adam Leipzig | image =TNW USA 2013 - Day 2 (10326942656).jpg | caption =Adam Leipzig in 2013 | alma_mater = Yale University | known_for =

• Dead Poets Society (1989)
• Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
• Titus (1999)
• The Way Back (2010)
• March of the Penguins (2005)
• A Plastic Ocean (2016) | birth_date = c. 1958 | birth_place = | occupation = | years_active = 1979–present | spouse = | children = | relatives = | website =

Adam Leipzig is the CEO of Entertainment Media Partners, an American film and theatre producer and executive, as well as an author. As a former Disney executive, he supervised films such as Dead Poets Society (1989) and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989). Leipzig produced films such as Titus (1999), The Way Back (2010) and A Plastic Ocean (2016). While president of National Geographic Films, he acquired the international rights to March of the Penguins, and created the US version, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Leipzig authored two books on film making.

Leipzig is noted for contributing to the field of nature documentaries by implementing higher production standards and utilizing voice-over narration.

Leipzig is the current CEO of MediaU, an online learning center in the domain of filmmaking and television. He is a lecturer in the MBA and Executive Education programs at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business..{{multiref2 |1= |2=

Early life and education

Leipzig was born around 1958 in Reseda, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in San Fernando Valley, California. He attended Yale University and graduated with a B.A. degree in literature in 1979. He also trained as Fellow in Arts and Public Policy at Coro Foundation.

Career

Theater

After graduating from Yale, Leipzig began his career in the Los Angeles Theatre Center (formerly the Los Angeles Actors’ Theatre) as an unpaid assistant stage manager, where he eventually became a dramaturge/associate director.

In 1984, he participated as a representative of Los Angeles theater companies in negotiations with the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival to include local theater productions.

Leipzig was one of the producers of Secret Honor, written by Donald Freed and Arnold M. Stone and directed by Robert Altman, which Altman had also made into a 1984 film of the same name. He left his staff position at the Theatre Center in 1986, but continued to consult and do translations for the company. Leipzig worked with Iranian theatre artist Reza Abdoh, and after Abdoh's death in 1995 organized the archiving of his works. In 1999, he contributed to the production of Bang, Bang, You’re Dead by William Mastrosimone. He also produced two plays by Donald Freed: American Iliad (2001) and The Einstein Plan (2010).

Filmmaking

Leipzig joined Walt Disney Studios/Touchstone Pictures as a creative executive in 1987 and in 1991 was promoted to senior vice president of motion picture production. Films he supervised included Dead Poets Society, Good Morning, Vietnam, The Doctor, Billy Bathgate, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, 3 Ninjas, The Program, Mad Love, Fire Birds and Paradise. Leipzig left to become a producer with PolyGram Entertainment's Interscope Communications in 1993, where he produced films including The Associate, Roommates, Two Much and Dead Silence. He started his own production company called Terra Bella Entertainment in 1999, where he produced films including Titus and I Was a Teenage Faust.

In 2003 Leipzig became president of National Geographic Films, where he supervised acquisition and distribution of films including March of The Penguins, The Story of the Weeping Camel, Amreeka, Kekexili: Mountain Patrol and God Grew Tired of Us; and he produced The Way Back, The Last Lions and Arctic Tale. In October, 2008, National Geographic Films announced $100 million in financing with an equity investment from Abu Dhabi Media Company and a credit facility from JP Morgan. Leipzig left National Geographic Films in March, 2010.

In 2005, while at National Geographic, he co-produced ‘’March of the Penguins’’, adapting the French nature film for American market. Changes included narration by Morgan Freeman, a new script, and a new musical score composed by Alex Wurman. This approach, described by the Los Angeles Times as creating a "hybrid" genre of wildlife filmmaking, combined traditional nature documentary elements with features of romantic drama, comedy, and suspense to appeal to a broader audience. The film grossed over $133 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing documentary of all time and winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

In 2024, Leipzig produced Sicilian Holiday. Working through his company Credential Media Ventures, Leipzig also oversaw the film's sales and distribution.

As noted by Variety in February 2024, he was working on the documentary Lions of the Sea, directed by Luis Felipe Fernández-Salvador, which depicts the challenges faced by a sea lion orphaned due to illegal fishing.

Entertainment Media Partners and CreativeFuture

In 2014 he founded Entertainment Media Partners, a film consultancy that also produces films, such as A Plastic Ocean.

From 2015 to 2016, Leipzig was the chief operating officer of CreativeFuture, a non-profit organization that advocates for creative communities, and is currently their senior creative adviser. He also is on the advisory board of the philanthropic social media platform and app, Pixhug.

Teaching and public speaking

Leipzig is on faculty at the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business, where he has been a lecturer since 2013, teaching in the MBA and Executive Education programs. His courses include Audience-Focused Communication, Mastering Communication, and The Art and Science of Storytelling and Communication From 2013 to 2015, he also served as a part of the faculty at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Leipzig has given two TEDx Talks. "The Real Culture Wars", given at TEDx Fullerton in 2010, and "How to Know Your Life Purpose in 5 Minutes", given in 2013. As of April 20, 2023 it has 6,7 million views on YouTube.

Writing

Leipzig has written for American Theatre, Written By, Screen International, and High Performance, and he was the founding editor of Theatre LA magazine. In 2005 Leipzig wrote two articles for The New York Times about how the movie business works for theatrical and home video releases.

Leipzig is also the publisher of Cultural Daily (former Cultural Weekly), a daily digital publication and media project for participatory civic journalism.

Bibliography

• Inside Track for Independent Filmmakers: Get Your Movie Made, Get Your Movie Seen (2013, Macmillan; )
• Filmmaking in Action: Your Guide to the Skills and Craft, a comprehensive textbook (2016, Macmillan; ) - written with Barry S. Weiss and Michael Goldman.

Filmography

::data[format=table title=""]

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
In Production	Lions of the Sea	Lead producer	Documentary
2024	Sicilian Holiday	Producer	Film
2020	Mentally Al	Executive producer	Documentary
2019	#NoJoke	Executive producer	Documentary
2018	StreetCreative	Producer	Documentary Short
2016	A Plastic Ocean	Producer	Documentary
2011	The Last Lions	Executive producer	Documentary
2010	The Way Back	Executive producer	Film
2007	*The Choir *	Executive producer	Documentary
2007	Arctic Tale	Producer	Documentary
2002	The Biggest Step	Producer	Film
2002	I Was a Teenage Faust	Executive producer	(TV movie)

| | 1999 | Titus | Co-producer | Film | | 1997 | Dead Silence | Executive producer | TV movie | | 1996 | The Associate | Producer | Film | | 1995 | Two Much | Executive producer | Film | | 1995 | Roommates | Executive producer | Film | ::

References

References

1. Michaelson, Judith. (1985-09-15). "Bill Bushnell Polishes His Dream".
2. (29 July 2007). "March of the Cuddly-Wuddly Documentaries". [[Washington Post]].
3. (December 4, 2015). "THE 78TH ACADEMY AWARDS in 2006". Oscars Nominations And Ceremonies In 2006.
4. Carey, Matthew. (2023-12-11). "Filming Underway In Galápagos Islands On 'Lions Of The Sea,' Documentary Using "Fantastic Realism" To Explore Majestic Marine Mammal".
5. (26 September 2005). "Penguins help lead way in documentaries' surge French movie's success buoys filmmakers in a transformed genre". [[International Herald Tribune]].
6. "21st Century Skills for Today's Content Creators". MediaU.
7. (2019-02-28). "Adam Leipzig: The Movie Yoda". SoulVision Magazine.
8. (26 February 1998). "Leipzig bows Terra Bella Ent.". [[Variety (magazine).
9. ''L.A. Times'' [http://www.matrixtheatre.com/press/olympicarts.html press for 1984 Olympic Arts Festival]. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
10. Zuckoff, Mitchell. (2009). "Robert Altman: The Oral Biography". Alfred A. Knopf.
11. Drake, Sylvie. (30 April 1987). "L.A. Theatre Center Still Eclectic".
12. Stayton, Richard. (25 August 1991). "STAGE: Theater on the Edge: Teetering near financial ruin, LATC dares to stage one of its most costly, controversial shows, Reza Abdoh's outrageous 'Bogeyman'".
13. Mufson, Daniel. (1999). "Reza Abdoh". Johns Hopkins University Press.
14. "Adam Leipzig : President, National Geographic Films and National Geographic World Films".
15. Weinart, Laura. (14 June 2001). "American Iliad. Black Stage West".
16. "This is our team".
17. (24 July 1991). "EXECUTIVE CHANGES". [[The New York Times]].
18. [https://tv.yahoo.com/adam-leipzig/contributor/28836 YahooTV.com (Retrieved September 7, 2010)]
19. (26 February 1993). "Leipzig joins Interscope ranks". [[Variety (magazine).
20. (10 January 1997). "A Thriller With a Two-in-One Hero". [[The New York Times]].
21. [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0500512/ IMDb.com (Retrieved September 7, 2010)]
22. Chetwyn, Josh. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121011060503/http://business.highbeam.com/2012/article-1G1-50062525/leipzig-sets-up-prodn-company Leipzig sets up prod'n company] ''The Hollywood Reporter'' 26 February 1998. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
23. (23 July 2007). "'Arctic Tale': Global warming goes family friendly". [[The New York Times]].
24. Thompson, Anne. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000902862 National Geographic a natural for Hollywood] ''The Hollywood Reporter'' 29 April 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
25. [http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081011005009&newsLang=en Academy Award-Winning National Geographic and Imagenation Abu Dhabi Form Joint Venture to Finance Feature Films: Partnership to Commit $100 Million to Finance 10 to 15 Features over Next 5 Years] ''National Geographic'' 8 October 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
26. Finke, Nikki. (2010-01-05). "EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Battsek Becoming President Of National Geographic Films; Adam Leipzig Leaving To Produce". [[Deadline Hollywood.
27. (22 July 2007). "It's a not-a-doc -- and truth is inconvenient".
28. (26 June 2005). "Lives of cold comfort; 'March of the Penguins' details the birds' remarkable quest to survive their Antarctic environment (film review)".
29. "La marche de l'empereur (2005) - Financial Information".
30. Goodfellow, Melanie. (2022-12-12). "Italy-Set Romance 'Sicilian Holiday', From Former Nat Geo Boss & Disney Exec, Heads Into Post-Production".
31. De la Fuente, Anna Marie. (2024-02-14). "Paris-Based Goodfellas Snags Worldwide Sales Rights to Galapagos Adventure Doc 'Lions of the Sea' (EXCLUSIVE)".
32. (13 January 2014). "More Movies At Sundance Sidestepping Big Screen". [[The New York Times]].
33. (3 August 2017). "Money talk for writers and other creatives".
34. "A Plastic Ocean".
35. (5 February 2017). "FRACTIOUS TIMES BEDEVIL SUPER BOWL ADVERTISERS". [[The Mercury News]].
36. TEDx Talks. (2010-09-19). "TEDxFullerton - Adam Leipzig - The Real Culture War".
37. TEDx Talks. (2013-02-01). "How to know your life purpose in 5 minutes {{!}} Adam Leipzig {{!}} TEDxMalibu".
38. (2023-04-20). "5 Best TED Talks to find your life purpose as a working woman (voted by ACTUAL boss ladies!)".
39. [http://www.allmovieportal.com/m/2007_Arctic_Tale_about_the_filmmakers.html AllMoviePortal.com (Retrieved September 7, 2010)] {{webarchive. link. (July 7, 2011)
40. Leipzig, Adam. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/movies/16leip.html The Sundance Odds Get Even Longer] ''The New York Times'' 16 January 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
41. Leipzig, Adam. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/13/movies/13leip.html How to Sell a Movie (or Fail) in Four Hours] ''The New York Times'' 13 November 2005. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
42. (31 May 2017). "BigSpotlight: Adam Leipzig, Film Producer, Creative Leadership & Communications Expert". Big Speak.

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