Brad Pitt. Leonardo DiCaprio. Charlize Theron. Matt Damon. Reese Witherspoon. Seth Rogen. Emma Stone. Sam Rockwell.
All these actors have one thing in common. They run production companies that serve both as pipelines to accelerate their own work and as engines to greenlight passion projects.
What’s wild is that these companies are often run by producers who are earlier in their careers.
The president of Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures (The Studio, Sausage Party) started as Seth’s assistant. Emma Stone and her husband turned to 33-year-old Ali Hertig for their production company Fruit Tree (Bugonia, Poor Things). And Sam Rockwell turned to Mark Berger for Play Hooky Productions (which just signed a first-look TV deal with Amazon MGM).
In our workshop How to Start a Production Company with an A-List Actor we’ll deep dive with Mark Berger (President of Oscar-Winner Sam Rockwell’s prod co) on how he partnered with Sam and how that’s changed the trajectory of his career.
We’ll deep dive into his strategies, techniques, and work ethic that positioned him to partner with one of the most respected actors in Hollywood.
Mark Berger started as an intern at Gersh, which led to a brief stint as Sam Rockwell’s assistant (17 years ago). He then went on to become the assistant to Moises Kaufman (HBO’s The Laramie Project), and then he worked as David Binder’s assistant and Associate. Berger AP’d the Tony Award-winning production Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as well as Of Mice and Men, starring James Franco and Chris O’Dowd.
Sam Rockwell’s Play Hooky Productions signed a TV first-look deal with MGM/UA. Recently, they produced the hit play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea with Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott.
Please note: this workshop is likely to be super popular, and there are limited places.
Workshop Event Details
Date: 11/12/2025
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST
Location: Zoom
Price: $47.00; Free for paid subscribers.
Click here to secure your spot - https://secure.theindustry.co/how-to-start-prod-comp/
(If you are a paid subscriber and wish to secure your spot, email us so we can put you on the list).
See you there,
Clarke Scott
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