Kevin Misher is an American movie and television producer via his Los Angeles–based production company, Misher Films.[1]
Early life
Misher was born in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and raised in Queens, New York. He earned a Bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
Career
Misher's first job in the entertainment industry was at HBO in New York, where he served as a financial analyst for then-CEO Michael Fuchs. He soon relocated to Los Angeles and landed in the mailroom at International Creative Management (ICM), before moving to the InterTalent Agency as an agent assistant. His talent for identifying quality material convinced legendary executive Mike Medavoy to hire Misher as a creative executive at Tri-Star Pictures directly from the mailroom.
Misher ascended the ranks quickly, and during his six years at Tri-Star, oversaw numerous productions, including Donnie Brasco, directed by Mike Newell and starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp and the sports classic Rudy.
In 1996, Misher moved to Universal Pictures, where he soon became president of production at the age of 33. During his tenure, while Universal enjoyed unprecedented success, Misher supervised production on some of the studio's most acclaimed features, such as Out of Sight and Erin Brockovich, as well as initiating four of their most profitable franchises: the series of films spawned by The Mummy, Meet the Parents, The Fast and the Furious, and The Bourne Identity.
Misher currently has a full slate in both film and television, across a broad array of genres, amassed for the upcoming years:
Sony released the remake of the 2011 Mexican entry for Best Foreign Language Film, Miss Bala, co-produced by Misher, starring Gina Rodriguez, and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Also that year, he co-produced the drama Richard Jewell.
In October 2020, Amblin and Universal Pictures will release Finch, starring Tom Hanks and to be directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Misher is producing with Robert Zemeckis’ company Imagemovers. Misher is also readying the sequel to the comedy classic Coming to America with Eddie Murphy for Paramount Pictures; and a movie version of the iconic children's character Carmen Sandiego, starring Gina Rodriguez for Netflix, is to be released. He is also preparing the scripted dramatic television series, Gridiron, in partnership with the NFL about the history of football in America for the Fox Network.
While Misher has an accomplished film career, he is best known for his game winning shot in the 1980 Camp Equinunk Upper Senior Basketball game