The Power Couple

Their list of films reads like a “Best Of” list of blockbusters from the last quarter of a century. To date, the Kopelsons have produced 29 movies that have earned $3 billion worldwide, with another one on the way, securing their legacy in Hollywood history. In an industry fueled by lucky shots, the Kopelsons have more than luck on their side—they have experience.

Arnold and Anne are the perfect Hollywood couple, if such a thing can exist in a town filled with smoke and mirrors and fickle dispositions. Theirs is a love and business relationship that’s endured years, children, films, demanding directors, high-maintenance actors, and power-hungry studio execs. Their rise to the top is as unique as it is auspicious.

Arnold Kopelson started his career as a New York lawyer representing Chemical Bank, which was the leading bank on the East Coast that was financing the motion picture industry. Anne was Arnold’s legal secretary, and together they worked on massively documented loan agreements for film companies, many of which came to them looking for representation. Before long, Arnold started representing a distribution company that took him all over the world licensing independent movies. He soon learned that these territories were eager to have their own films, so Arnold decided to become a distributor himself.

Together he and Anne found a film, created a press book, and estimated what each territory would be worth. They sent the package out, along with the names and numbers he gathered from the Motion Picture Association of America, which he knew he could count on for support. Within 30 days, he got the feedback and the offers he was waiting for and made more money in his first mailing than he had made in any year of being a lawyer.

“I looked at Anne and Anne looked at me, and we said we think we have a business,” remembers Arnold. A taste of success in this new industry led them to form Inter-Ocean Film Sales Ltd, where they represented independent film producers, overseeing the licensing and financing aspects of production. “We expanded by utilizing my knowledge of banking and pre-selling some of our own projects, resulting in a bunch of contracts in various countries. We then took those contracts to a bank with a completion guarantee and were able to borrow the money to make a movie, which resulted in a profit even before we started filming.”

With the business changing and more competition popping up in the foreign-licensing business, the couple decided to step up their game and go directly into production. They started a relationship with General Cinema Corporation, which gave them money to produce three movies, putting the Kopelsons in business.

“I really didn’t know how to produce a movie. I was learning while I was making these films, and it was a great experience for me,” Arnold admits.

With some experience under their belt, the next project to come their way would be one of their first big box office hits: The Fugitive. The Kopelsons set it up with Warner Bros. and the massively successful action drama starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones begot more success for the couple and the studio. The Kopelsons set up a deal with Warner Bros. and produced six more films back to back that resulted in enormous profits, 17 nominations, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and just about every other award created to honor movie producers.

“We always focus on the creative aspects of a project,” says Arnold. “The script comes first. If the writing is great, we can secure a great director and a great cast will follow. If you put all of that together, it can be a commercial success.”

When Arnold receives submitted scripts, he immediately visualizes the one-sheet, the primary ad for the movie, and the three-minute trailer. He and Anne discuss advertising, promotion, and the overall exploitation of the film. If they can’t formulate a strategy for success in those moments, then they know they can’t sell the movie to the public, and the script gets a pass. However, there are those rare moments when a script inspires more than just a profitable windfall. A former Vietnam veteran, director Oliver Stone, wrote just such a script.

“When I was given the script for Platoon, I had never read anything like it,” recalls Arnold. “When I finished reading, I was literally sobbing. Anne asked me what was wrong and I told her, ‘I just read the greatest script ever. It’s Academy Award time; we’ll never get closer.’ I actually had a fantasy while I was reading it of accepting the Academy Award. It was really an extraordinary event for me and it all came true!”

Then came Triumph of the Spirit with Willem Dafoe, Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman, Se7en with Brad Pitt, Eraser with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Murder at 1600 with Wesley Snipes, The Devil’s Advocate with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, and A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow. As the box-office reports came in, the studios loosened their purse strings and the Kopelsons’ secured their legacy as movie moguls.

While Arnold takes care of the creative aspects, Anne is the business mastermind. Together they pool their talents to produce films that are both creatively and commercially potent. “Collaboration at every level of film production is essential. After Platoon, we both realized the impact that a film can have. Whether we are making a film to entertain or educate, we feel an enormous responsibility to do the very best we are capable of achieving,” says Anne.

“We really can’t believe we made some of the movies we’ve made,” says Arnold. “Then we make another one and look at each other and say, ‘Wow, we did it again.’ The challenge of finding great material and having it be critically received and commercially successful is daunting…but when we read the reviews and see lines at the box office spanning many city blocks, it produces a feeling that cannot be duplicated. We love this business.”

Arnold has been named “Producer of the Year” by the National Association of Theatre Owners, was honored with a “Lifetime Achievement in Filmmaking Award” from Cinema Expo International, and received the “Motion Picture Showmanship Award” from the Publicists Guild of America. Arnold and Anne were inducted into the Variety Showbiz Expo Hall of Fame. Arnold also serves as a member of the board of directors at CBS Corporation. With a handful of movies currently in development, one thing is certain: audiences across the world will again soon be thoroughly entertained.

Looking for expert legal representation? find a top attorney on Haute Lawyer.