Teddy Schwarzman (Edward Frank Schwarzman)

Background

Edward Frank Schwarzman was born on May 29, 1979, in New York City. He is the son of Stephen A. Schwarzman, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Blackstone, and Ellen Katz Schwarzman, who served as a trustee of Northwestern University and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Schwarzman developed his professional career in New York's legal and financial environment before moving into independent film production. His transition combined legal training with work in film financing, development, and production.

Education

Schwarzman earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania and later received a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Duke University School of Law in 2006. The University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1740, is a major research university whose College of Arts and Sciences includes a longstanding liberal-arts tradition. Duke Law School, established in 1904, is a leading American law school with programs combining legal theory, professional training, and interdisciplinary study.

His legal education preceded work in corporate law and later film financing. Duke University School of Law has also remained part of his institutional affiliations through service on its Board of Visitors.

Career

Schwarzman began his professional career as a corporate lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York, where he worked in real estate and corporate restructuring. Skadden, founded in 1948, became one of the major American law firms serving corporate clients and complex business transactions.

He then moved into the film industry, initially working as a personal assistant on The Other Woman, produced in 2009 and released in 2010. He joined John Sloss's Cinetic Media, a film advisory and financing company, where he participated in raising funds for Bernie and The Loneliest Planet.

In 2011, Schwarzman founded Black Bear Pictures. Black Bear is an independent studio engaged in film and television production, financing, international sales, distribution, and artist management, with offices in Santa Monica and London. As president and chief executive officer, Schwarzman oversees the company's development, production, financing, and strategic operations.

His early producing credits included All Is Lost, Broken City, and The Imitation Game. The Imitation Game, a 2014 historical drama about Alan Turing and the wartime code-breaking effort at Bletchley Park, received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for adapted screenplay. Schwarzman subsequently produced or executive produced films including Mudbound, Suburbicon, Ben Is Back, I Carry You with Me, I Care a Lot, Dumb Money, Nyad, Sing Sing, and Train Dreams.

Achievements

• Schwarzman founded Black Bear Pictures in 2011 and built it into an independent film and television company involved in production, financing, distribution, and international sales.

• He produced The Imitation Game, which received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

• He served as a producer of Train Dreams, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture at the 98th Academy Awards.

Works

• film

  • Mudbound

    (Schwarzman served as an executive producer of Dee Rees's ...)

    2017
  • Sing Sing

    (Schwarzman produced the drama about incarcerated men stag...)

    2024

  • At Any Price

    (A feature film associated with Black Bear Pictures during...)

    2012

  • Bernie

    (Schwarzman participated in raising financing for the film...)

    2011

  • The Loneliest Planet

    (Schwarzman participated in raising financing for the film...)

    2011
  • The Imitation Game

    (Schwarzman produced the historical drama with Nora Grossm...)

    2014

  • I Carry You with Me

    (Schwarzman served as an executive producer of Heidi Ewing...)

    2020

  • Broken City

    (One of Schwarzman's early producing credits through Black...)

    2013
  • Train Dreams

    (Schwarzman produced the film adaptation of Denis Johnson'...)

    2025

  • Knock Knock

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2015

  • Gold

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2016

  • Suburbicon

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2017

  • Ben Is Back

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2018

  • Our Friend

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2019

  • I Care a Lot

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2020

  • Dumb Money

    (A feature film produced through Black Bear Pictures.)

    2023

  • Nyad

    (Schwarzman produced the biographical sports drama.)

    2023

  • All Is Lost

    (A survival drama directed by J. C. Chandor and produced b...)

    2013

Membership

Schwarzman is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America, professional organizations that support the development, recognition, and standards of motion-picture production.

He has also held governance roles connected with Duke University School of Law, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and Cedars-Sinai. These organizations respectively contribute to legal education, preservation and public understanding of motion-picture history, international policy discussion, and medical and civic leadership.

• Member

  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , United States

  2020 - present

• Member

  Producers Guild of America , United States

• Member

  Duke University School of Law Board of Visitors , United States

• Trustee

  Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Board of Trustees , United States

  2025 - present

• Board member

  Pacific Council on International Policy , United States

• Governor

  Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors , United States

Personality

Quotes from others about the person

• Schwarzman described his early experience in the film business as a situation in which he had to demonstrate that he genuinely wanted to enter the industry.

Connections

Schwarzman is the son of Stephen A. Schwarzman, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Blackstone, and Ellen Katz Schwarzman, a trustee associated with Northwestern University and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Father:

Stephen A. Schwarzman

Founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Blackstone.

Mother:

Ellen Katz Schwarzman

Trustee associated with Northwestern University and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

References

• Black Bear Pictures, About Documents the founding of Black Bear Pictures by Teddy Schwarzman in 2011 and describes the company's production, financing, distribution, and management activities.
• Duke University School of Law, People on the Move Documents Schwarzman's service on the Board of Trustees of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and identifies him as chief executive officer of Black Bear.
  2025
• Academy Awards, 2015 Ceremony Documents The Imitation Game's eight Academy Award nominations, including the Best Picture nomination for producers Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, and Teddy Schwarzman.
  2015
• Academy Awards, 2026 Ceremony Documents Train Dreams as a Best Picture nominee and lists Teddy Schwarzman among its producers.
  2026