CATHY SCHULMAN

Cathy is a veteran executive and Academy Award® winning producer. She is currently the President and CEO of Welle Entertainment, a film and television production company committed to producing content that appeals to diverse audiences, with an emphasis on women and girls. Welle is a leading content supplier and producer for major motion picture studios, networks, and streamers.

Schulman most recently produced Amazon’s hit romantic dramedy, THE IDEA OF YOU, starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Michael Showalter.  Schulman also produced the epic action drama THE WOMAN KING starring Viola Davis, released by Sony/ TriStar Pictures in 2022, grossing over $100 million at the global box office and named as one of AFI’s top ten films of 2022. Schulman additionally holds a top ten AFI certificate for CRASH, for which she won the Best Picture Oscar in 2006.

Schulman, who has recently added screenwriting to her repertoire, was the showrunner and executive producer of the Showtime series THE FIRST LADY. Directed by Susanne Bier and starring Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson, the series is a reframing of American leadership told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.

Welle produced the YA hit drama FIVE FEET APART as well, starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson, and the Netflix hit comedy film OTHERHOOD, starring Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette, and Felicity Huffman.

Before founding Welle, Schulman served as the Head of Production for STX Entertainment, where she managed the studio’s annual twelve-picture slate, including box office hits BAD MOMS and the critically acclaimed dramedy EDGE OF SEVENTEEN. As President of Artists Production Group (APG), she oversaw multiple films, including Martin Scorsese’s GANGS OF NEW YORK, and as President of Mandalay Pictures, she championed films, including Richard Linklater’s BERNIE and Lisa Cholodenko’s THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT.  Schulman’s many noteworthy producer credits include over 30 films and shows, including THE ILLUSIONIST and DARFUR NOW.

Schulman was the President of Women in Film from 2007-2018. She is the co-founder of Reframe, the industry’s leading systemic change project, where she established the ReFrame stamp, which recognizes productions that are making strides towards female-driven content, gender equality, and the representation of women in key production roles. As a top spokesperson for gender parity issues in media, Schulman designed the multi-year Annenberg School gender data project, introduced Unconscious Bias Training to Hollywood, and established the WIF sexual harassment hotline.

Schulman is a two-decade-long Board Member of Film Independent and has served as a Council Member of the Producers Guild of America. She is a member of the AMPAS and has taught graduate-level film producing at UCLA and Chapman, where she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate. Schulman gave the 2016 media address for International Woman’s Day at the United Nations. She is a graduate of Yale University, with a double major in Theater Studies and History of Art.

FILMOGRAPHY

FEATURE FILMS

IDEA OF YOU – streaming, 2024 (Amazon)

Writer: Jen Westfeldt, Michael Showalter

Director: Michael Showalter

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nick Galitzine

THE WOMAN KING - streaming, 2022 (Sony / TriStar)

Writer: Dana Stevens

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Starring: Viola Davis, John Boyega, Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin

MEMORY – streaming, 2022 (Amazon)

Writer: Dario Scardapane

Director: Martin Campbell

Starring: Liam Neeson, Guy Pierce

OTHERHOOD – August 2019 (Netflix)

Director: Cindy Chupack

Starring: Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette, Felicity Huffman

FIVE FEET APART – March 2019 (CBS Films)

Director: Justin Baldoni

Starring: Haley Lu Richardson, Cole Sprouse

THE FOREIGNER – 2017 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Martin Campbell

Starring:  Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan

THE SPACE BETWEEN US – 2016 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Peter Chelsom

Starring:  Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson

THE EDGE OF 17 – 2016 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Kelly Fremon Craig

Producer: Jim Brooks

Starring:  Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick

DARK PLACES – 2015 (Financed by Exclusive Media)

Director:  Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Starring:  Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicholas Hoult, Christina Hendricks, Corey Stoll

THE VOICES – 2015 (Lionsgate)

Director:  Marjane Satrapi

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick, Gemma Arterton

WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL – 2014 (Sony)

Director:  Thomas Carter

Starring:  Jim Caviezel, Michael Chiklis, Laura Dern, Alexander Ludwig

HORNS – 2014 (Radius / Dimension) 

Director:  Alex Aja

Starring:  Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Joe Anderson, Max Minghella

BERNIE – 2011 (Millennium Distribution)

Director:  Richard Linklater

Starring:  Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine

SALVATION BLVD – 2011 (IFC Films)

Director:  George Ratliff

Starring:  Greg Kinnear, Pierce Brosnan, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Marisa Tomei

SOUL SURFER – 2011 (Sony)

Director:  Sean McNamara

Starring:  Anna Sophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Carrie Underwood

ANOTHER HAPPY DAY – 2011 (Phase 4 Films)

Director:  Sam Levinson

Starring:  Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Thomas Haden Church

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT – 2010 (Focus Features)

Director:  Lisa Cholodenko

Starring:  Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson

DARFUR NOW – 2007 (Warner Independent Pictures)

Director:  Ted Bruan

Starring:  Don Cheadle, George Clooney

THE ILLUSIONIST – 2006 (Yari Film Group)

Director:  Neil Burger

Starring:  Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel,

THUMBSUCKER – 2005 (Sony Pictures Classics)

Director:  Mike Mills

Starring:  Keanu Reeves, Benjamin Bratt, Vincent D’Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Vince Vaughn, Tilda Swinton

CRASH – 2005 (Lionsgate Films)

Director:  Paul Haggis

Starring:  Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Chris Bridges, Brendan Fraser

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH – 2004 (DEJ / Blockbuster)

Director:  Mitch Rouse

Starring:  Matt Dillon, Steve Zahn, Christina Applegate

GODSEND – 2004 (Lionsgate Films)

Director:  Nick Hamm

Starring:  Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn, Robert De Niro

TEARS OF THE SUN – 2003 (Columbia Pictures)

Director:  Antoine Fuqua

Starring:  Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci, Tom Skerritt

YOU STUPID MAN – 2002 (Warner Home Video)

Director:  Brian Burns

Starring:  Milla Jovovich, Denise Richards, William Baldwin

SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK – 2001 (Paramount Classics)

Director:  Edward Burns

Starring:  Edward Burns, Heather Graham, Rosario Dawson

ISN’T SHE GREAT – 2001 (Universal Studios)

Director:  Andrew Bergman

Starring:  Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, Stockard Channing, David Hyde Pierce, Amanda Peete

LEAD EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION

 THE BYE BYE MAN – 2017 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Stacy Title

Starring:  Douglas Smith, Cressida Bonas, Carrie-Anne Moss, Faye Dunaway

BAD MOMS – 2016 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

Starring:  Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate, Annie Mumolo, Jada Pinkett-Smith

FREE STATE OF JONES – 2016 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Gary Ross

Starring:  Matthew McConaughey, Mahershala Ali, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

THE GIFT – 2015 (STX Entertainment)

Director: Joel Edgerton

Starring: Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton

THE BOY – 2016 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  William Brent Bell

Starring:  Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans

DESIERTO – 2015 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Jonas Cuaron

Starring:  Gael Garcia Bernal, Jeffrey Dean Morgan

HARDCORE HENRY – 2015 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Ilya Naishuller

Starring:  Sharlto Copley, Haley Bennett

SECRET IN THEIR EYES – 2015 (STX Entertainment)

Director:  Billy Ray

Starring:  Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Chiwetel Ejiofor

CITY OF GHOSTS – 2003 (MGM Distribution Company)

Director: Matt Dillon

Starring: Matt Dillon, James Caan, Natascha McElhone, Gerard Depardieu

TIMELINE – 2003 (Paramount Pictures)

Director: Richard Donner

Starring: Paul Walker, Frances O’Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis

GANGS OF NEW YORK – 2002 (Miramax Films)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly

A GENTLEMAN’S GAME – 2001 (Artists Production Group)

Director: J. Mills Goodloe

Starring: Philip Baker Hall, Dylan Baker, Gary Sinise

ANIMAL FACTORY – 2000 (Silver Nitrate Entertainment)

Director: Steve Buscemi

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Mickey Rourke, Tom Arnold, Steve Buscemi

AMERICAN HISTORY X – 1998 (New Line Cinema)

Director: Tony Kaye

Starring: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D’Angelo

SOUL FOOD – 1997 (20th Century Fox)

Director: George Tillman Jr.

Starring: Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, Mekhi Phifer

STRIPTEASE – 1996 (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Director: Andrew Bergman

Starring: Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Ving Rhames, Robert Patrick, Burt Reynolds

WIGSTOCK – 1995 (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Director:  Barry Shils

Starring:  RuPaul, Alexis Arquette

THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE – 1994 (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Director: Nicholas Hytner

Starring: Nigel Hawthorne, Helen Mirren, Amanda Donohoe, Rupert Everett

 MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING – 1993 (Samuel Goldwyn Films)

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Kate Beckinsale

IMPROMPTU – 1991 (Hemdale Releasing Corporation)

Director: James Lapine

Starring: Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters

THE COMMITMENTS – 1991 (20th Century Fox Distribution)

Director: Alan Parker

Starring: Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE – 1990 (Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution)

Director: Barbet Schroeder

Starring; Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver

MY LEFT FOOT – 1989 (Miramax Films)

Director: Jim Sheridan

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricke

CINEMA PARADISO – 1988 (Miramax Films)

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Starring: Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin

TELEVISION

FIRST LADIES – 2022 (Showtime / Lionsgate) - Limited, 10 episodes

Showrunner:  Cathy Schulman

Director: Susanne Bier

Writer:  Cathy Schulman and others

Starring:  Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Gillian Anderson, Dakota Fanning, Aaron Eckhart, Kiefer Sutherland, O-T Fagbenle

CRASH TV - 2008 (Starz) - 2 seasons, 13 episodes each

ANGELA'S EYES - 2006 (Lifetime) - 1 season, 13 episodes

LIVE SHOWS

Women In Film Crystal and Lucy Annual Awards Show (live audience 1000+) - Producer

(2013 – 2018)