Black Bear Launches U.S. Theatrical Distribution Division Headed By Longtime CAA Media Finance Agent Benjamin Kramer

EXCLUSIVE: Some big news spanning independent film distribution and the LA agency scene: Teddy Schwarzman’s indie studio Black Bear is expanding into U.S. distribution and has hired longtime CAA Media Finance Co-Head Benjamin Kramer to oversee the operation.

The ambitious U.S. arm will release up to 12 Black Bear and third-party productions per year. We understand there are multiple high-profile movies already on the slate which could go through the pipeline. The company will focus on filmmaker-driven fare and wide-release action and genre movies.

Key staff will be added in the coming months to build out the team under Kramer, reporting to Black Bear CEO Schwarzman.

Producer, financier and sales agent Black Bear already operates direct distribution in the UK (Longlegs, Conclave and The Salt Path among recent hits) and owns Canadian distributor Elevation Pictures.

This has moved fast and Kramer is expected to be in the saddle at Black Bear in coming weeks ahead of the fall festivals and markets. It’ll be welcome news to sellers and producers given the dwindling number of strong U.S. theatrical buyers in recent years.

Kramer, who joined CAA in 2005, most recently spent six years as Co-Head of the Media Finance department, known for packaging and arranging financing and distribution for indie films, while also advising top producers and financiers on their media investments.

Under his co-leadership with Roeg Sutherland, CAA Media Finance has been the largest supplier of films for both domestic and international marketplaces, brokering dozens of significant financing and distribution deals per year. The division’s seminal role at every film market means that Kramer’s replacement, if there is to be one, will also be of keen interest to the independent space.

“Today marks a major step for Black Bear, as we solidify our studio’s capabilities from development through release,” said Schwarzman. “Building on the successful distribution businesses we’ve created in Canada and the UK, our U.S. theatrical business will now let Black Bear connect directly with audiences across the country, who remain hungry for quality and commercial event cinema. I am thrilled for Ben to spearhead this growth, bringing with him vast relationships, an expertise of the domestic marketplace, dealmaking savvy, and a keen understanding for what works for U.S. audiences. He is actively assembling a world-class team of distribution professionals, and on behalf of myself and Black Bear’s Michael Heimler and John Friedberg, we are thrilled to support him in building out a studio for today and into the future.”

Kramer added: “It’s incredibly exciting to join Black Bear at this moment of great opportunity in our business. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Teddy, John, Michael, and the team on many successful films. I’ve spent my career evaluating what makes films resonate creatively and commercially and look forward to now connecting the work of great filmmakers directly with audiences. While it is bittersweet to be departing all my dear friends and clients at CAA, I am thrilled to work with the global Black Bear team and to get cooking on making Black Bear’s U.S. distribution a force to be reckoned with.”

While with CAA, Kramer worked on several Black Bear films, including Sing Sing, Nyad, Dumb Money, and Mudbound. He also worked across financing and/or sales for The Brutalist, A Real Pain, A Different Man, Plane, Sing Street, Greenland, The Revenant, Wind River, Sicario, John Wick, and Mud. Prior to CAA, Kramer was with the William Morris Agency.

Black Bear’s John Friedberg, President of International, oversees the company’s London-based team focused on international sales, direct theatrical distribution in the U.K. and Ireland, and international productions and acquisitions. In Canada, Elevation is overseen by Co-Presidents Laurie May and Noah Segal. LA-based Partner Michael Heimler serves as President, Production & Operations.

Black Bear’s upcoming production and financing credits include Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams, starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones, for Netflix; David Mackenzie’s Relay, starring Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington, releasing next month via Bleecker Street; and Guy Ritchie’s In The Grey, starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza Gonzalez, being distributed by Lionsgate; the Sydney Sweeney-led Christy Martin boxing project from director David Michôd; Daniel Roher’s Tuner, starring Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, and Havana Rose Liu; Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman; and Andrew Patterson’s The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew McConaughey.

Other films currently in post-production include Guy Ritchie’s Wife & Dog, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike, and Anthony Hopkins; Ric Roman Waugh’s untitled action thriller starring Jason Statham; and upcoming female comedy Spa Weekend, from Bad Moms directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, starring Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau, and Anna Faris. 

Black Bear owner Schwarzman is the son of billionaire Blackstone CEO and chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman, the former chair of Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum.