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 is in post-production on Amazon’s upcoming theatrical romantic dramedy THE IDEA OF YOU, starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Michael Showalter. Schulman most recently 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 also 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 recently produced the YA hit drama FIVE FEET APART, 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
UPCOMING
IDEA OF YOU – in post-production (Amazon, February 2024)
Writer: Jen Westfeldt, Michael Showalter
Director: Michael Showalter
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nick Galitzine
FEATURE FILMS
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)