Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Encyclopedia
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (born 1963) is a film
, television producer
, comic book
publisher, and the chairman of Platinum Studios
, an entertainment company that controls a large independent library of comic book
characters and adapts them for film, television and other media. He is also the former founder and President of Malibu Comics, and is a former Senior Executive Vice President for Marvel Comics.
company. Rosenberg graduated from the University of Denver
in 1985 with a business degree.
Sunrise Distributors. Rosenberg's experience running Sunrise showed him that the new way comics were being distributed created openings for new, smaller publishers. He also recognized that the advent of the Macintosh computer allowed a small company to look bigger.
This led to Rosenberg's 1986 financing of Malibu Comics
, as well as the small publishers Malibu Comics later created, acquired, and distributed, including Eternity Comics
and Adventure Comics. Malibu's first launch, Ex-Mutants, was, as Rosenberg once said in an interview, "Turned out to be a hit" and "all on a $400 marketing budget." During his time at Malibu, Rosenberg led comic spin-offs
into toys, television, and feature films, including the billion-dollar film and television franchise Men in Black
, based on the Aircel
/Malibu comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham
.
Rosenberg's experience with Sunrise, however, was not as fortuitous, as the distributor began to suffer cash flow issues in 1987, and abruptly folded in 1988 during the infamous "black-and-white implosion."
Malibu survived and Rosenberg brokered a deal in 1992
, in which seven top-selling artists defected from Marvel Comics
to form Image Comics
. Rosenberg signed the artists to a label deal which made Malibu the publisher of record for the first comics from Image, giving the upstart creator-run publisher access to the distribution channels. This subsequently led to Malibu breaking all sales records for independent comics, as in 1992 Malibu grabbed almost 10% of the American comics market share, temporarily moving ahead of industry giant DC Comics
. By the beginning of 1993, however, Image's financial situation was secure enough to publish its titles independently, and it left Malibu.
Malibu was sold to Marvel Comics
in 1994.
During this period, Rosenberg worked with Adobe Photoshop
software to develop the then-leading standard for the computer coloring of comic books.
in 1997. Platinum's "Macroverse Bible", a new universe of comic characters created by Rosenberg, includes titles such as Cowboys & Aliens, Atlantis Rising, Blood Nation
and Unique, being developed by DreamWorks
at Disney
.
Rosenberg produces comics and develops a slate of live-action feature films and television series based on current and upcoming comic books. He is also working to create new comic books, including electronic comics with animated panels, voice-overs, sound effects, with music from record labels like Virgin
and Hollywood Records
.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, television producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
, comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
publisher, and the chairman of Platinum Studios
Platinum Studios
Platinum Studios, Inc. is a publicly traded media company based in the United States. It controls a large independent library of comic book characters, which it seeks to adapt, produce, and license for all forms of media including print, film, online, mobile / wireless, gaming, and merchandising...
, an entertainment company that controls a large independent library of comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
characters and adapts them for film, television and other media. He is also the former founder and President of Malibu Comics, and is a former Senior Executive Vice President for Marvel Comics.
Early career
Rosenberg began his career in the comic book industry at age 13 when he started a mail orderMail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
company. Rosenberg graduated from the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
in 1985 with a business degree.
Sunrise and Malibu
In the mid-1980s, Rosenberg ran the small Los Angeles-based comics distributorDirect market
The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for North American comic books. It consists of one dominant distributor and the majority of comics specialty stores, as well as other retailers of comic books and related merchandise...
Sunrise Distributors. Rosenberg's experience running Sunrise showed him that the new way comics were being distributed created openings for new, smaller publishers. He also recognized that the advent of the Macintosh computer allowed a small company to look bigger.
This led to Rosenberg's 1986 financing of Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
, as well as the small publishers Malibu Comics later created, acquired, and distributed, including Eternity Comics
Eternity Comics
Eternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties...
and Adventure Comics. Malibu's first launch, Ex-Mutants, was, as Rosenberg once said in an interview, "Turned out to be a hit" and "all on a $400 marketing budget." During his time at Malibu, Rosenberg led comic spin-offs
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
into toys, television, and feature films, including the billion-dollar film and television franchise Men in Black
Men in Black (film)
Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Marvel Comics. The film featured the creature effects...
, based on the Aircel
Aircel Comics
Aircel Comics was a Canadian comic book publisher founded by Barry Blair, based in Ottawa and active between 1985 and 1994. In 1988, it merged with American publisher Eternity Comics, itself an imprint of Malibu Comics, and in the late 1980s was taken over by Malibu before ceasing publication...
/Malibu comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham
Lowell Cunningham
Lowell Cunningham is an American creator and writer best known for The Men in Black, which became the basis for a media franchise.-Biography:Cunningham created the comic book series The Men in Black...
.
Rosenberg's experience with Sunrise, however, was not as fortuitous, as the distributor began to suffer cash flow issues in 1987, and abruptly folded in 1988 during the infamous "black-and-white implosion."
Malibu survived and Rosenberg brokered a deal in 1992
1992 in comics
-Year overall:* Image Comics explodes onto the scene, releasing eight ongoing and limited series, starting with Youngblood in April; followed by Spawn in May; Savage Dragon in July; and Brigade, Shadowhawk, and WildC.A.T.S. in August....
, in which seven top-selling artists defected from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
to form Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. Rosenberg signed the artists to a label deal which made Malibu the publisher of record for the first comics from Image, giving the upstart creator-run publisher access to the distribution channels. This subsequently led to Malibu breaking all sales records for independent comics, as in 1992 Malibu grabbed almost 10% of the American comics market share, temporarily moving ahead of industry giant DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. By the beginning of 1993, however, Image's financial situation was secure enough to publish its titles independently, and it left Malibu.
Malibu was sold to Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
in 1994.
During this period, Rosenberg worked with Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
software to develop the then-leading standard for the computer coloring of comic books.
Platinum Studios
Rosenberg established Platinum StudiosPlatinum Studios
Platinum Studios, Inc. is a publicly traded media company based in the United States. It controls a large independent library of comic book characters, which it seeks to adapt, produce, and license for all forms of media including print, film, online, mobile / wireless, gaming, and merchandising...
in 1997. Platinum's "Macroverse Bible", a new universe of comic characters created by Rosenberg, includes titles such as Cowboys & Aliens, Atlantis Rising, Blood Nation
Blood Nation
Blood Nation is a four-issue comic book mini-series by Platinum Studios. -Plot:In the future, the world is reeling from an outbreak of vampirism...
and Unique, being developed by DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
at Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
.
Rosenberg produces comics and develops a slate of live-action feature films and television series based on current and upcoming comic books. He is also working to create new comic books, including electronic comics with animated panels, voice-overs, sound effects, with music from record labels like Virgin
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
and Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
.
Personal life
Married since 1992, Rosenberg lives in California with his wife and two daughters Karlee and Kendall Rosenberg.Producer
- UltraforceUltraforce (comics)The Ultraforce is a fictional superhero group that appears in comic books published by Malibu, and later Marvel, as well as an animated series produced by DIC. Their purpose was to protect the public and keep other Ultras from getting out of line...
(1995) - Night ManNight ManNight Man is an American action/adventure/sci-fi series that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on a comic book published by Malibu Comics and was created by Steve Englehart and developed for television by Glen A...
(1997) - Men in BlackMen in Black: The SeriesMen in Black: The Series also known as Men in Black: The Animated Series is an American animated television series that aired during The WB's Kids' WB programming block for four seasons from 1997 through 2001.The show features characters from 1997's science fiction film Men in Black, which was...
(2002–2007) - JeremiahJeremiah (TV series)Jeremiah is an American television series starring Luke Perry and Malcolm-Jamal Warner that ran on the Showtime network from 2002 to 2004. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where most of the adult population has been wiped out by a deadly virus.Developed by Babylon 5 creator J...
(35-episode maxi-series, 2002–2004) - Dead of Night (2010)
- Cowboys & AliensCowboys & Aliens (film)Cowboys & Aliens is a 2011 American science fiction Western film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde. The film is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg...
(2011) - The Witchblade (2012)