Famed industry exec Tom Pollock has died, passing away of natural causes at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on Saturday at the age of 77.
Pollock was a lawyer whose work ended up having a profound effect on the industry. Launching his own firm in 1970, one of his first clients was a young filmmaker named George Lucas. Pollock negotiated a deal for him that saw Lucas securing the merchandising and sequel rights to his upcoming film “Star Wars”.
The result of that ruling made Lucas a fortune and changed Hollywood contracts forever, leading to the rise of Lucasfilm as its own power. Pollock was also involved in negotiations for both the “Indiana Jones” and “Superman” franchises.
Leaving his firm in the mid-1980s, he then became executive VP of MCA Inc. and chairman of Universal Pictures for a decade where he oversaw the “Jurassic Park” and “Back to the Future” franchises along with celebrated films like “Schindler’s List,” “Field of Dreams,” “Do the Right Thing,” “Cape Fear,” and “Apollo 13”.
He then taught in the film studies program at the University of California Santa Barbara and became the American Film Institute’s chairman in 1996 – remaining involved with it for the rest of his life. He also teamed with Ivan Reitman in the late 1990s to form The Montecito Picture Company which produced films like “Old School,” “Disturbia,” “I Love You, Man” and “Baywatch”.
Source: Deadline
