Bio

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are the producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies, series and Broadway productions.  All totaled, their films and television movies have garnered six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, eleven Emmy Awards, and two Peabodys. For their work in television, their movies have amassed 69 Emmy nominations. Their work in theater has received 12 Tony nominations, including 2 wins. Their work has also received seven Grammy nominations, including one win.

Their hit television series DROP DEAD DIVA will begin its 4th season on Lifetime in 2012. The critically acclaimed series was created by Josh Berman, and stars newcomer Brooke Elliott and veteran Margaret Cho.

The producing duo were recently honored by the The Casting Society of America with Career Achievement Awards at the 24th Annual Artios Awards.

Their recent three hour television movie event of Lorraine Hansberry’s A RAISIN IN THE SUN with Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan was nominated for three Emmys including Outstanding Television Movie, as well as nominated for a Golden Globe for Best TV Movie.  The film was also nominated by the Television Critics Association for Best Television Movie or Miniseries and by the PGA for Best TV Movie or Miniseries of the Year. Raisin was also nominated for six NAACP Image Awards, winning three, including Outstanding Television Movie.

Zadan and Meron’s latest feature project was the Warner Bros. film, THE BUCKET LIST starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, directed by Rob Reiner, which won the National Board of Review’s Top Ten Pictures of the Year.  It was also a box office hit grossing $175 million worldwide.

Zadan and Meron produced the smash hit feature film musical HAIRSPRAY which was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), winning many awards at both the Hollywood and Palm Springs Film Festivals.  It grossed over $200 million worldwide.

In 2007 they were honored with the Hollywood Film Festival’s Producers of the Year award for HAIRSPRAY and THE BUCKET LIST

Their feature film CHICAGO, which they executive produced for Miramax, won the Academy Award as Best Picture of the Year.  Nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, it won six.  Nominated for seven Golden Globes, the film won three, including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy). CHICAGO has gone on to become Miramax’s
highest grossing movie in the studio’s history, and was the first movie musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 34 years.

Their most recent television musical, MEREDITH WILLSON’S THE MUSIC MAN,
starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth received five Emmy Nominations.

LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME AND MY SHADOWS starring Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard was both a critical and ratings success, topping most Ten Best lists, receiving thirteen Emmy nominations including Outstanding Miniseries, and winning five. The movie was also nominated for three Golden Globes, winning one.

Their production of THE BEACH BOYS: AN AMERICAN FAMILY, was nominated for three Emmys including Best Miniseries.

Zadan and Meron’s new version of the musical ANNIE, which starred Kathy Bates, won
two Emmys, the Peabody Award, and the TV Guide Award for Favorite TV Movie or Miniseries.  It was nominated for a total of twelve Emmys including Outstanding Made for Television Movie, and was also nominated by the Television Critics Association for Best TV Movie.

Zadan and Meron produced RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA starring Whitney Houston and Brandy. The critically acclaimed television musical received the highest ratings for a tv movie on ABC in over a decade, reaching over sixty million viewers.  The production also garnered seven Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Special of the Year.

Zadan and Meron also produced SERVING IN SILENCE: THE MARGARETHE CAMMERMEYER STORY starring Glenn Close and Judy Davis. This landmark movie received six Emmy nominations, winning three. The show was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and won the prestigious Peabody Award  for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcasting.

Their first tv movie event was GYPSY in 1993, a three-hour movie musical, starring Bette Midler. GYPSY was a ratings and critical triumph and was nominated for twelve Emmy Awards including Outstanding Made-For-TV Movie (the first such nomination for a film musical in the Academy’s history). The show was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards including Best Telefilm.

Other critically-acclaimed tv events include:  MARTIN & LEWIS starring Sean Hayes, WEDDING WARS starring John Stamos and Eric Dane, WHAT MAKES A FAMILY starring Whoopi Goldberg, Brooke Shields and Cherry Jones, THE THREE STOOGES starring Evan Handler and Michael Chiklis, BRIAN’S SONG starring Sean Maher and Mekhi Phifer, LIVING PROOF starring Harry Connick Jr., Amanda Bynes, Angie Harmon and Bernadette Peters.

THE REAGANS starring James Brolin and Judy Davis received seven Emmy Nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.

Zadan’s first feature film production was Paramount Picture’s FOOTLOOSE, starring Kevin Bacon, which received two Oscar nominations, one Golden Globe nomination, and a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album.

Zadan is also the author of the critically acclaimed “SONDHEIM & CO.,” the first book ever written about Broadway composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim.  He also produced the first-ever celebration of Sondheim’s work, called “Sondheim: A Musical Tribute,” which was staged at the Shubert Theater on Broadway. He subsequently also produced the digitally remixed and remastered Original Broadway Cast Album of the show which, at the time, was the first benefit tribute recording by a major record label in Broadway history.

They are currently producing a new television drama, SMASH, in collaboration with Steven Spielberg, Theresa Rebeck, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, for DreamWorks TV and NBC, about the behind-the-scenes creation of a Broadway musical.  It stars Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston and Katharine McPhee

Their new feature version of FOOTLOOSE was released by Paramount in the Fall of 2011, and was directed by Craig Brewer.

In 2010 they returned to their theater roots with the first-ever Broadway revival of the Neil Simon/Burt Bacharach/Hal David musical comedy, PROMISES, PROMISES starring Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes and Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth.  PROMISES, PROMISES was nominated for 4 Tony Awards (winning 1) as well as Best Musical Revival nominations from The Drama Desk Awards, The Drama League Awards, and the Outer Circle Critics Awards.

They are currently represented on Broadway with a Tony winning hit 50th Anniversary revival of the Frank Loesser musical comedy, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette.  The revival was nominated for 8 Tony Awards (winning 1), 4 Astaire Awards, 3 Drama League Awards, 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 5 Drama Desk awards.

In 2012, Darren Criss replaced Daniel Radcliffe for a three week run. The show currently stars Nick Jonas, Beau Bridges and Michael Urie.