Gerhard Schmidt

Gerhard Schmidt is the founder and CEO of the former Cologne Gemini Group. He has over 40 years of experience in producing and distributing national and international feature films and is regarded as one of the most experienced European producers in relation to inner-European and transatlantic co-productions. Through his activities as a writer, director and producer, he met many of the European talents successful in Hollywood today at an early stage during their careers and helped foster them. He gave 'Michael Ballhaus' and 'Slavomir Idziak' their first opportunity to direct. In addition, working ties exist with 'Paul Verhoeven', 'Richard Curtis' and the production companies of Dustin Hoffman, 'Danny de Vito', 'John Malkovitch' and Nick Nolte. After producing more than one hundred programs for German TV, which received many prizes, Mr. Schmidt founded the Cologne Gemini Group together with his wife Micha Terjung-Schmidt in 1988 and started off producing with European directors such as Claude Lelouch and 'Andrzrej Zulawski' and produced TV-events based on the Mary Higgins Clark Collection (starring Kristin Scott Thomas and 'Kim Cattrall' amongst others) and the Konsalik Collection. In addition, at Disney Studio's request he got involved in _Whipping Boy, The (1994) (TV)_ and produced the prize-winning family films Joe My Friend and After the War. Due to his successful co-operation with US partners, he was offered the position as Managing Director of International West Pictures ('IWP') from Commerzbank, with the simultaneous attachment of Gemini Film as a producer. In 2001 he structured a multi-picture 'deal with Brad Krevoy's' MPCA and produced and executive produced Triggermen (2002), Bookies (2003), Barely Legal, Boat Trip (2002) and Joe and Max (2002) for IWP. In addition, he was executive producer for the film fund Apollo on the project I Am Dina (2002). At the beginning of 2003, he executive produced the action thriller Blast (2004). Gerhard Schmidt studied law at the universities of Bonn and Cologne, is founder and board member of the Script Writing School Cologne, founder and Chairman of the producers' association in North Rhine Westfalia, founder and president of the German Academy for Television, lectures at the renown film schools in Cologne and Ludwigsburg in Germany and has published various articles and books about film and television.