Barack Obama And 12 Other Celebs You Might’ve Not Known Produced Major Films

Last month, Emma Stone achieved a significant feat with her Oscar win for Poor Things. She’s now a two-time Academy Award winner, first taking home Best Actress in 2017 for La La Land. But this is far from the only major success she’s had lately.

Behind the scenes, Emma has built an impressive career as a film producer. She also garnered a Best Picture nomination this year as a producer for Poor Things. Emma even runs a production company, Fruit Tree, alongside her husband, Dave McCary. And though the company didn’t produce Poor Things, they’ve hit the ground running with some notable film releases since launching in 2020.

Their recent films include When You Finish Saving the World and Problemista, while they’ve got I Saw the TV Glow and A Real Pain coming later this year.

1.

Margot Robbie: Saltburn (2023)

The star is an Oscar-nominated producer through her production company LuckyChap, which she founded alongside Josey McNamara and her husband, Tom Ackerley. In addition to working on some of Margot’s films like I, Tonya; Terminal; and Barbie, the company was also behind the TV series Dollface and the miniseries Maid. They also produced director Emerald Fennell’s films Promising Young Woman and Saltburn.

2.

Will Ferrell: May December (2023)

Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced numerous films and TV shows together through their production company, Gary Sanchez Productions. This included hits like Step Brothers, Vice, The Menu, and Succession. Following the end of Gary Sanchez Productions, Will shifted his producing efforts in recent years to women-centered content alongside producer Jessica Elbaum through sister label Gloria Sanchez Productions. The company is behind films like Booksmart, Hustlers, and May December.

3.

Barack Obama: Leave the World Behind (2023)

Through their production company Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama worked on the film about a dystopian future amid a blackout. The movie is based on Rumaan Alam’s 2020 novel of the same name. “He had a lot [of] notes about the characters and the empathy we would have for them,” the film’s director and writer Sam Esmail told Vanity Fair last year of Barack’s involvement. “I have to say he is a big movie lover, and he wasn’t just giving notes about things that were from his background. He was giving notes as a fan of the book, and he wanted to see a really good film.”

4.

Maria Bello: The Woman King (2022)

“The Woman King was definitely born of my love of the continent in general,” Maria told the Hollywood Reporter in 2022 of Africa. “It’s based on women’s history, a story I found many years ago about this army of women in the 17th century. I was watching Braveheart and I was like, ‘Why isn’t there a woman’s movie like this?'”

5.

Reese Witherspoon: Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Where the Crawdads Sing is based on Delia Owen’s 2018 novel of the same name. Reese’s involvement with the book-turned-movie came after she selected the novel that year as a book for her book club. Then, Reese’s production company Hello Sunshine produced the adaption.

6.

Denzel Washington: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

“I put my two cents in where I could, but in all seriousness I really tried to stay out of the way,” Denzel Washington told the Guardian in 2020 of producing the film based on August Wilson’s play of the same name.

7.

Bradley Cooper: Joker (2019)

“We kept this one pretty close to us,” Jeff Groth, the film editor on Joker, told IndieWire in 2020. “We screened it more personally for people and filmmakers. Bradley Cooper definitely came in a couple of times. He was a producer on the movie, but he definitely watched the movie many times and sat with us. We could call him if we got stuck with something and be like, ‘Hey, can you come over and take a look at things?'”

8.

Eva Longoria: John Wick (2014)

In 2019, Eva told GQ of producing the film, “I saved the movie…I really did. It was fun. Keanu was amazing, and it was an amazing movie.”

9.

Pharrell Williams: Hidden Figures (2016)

“Oftentimes I would have an opinion about things, beyond just the music — they would listen,” Pharrell told the New York Times in 2017 of producing Hidden Figures. “I’m appreciative for that wiggle room and to be part of the conversation.”

10.

Jada Pinkett Smith: The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

“It was amazing. Because my bonus son’s mother called me and said, ‘Jada, you have to read this book’ and I fell in love with it. I was tracking the rights to this book for a very, very long time and they became available so Overbrook [Entertainment] grabbed it and I said ‘You got to get these rights!'” Jada Pinkett Smith told the Early Show in 2008.

11.

Tom Hanks (and Rita Wilson): Mamma Mia! (2008)

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson produced Mamma Mia and the sequel films through Tom’s production company, Playtone, which he co-founded with Gary Goetzman. According to Vulture, Tom said on The Graham Norton Show in 2018, “I was a producer of Mamma Mia! and I tried out of role. I wanted to hire myself, but my singing voice would have scared the children.”

12.

Rita Wilson (and Tom Hanks): My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Rita and Tom’s production work through Playtone also includes the My Big Fat Greek Wedding films. Nia Vardalos, who has starred in and wrote all three films in the series, was running a one-woman play in the late-’90s. Rita, a fellow Greek actor, attended and subsequently convinced Tom and Playtone to turn the play into the first film, which remains the highest-grossing rom-com to date.

13.

Finally, Whitney Houston: The Princess Diaries (2001)

According to People, the late singer produced both the Princess Diaries and Cheetah Girls films, as well as Brandy’s Cinderella and the 2012 Sparkle remake. Whitney starred in the latter two films.