Less than a year after announcing dual leadership at the production and distribution venture WonderHill Studios, veteran producers Bob Yari and Marvin Peart are parting ways.
The pair will disband as co-CEOs of the company, though Yari will remain an investor. The split is amicable, individuals familiar with the company said, and the men feel more comfortable moving forward with their own distinct visions. Peart will stay on as WonderHill CEO and oversee day-to-day operations moving forward.
Yari has formed a new production and releasing engine called Magenta Light Studios. His goal is to release three to five films per year in theaters. Both companies are presently active in the acquisitions space, a market perpetually in need of independent players that can compete with streaming giants and legacy studios.
Yari is best known for producing the 2004 drama “Crash,” which took the Academy Award for best picture. His credits include early-aughts films like Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep’s “Prime” and Edward Norton’s “The Illusionist.” More recently he’s served as executive producer on the massively lucrative Taylor Sheridan storytelling universe at Paramount, centered around “Yellowstone” and its many spinoffs. He is attached as a producer on an upcoming HBO/Max film centered around the sexual abuse scandal within the athletics department at Ohio State University, and is expected to announce more projects in the coming weeks.
Peart is behind films like Robert De Niro’s “The War With Grandpa” and the John Travolta thriller “Life on the Line.” He was also a producer on the cult reality franchise “Mob Wives” and a spinoff featuring Angela “Big Ang” Raiola.
