Our Company
Currently celebrating a half century of successful programming, Paulist Productions was founded in 1960 by Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser to produce the Emmy Award-winning religious television program, Insight. A critically acclaimed series, Insight ran for 23 years, culminating in a collection of over 250 half-hour dramas that uplift and illuminate the human condition through creative and poignant stories.
A sister company, Paulist Pictures, was later established to produce such feature films as Romero, starring Raul Julia, Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story, starring Martin Sheen and Moira Kelly and, more recently, the award-winning feature-length documentary, The Big Question: A Film About Forgiveness.
In January 2011 Paulist Productions returns to television with a high profile project – The Lost Valentine – produced by The Hallmark Hall of Fame in association with Paulist Productions. Airing on CBS, The Lost Valentine is a two-hour drama starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Betty White. Based on the novel of the same name by James Michael Pratt, The Lost Valentine is a multi-generational account of faith, hope, courage and love – a message that truly represents Paulist Productions mission of uplifting the human spirit without proselytizing.
One year ago, Father Eric Andrews, CSP stepped in as President of Paulist Productions, taking over the reins from Fr. Frank Desiderio who served as president for nine years. Even though the company has enjoyed great success over its 50 year existence, Fr. Eric sees more opportunity for the company by offering a broader array of inspirational and entertaining programming to a wide-ranging and diverse modern audience.
A forward-looking businessman, talented producer and highly regarded speaker, Fr. Eric is guiding the company to the next level with a variety of projects already in development. In addition to movies for television and documentary programming, Paulist Productions is looking to return to series television as well as create content for the internet and new media platforms.
During his 40 year tenure Father Kieser, as known as The Hollywood Priest, built Paulist Productions into an entertainment industry powerhouse, providing the public with the type of spiritual programming they could enjoy and from which they could learn valuable life lessons. The show was ground-breaking in its creativity and approach to controversial issues of the day and garnered five Emmys. Insight has often been heralded as the last example of experimental theater on television.
"Fr. Bud was an inspiration to us all. It is with his spirit and passion as our example that we continue to focus on and grow the film and television portions of our business. Historically, Paulist Productions has been collaborative in nature and we are always seeking new creative partnerships to produce quality projects that enlighten and entertain," says Fr. Eric.
Guided by a "dream team" of an industry advisory board, Paulist Productions benefits from the experience of such industry leaders as Board Chairman Vin Di Bona, founder, Vin Di Bona Productions and FishBowl Worldwide Media; Rich Cronin, former head of Game Show Network and other cable channels; Joe Ferullo, Vice President of Programming and Development at CBS; editor and producer George Folsey; Kelly Goode, former Head of Programming, GSN.; Margaret Loesch, President of THE HUB Cable Channel; screenwriter Jim McGinn; film producer Larry Mortorff; Michael Sullivan, former UPN President and executive producer of Growing Pains and Larry Thompson, founder and president, Larry Thompson Organization.
Now with a more business-savvy and creative leader at the helm – one who has revamped the entire team and reenergized the company's outlook – Paulist Productions looks forward to building on its already considerable reputation in the entertainment industry.
Over the years, Paulist Productions has had the distinction of working with an extraordinary lineup of talent including Martin Sheen, Ron Howard, Emilio Estevez, Carol Burnett, Gene Hackman, William Shatner, Tim Matheson, Patty Duke, John Amos, Walter Matthau, Ed Asner, Blair Underwood, Jane Seymour, John Wells, Michael Crichton, Tom Fontana, Rod Serling and Arthur Hiller. With The Lost Valentine, Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt now join that list. Programming from the company has appeared on ABC, CBS, A&E, the History Channel, the Hallmark Channel and the Internet.
ACCOLADES AND AWARDS
Throughout its fifty year history, Paulist Productions has won numerous accolades and awards, including eight Emmys, theChristopher Award, the Gabriel Award, Toronto International Film Festival Award, Cine & Media's Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Aurora Gold Award and Aurora Platinum Best of Show Award.
