EXCLUSIVE: After 15 years at Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment, where he served as Executive Vice President, producer Andy Horwitz has moved on to launch Big Swell Entertainment, a producing collective that aims to be a home for the next generation of young, hands-on producers and storytellers.

Big Swell will look to take a different approach in comparison to the model of the traditional production company, allowing producers to operate independently under the Big Swell banner while encouraging a collective and collaborative approach with all creatives involved. Horwitz is currently in the process of assembling his team, having already put together a robust slate of projects at varying stages.

Horwitz is being backed in this venture by Mountaintop Productions, a Tel Aviv-based production company founded by Hezi and Omri Bezalel. In partnership with the Bezalels, Big Swell plans to leverage Mountaintop’s relationship base within the Israeli and European content business to bridge the gap between those regions and Hollywood.

“Working at Atlas for the past 15 years has been the experience of a lifetime,” said Horwitz. “Chuck Roven is one of Hollywood’s most successful and experienced producers, a titan in this industry, and I look forward to taking the invaluable skills and experience he’s provided me to create content of all shapes and sizes for the next generation, prizing storytelling and talent relationships above all else.”

“I’m so proud and happy for Andy, who was an invaluable member of Atlas for as long as he was here,” remarked Roven. “I couldn’t be more pleased that he’s realized his dream of starting his own company.”

Horwitz brings to Big Swell a deep creative relationship base and a wealth of experience navigating the Hollywood landscape, having operated predominantly within the studio system, as he’s helped usher films from idea through release. During his time at Atlas, the company produced four of the top 100 grossing films of all time, which have together generated close to $10B.

In 2019, Horwitz produced J.C. Chandor’s Triple Frontier, starring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal, which was released theatrically by Netflix on March 6, 2019 and began streaming on the 13th, being watched by more than 63 million accounts and over 120 million people in its first four weeks. 

Horwitz prior to that served as co-producer on David Ayer’s DC pic Suicide Squad, starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Joel Kinnaman, Cara Delevingne and Viola Davis, which opened in August of 2016 and holds the largest August opening weekend in history with $135.1 million domestically. In its second and third weeks, the film held the number one spot, going on to gross over $745 million worldwide at the box office. During the course of production on Suicide Squad, Horwitz created and spearheaded an immersive VR project which once completed, turned into a multi-million-dollar promotional deal and marketing campaign with Samsung. 

Horwitz also served as producer on Atlas Independent’s Vertical Entertainment release The Hollow Point, starring Patrick Wilson, Ian McShane, Jim Belushi and John Leguizamo, and exec produced William Monahan’s A24-released Mojave, starring Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund, for Atlas Independent.

He in 2013 co-produced David O. Russell’s American Hustle, starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three Golden Globes including Best Picture, as well as three BAFTAs and numerous critics’ awards. American Hustle was the biggest limited box-office release of 2013 and has since grossed over $250 million worldwide.

Horwitz is represented by UTA Independent Film Group and Richard Thompson at Brecheen Feldman Breimer.