David T. Friendly, President

David T. Friendly is an Academy Award-nominated producer for Best Picture nominee Little Miss Sunshine. He has been a film and television producer and motion picture executive for more than thirty years. During his career, he has produced over twenty-five films to date and worked with some of the most prestigious directors including Ron Howard, Ed Zwick, and the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

Friendly is currently executive producing season 5 of the TV Drama “Queen of the South” for USA, which he developed after optioning the novel “La Reina Del Sur.”Friendly is the producer and creative force behind the hugely profitable Big Momma’s House franchise, which has grossed over $400 million worldwide. In 2006, Friendly formed the production company, Friendly Films. 

Prior to launching his own company, Friendly partnered with financier/producer Marc Turtletaub to form Deep River Productions. During his six-year tenure at the company, he produced Little Miss Sunshine (Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin) and Laws of Attraction (Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore).

Friendly was President of Davis Entertainment from 1994 to 1999 and produced numerous films. This led to a first-look producing deal at 20th Century Fox where he produced Big Momma’s House (Martin Lawrence), Here on Earth (Josh Hartnett), Courage Under Fire (Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan), Out to Sea (Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau), and Doctor Dolittle (Eddie Murphy).

Friendly’s movie career began at Imagine Entertainment where he executive produced numerous films including My Girl (Macaulay Culkin) For Love or Money (Michael J. Fox) and Greedy (Kirk Douglas). During his tenure at Imagine, he rose to President of Production where he also oversaw The Burbs, The Dream Team, Kindergarten Cop, and Backdraft.

Friendly began his career in journalism. At age 22, after graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern, he was named staff writer for Newsweek. He later joined The Los Angeles Times, where he was an entertainment reporter and wrote the  weekly column, First Look. Friendly is the son of legendary journalist, news producer and CBS President, Fred Friendly, who was portrayed by George Clooney in the Academy Award nominated film, Good Night, and Good Luck.

Friendly serves on the Board of the Producers Guild of America and produced the 2009 and 2010 Producers Guild Awards Show. Friendly is also an active member of the ‘Friends Board’ of the The Saban Free Clinic, which provides affordable, quality healthcare to those most in need.