International media consultant and producer Thomas Augsberger has passed away suddenly at his home in the Hollywood Hills. He was 60 years old.
The German-born lawyer was founder of Eden Rock Media, a film and television production company and media consulting business.
Augsberger advised a number of high-profile media clients over the years, most prominently Germany’s Leonine Studios. Before Leonine, Augsberger spent 23 years as an advisor to Dr. Herbert Kloiber’s Tele Muenchen Group as TMG’s exclusive North American representative in the US.
Augsberger’s experience spanned the production and acquisition of feature films, TV series, and content libraries; investments in US distributors and production companies; the co-financing, co-production, and distribution of film, TV and digital projects; and the negotiation of German output deals with studios for theatrical, home entertainment and TV.
Over his 26-year consulting career, Augsberger acquired hundreds of film and TV projects as pre-buys from US producers, sales agents, and studios, including Marvel’s Iron Man franchise, Voltage’s Academy Award winner The Hurt Locker, Paramount’s Shutter Island, Summit’s Twilight franchise, Lionsgate’s John Wick franchise, Knives Out, and, most recently, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, as well as the forthcoming films Borderlands and Ballerina.
In TV, Augsberger selected and licensed German-speaking rights for such series as Flashpoint, Anger Management, and The Night Manager.
He also oversaw various TMG investments in the US, including an equity investment in Lionsgate Entertainment in 1999 and the acquisition of the Mutual Film Library in 2006.
As a producer, Augsberger developed and produced more than 15 independently financed feature films, mostly from first time writer/directors. These included Incident at Loch Ness, written and directed by Zak Penn and starring Werner Herzog; Waiting, written and directed by Rob McKittrick, starring Ryan Reynolds and Anna Farris; and Mr. Brooks, co-written and directed by Bruce Evans, starring Kevin Costner.
He recently executive produced The Professionals, written by Michael Colleary and starring Brendan Fraser and Tom Welling, and Spy City, written by William Boyd and starring Dominic Cooper.
He was a founding partner of Filmaka, BestEverChannels, and Liquid Light. He served on the board of Lionsgate from 2002-2004 and, at his passing, served on the boards of BEC, Liquid Light, and ROW8.
A trained opera singer, he is survived by his wife, Jana; daughters Tessa Lili and Helena Lucia; and son Nicholas Alfred.
Leonine’s Fred Kogel said: “I am devastated. Thomas was a one of a kind character – one you do not find anymore today – and most of all a friend. My thoughts are with his family, that they will get through this horrible loss.”
Lionsgate’s Joe Drake said: “Thomas was wholly unique and a special colleague in our business, so many great memories created during 30 years of friendship. Always thoughtful, articulate, tough and deeply human – that was his super power. No surprise that he is so loved and has so many friends. He will be deeply missed and our hearts are with his family.”
Former Warner Bros Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said: “Knowing Thomas for the better part of 30 years I’ve never stopped admiring his enthusiasm for life and his essential optimism. Truly one of the most affable, gregarious and surprising people you will ever meet. I knew him best as a friend, a passionate film producer, and a deeply loving and engaged husband and father. And on the surprising front, an opera singer, former male model, and a shockingly quick and agile tennis and soccer player.”
Former Lionsgate film co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger said: “I am missing a great friend with the most beautiful singing voice; an amazingly bright colleague. Thomas is irreplaceable. A huge loss for anyone who had the amazing chance of knowing him.”
Screenwriter and filmmaker Zak Penn said: “There are people you rarely hear about that are as responsible for films as any director, writer, or star. People like Thomas Augsberger – a smart, sunny, and relentless force of nature who willed so many films into existence. He was a great lawyer, producer, athlete, opera singer, and most of all, husband and father. It pains me to know that I won’t hear that deep baritone again, I will miss him terribly.”
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