Global film financier of Joker, others, proud to be B.C.-based

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On the phone from Hollywood, Aaron Gilbert is reflecting on a year that saw the release of such feature films as Joker and Bombshell, projects he and his wife helped bring to the big screen as financiers and producers.

But Hollywood is only where Mr. Gilbert works. He lives, with his wife and business partner, Brenda, in the Vancouver region, where they launched their company, BRON Studios, and are raising their three children.

“I always tell people my home is in British Columbia and I have a place in L.A.,” Mr. Gilbert said in an interview.

B.C.'s movie boom has nurtured a number of production companies, but BRON – the mix of the “Br” in Brenda and “on” in Aaron, which puts together financing for projects – has placed a Hollywood powerhouse in the heart of the province.

Beyond Joker and Bombshell, BRON projects have included Fences, for which Viola Davis won an Oscar, Roman J. Israel Esq., starring Denzel Washington, The Mule, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, and the acclaimed Queen and Slim, about a pair of high-profile fugitives. Their 2020 slate includes a Ghostbusters sequel - Ghostbusters: Afterlife, co-written and directed by Jason Reitman, son of the original film’s director, Ivan Reitman – the Second World War naval adventure Greyhound, starring Tom Hanks, and The Willoughbys, a computer-animated film produced at their Burnaby studio.

In the streaming realm, the Apple series The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, came out of BRON’s partnership with another company.

“They are at the top table of Hollywood producers," Vancouver film commissioner David Shepheard said. “There are other really important [Vancouver] companies doing some fantastic work, but I think BRON stands above them at the moment through the amount of work they are doing and the fields that they are in."

Mr. Shepheard said BRON’s success raises the possibility of two positive consequences for the B.C. production sector. Some of its employees could start their own production entities in the province, and it could inspire existing companies to reach its level. “It’s an aspirational thing for other [B.C.] producers. ‘If BRON can do it, we can do it as well.'”

Mr. Gilbert, 47, was raised in London, Ont., and co-founded BRON in 2010 in B.C. He says he has never aspired to move permanently.

“We’re from Vancouver. The company was launched in Vancouver. We’re always going to have a connection to Vancouver."

BRON mixes financing and creative contributions. It helped finance Joker, the critical hit starring Joaquin Phoenix as the eventual Batman nemesis, which was released last October and has earned more than $1-billion at the global box office. (The company does not release details about its finances.)

Mr. Gilbert says he saw Joker as a very dark movie, but he was enamoured with the potential of Mr. Phoenix as the lead, and Todd Phillips, writer and director of The Hangover comedies, handling the script and direction.

Mr. Gilbert says it’s largely up to Mr. Phillips whether there will be a sequel. “It’s something being considered, for sure, but that’s something I’ll leave in the hands of Todd and in the hands of [co-producing studio] Warner Bros. I am sure the world would love to see another one.”

BRON had a more creative hand in Bombshell, the new drama based on actual events about sexual harassment at Fox News, starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and others. Mr. Gilbert was interviewed in December shortly before the film opened with box-office results some analysts deemed disappointing.

Shortly before production was about to begin in the fall of 2018, Ms. Theron, also one of the film’s producers, called Mr. Gilbert to ask if BRON would take on all costs for the movie because a key partner had dropped out.

“It was a script and story we loved,” Mr. Gilbert said, explaining why he agreed.

He said BRON was involved in assembling the cast and production team, and research to make sure a credible version of the story hit the big screen.

“It was a very challenging few days to deal with the takeover of a project that was so active and with so many moving parts, but I have an incredible team,” he added.

That BRON team of about 188, most in Burnaby, is also in offices in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, with an animation studio in the Vancouver Island community of Duncan.

He says the challenge with feature films is luring audiences away from their streaming options by finding a way to elevate and “eventize” the material, creating entertainment of interest.

Despite its B.C. roots, BRON has yet to produce a film distinctly set in British Columbia. Mr. Gilbert said he doesn’t rule that out.

“If we found that compelling story out of a British Columbia writer or a British Columbia theme, of course I would love to tell that story.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article included an incorrect title for David Shepheard.

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