Charlize Theron & Dawn Olmstead Launch New Media Company With Denver & Delilah’s Beth Kono And AJ Dix

Nellie Andreeva
·4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winning actress and producer Charlize Theron has teamed with veteran media executive and producer Dawn Olmstead, along with Charlize’s Denver & Delilah partners Beth Kono and AJ Dix, to form a new media venture.

Former Anonymous Content CEO and UCP President Olmstead will serve as CEO on the yet-untitled company, which will take over Denver & Delilah’s content slate. The new venture will also continue Denver & Delilah’s first-look feature deal with Universal as well as its TV agreement with HBO/Max, which is currently slated to end early next year.

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In her role, Olmstead will work closely with Theron, Kono and Dix to develop and build upon the existing Denver & Delilah slate across film, TV and other areas of content and IP generation for global audiences.

The new company formalizes Olmstead’s longstanding relationship with Theron, Kono and Dix. As a producer, Olmstead worked with the trio on a modern Hatfields & McCoy drama project, which went to pilot at NBC in 2013. Two years later, as EVP Development at UCP, Olmstead signed Denver & Delilah into a first-look deal there.

“Dawn has been an incredible collaborator and friend of ours for years. Her history and accomplishments are an inspiration and joining forces with her to build this new endeavor is simply a dream come true,” Theron said.

Added Olmstead, “I feel incredibly lucky to be building a company with my friends Charlize, Beth and AJ. To partner with someone who is that talented and has that much integrity is very rare. We‘ve been scheming and dreaming about this day for almost 15 years. I can’t believe it’s finally here.”

An accomplished Hollywood veteran, Olmstead was most recently CEO of Anonymous Content, where she oversaw all creative and business operations across all divisions of the content production and management company. She resigned in March.

Before joining Anonymous Content in late 2020, Olmstead spent six years at UCP where she was promoted to president in November 2018, becoming at the time the only solo female head of a traditional TV studio overseeing both scripted and unscripted content.

During her time at UCP, Olmstead shepherded series for NBCU’s cable portfolio, including USA Network’s Mr. Robot, The Sinner and Bravo/USA’s Dirty John, the NBCU streamer Peacock (Dr. Death, Joe Exotic, Angelyne) and also branched the studio out to sell to third party streamers including Netflix (The Umbrella Academy), Hulu (The Act, The Girl from Plainville, Candy). On the non-scripted side, she partnered with Oscar winner Errol Morris on A Wilderness of Error and with Oscar nominee Joe Berlinger on Unspeakable Crime: The Killing of Jessica Chambers. She also launched UCP Audio, a new podcast network.

Olmstead, who joined UCP in 2014 as EVP Development, had previously exec produced such series as Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce and Fox’s Prison Break after starting her career on Saturday Night Live and The Jon Stewart Show.

Denver & Delilah’s feature portfolio includes Lionsgate’s Bombshell, which garnered multiple Oscar nominations; and Monster, for which Theron received an Oscar for Best Actress. Additional credits include the Jason Reitman-directed Young Adult and Tully; Long Shot, starring Theron opposite Seth Rogen; A Private War, starring Rosamund Pike; the Netflix comedy Murder Mystery, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston; and Universal and Focus Features’ Atomic Blonde.

On the TV series side, Denver & Delilah, which was launched in 2003, recently produced the HBO documentary series Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York.

Denver & Delilah’s extensive development slate, which will fold into the new company, includes The Old Guard: Force Multiplied, the follow-up to the hit first installment which remains one of the most watched original movies on Netflix. Directed by Victoria Mahoney, the film will star Uma Thurman, Henry Golding and Chiwetel Ejiofor alongside Theron.

Other upcoming projects include a sequel to Atomic Blonde for Netflix; Jane from Alfonso Cuaron, in partnership with Amazon Studios and Electric Shepherd; Two for the Money, directed by Justin Lin and starring Theron and Daniel Craig, set for Apple TV+ with Apple Original Films, Perfect Storm, and RK Films also producing; and The Final Girl Support Group for Max with Double Dream and Aperture Entertainment also producing.

The new company will be repped by CAA and Steve Warren of Hansen Jacobson Teller.

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