Peter Rice’s Next Act: Film, TV Producing Deal With A24 (Exclusive)
Peter Rice has found his next gig.
The respected film and television executive, who was unceremoniously ousted at Chapek-era Disney, will next focus on becoming an independent producer and has partnered with powerhouse A24. Under the producing and co-financing agreement, Rice will have a nonexclusive deal with the Oscar-winning outfit.
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Film and TV projects that fall under the agreement that will be co-financed will be backed by Rice via A24’s banking relationships and would be for global distribution, theatrical and all major streaming platforms.
“I am incredibly excited to be an independent producer and could not be more thrilled to begin that journey in partnership with A24,” Rice said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “They have built Hollywood’s most vibrant, fearless and creative studio. The fact that they made it out of whole cloth in a decade is a testament to their exquisite taste, razor-sharp business acumen and infectious enthusiasm for creativity and artists. I have been blessed to work with so many amazing creators as an executive and cannot wait to start producing provocative, meaningful and entertaining movies and TV shows with creators I admire and respect.”
The A24 pact — which is described as an open-ended partnership with no expiration date — marks Rice’s first new Hollywood job since he was abruptly fired in June 2022 as the chairman of Disney General Entertainment, the studio’s top television position, by then-CEO Bob Chapek. The industry reaction to his firing was swift and widespread, with many backing Rice.
The producing deal comes amid rampant speculation about Rice’s next act. Sources have linked Rice to top roles at Amazon as well as NBCUniversal in the year since he was pushed out at Disney; insiders have denied such reports as mere rumors. The nonexclusive nature of the A24 agreement leaves the door open for Rice to pursue additional producing opportunities elsewhere as well as a possible return to the executive suite, should he wish to return to a job of that nature.
Rice most recently served as chairman of Disney General Entertainment, which included oversight of nearly all of the Mouse House’s television efforts except for ESPN. He has a deep bench of relationships from his three decades in the executive suites — at both Disney and Fox — including J.J. Abrams, Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle, Quinta Brunson, Guillermo Del Toro, Dan Fogelman, Nicole Kidman, Gina Prince Bythewood, Chris Rock, Kerry Washington and Mike White, among countless others.
Before his rise in television, Rice began his career in features. He worked across the Fox film group and eventually served as the president of Fox Searchlight Pictures, where he amassed an impressive tally of awards for the specialty label with such titles as Slumdog Millionaire, Little Miss Sunshine and Sideways.
Meanwhile, as for A24, the Rice partnership is a surprising move for the indie studio, which has few pacts with outside creatives. While A24 is known to partner with the same producers (i.e., the embattled Scott Rudin) on projects and has its stable of favorite filmmakers (Ari Aster, Alex Garland, David Lowery, etc.), it rarely signs partnerships with creatives. The company does have a television pact with HBO and the Safdie brothers, who were behind A24 films Good Time and Uncut Gems. Rice effectively becomes a mini-studio at A24, which will decide if it will finance and distribute film and TV projects that Rice brings to the company on a case-by-case basis, though sources say the deal is part of the company’s push to own more of its content.
“Peter has extraordinary taste, one-of-a kind relationships with world-class creators and true vision. He also has a proven, unique ability to identify groundbreaking artists in both television and film and help facilitate their commercial success,” said A24 co-founder Daniel Katz. “For all that and more we’re honored that he’s chosen to begin his producing career with this partnership with A24.”
The Rice deal comes as A24 is riding high on its sweep of this year’s Oscars with the Daniels’ movie Every Everywhere All at Once. The pic was also a financial success for A24 with a gross of more than $100 million at the box office on a budget of only $14.3 million. While it has long been the subject of acquisitions rumors, last year A24 scored a $225 million equity investment with a then valuation of $2.5 billion. On the TV side, A24’s roster includes Netflix’s Beef, Hulu’s Ramy, HBO’s Euphoria and the upcoming The Idol, among others. The company wowed Cannes with both The Idol and Jonathan Glazer’s feature The Zone of Interest.
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