John Bard Manulis

John Bard Manulis (born September 8, 1956) is an American film, television and theater producer and director, entrepreneur and social justice activist. He has produced or executive produced more than 20 films, television programs, and theater productions, including Charlotte Sometimes, The Basketball Diaries, Swing Kids, Arctic Tale, Foxfire, HBO's Blindside, and The Umbilical Brothers: THWAK.

Manulis's projects integrate social and political themes such as drug addiction (The Basketball Diaries); repression and rebellion (Swing Kids); AIDS, individual freedom, and biracial relationships (Daybreak); the Vietnam War (Intimate Strangers); female empowerment (Foxfire, V.I. Warshawski); poverty (American Idol Gives Back) and climate change/environmental consciousness (Arctic Tale).

Early life and education Manulis was born in Los Angeles to actress Katharine Bard and Martin Manulis, a film, television, and theater producer.

He attended Harvard College after his preparatory school education at Harvard School, in North Hollywood, California.

Manulis graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature and Language. He was president of the Harvard Dramatic Club, and directed numerous productions, including the musical Two Gentleman of Verona, by John Guare and Galt MacDermot, which he independently produced and presented outdoors in Harvard Yard, and a multimedia adaptation of U.S.A. by John Dos Passos on the Loeb Mainstage.

During summer breaks, Manulis worked on films, most notably as a production assistant on All The President's Men and as assistant art director on Lee Grant's Academy Award nominee The Stranger.

Career

Theater After graduating from Harvard, Manulis moved to New York, where he began his professional career as Marshall W. Mason's assistant at the renowned Circle Repertory Company. Promoted to casting director in 1980, he continued to work with Mason, co-directing John Bishop's The Great Grandson of Jedediah Kohler and assistant directing Lanford Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning trilogy, Talley's Folly, Fifth of July and A Tale Told; Hamlet, starring William Hurt, and Murder at the Howard Johnson's, which was produced on Broadway. He directed workshop productions at Circle Rep, Playwrights Horizons, and Manhattan Theatre Club. In addition, Manulis directed Marjorie Appleman's Seduction Duet, which starred Jeff Daniels and won the 1981 Samuel French One-Act Festival.

Manulis has also produced several plays, including 1988's Three Ways Home at the Astor Place Theater in New York, and The Umbilical Brothers: THWAK, which was produced in 1999/2000 at Off-Broadway's Minetta Lane Theatre and at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles.

In 1979, Manulis was chosen by Arthur Penn, Elia Kazan and Joseph Mankiewicz to become a Founding Member of the Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Unit.

Film and television In 1983, Manulis joined the Nederlander Organization, where he brought projects through development and production as an executive producer in their newly formed television and film division. While at Nederlander, Manulis was involved with producing properties ranging from the ACE Award-winning A Case of Libel, starring Daniel J. Travanti and Ed Asner, to Intimate Strangers, a television movie starring Teri Garr and Stacy Keach. He created the Comedy Zone, a weekly one-hour series on CBS, which brought together writers and actors such as Neil Simon, Kathleen Turner, Wendy Wasserstein, Joe Mantegna, Jules Feiffer and Christopher Durang.

Manulis went on to serve as Vice President of Film for Edgar Scherick Associates, Senior VP of Production for Jeffrey Lurie's Chestnut Hill Productions, and Head of Worldwide Production and Acquisition for Samuel Goldwyn Films, where he supervised the production or acquisition of films such as The Madness of King George, Lolita, American Buffalo, I Shot Andy Warhol, Welcome to Woop Woop, Bent and Tortilla Soup.

Manulis and his first grade classmate, Peter Jones, collaborated on Fortunate Sons, a documentary about their high school class and "friendship, life, loss, and renewal". It was released in November 2025.

Live events In 2008, Manulis produced the campaign events involving local, regional and national surrogates for Barack Obama's Campaign for Change in Colorado. He produced the short filmmaking competitions for Microsoft's Imagine Cup in both Brazil (2004) and Japan (2005), and the Liberty Hill Foundation's annual Upton Sinclair Award dinner (2003, 2004, 2005). With Gary Sinise, he directed the Directors Guild of America's memorial tribute to the life of director John Frankenheimer.

Digital media and technology Manulis co-founded Visionbox Media Group, a production, post-production and distribution consulting company using digital technology to produce and distribute films and television content in 2000. In a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times he said: "Definitions are changing on everything, even what the word 'digital' means. There are so many technologies that are encompassed in that one word....The one thing everyone agrees on is that 'digital' equals change."

In 2011, Manulis and his wife, Liz Heller, founded Screenspaces, a social technology company.

Activism Manulis was recognized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as one of their 2012 Leaders To Watch. He serves on the board of directors for The Getty House Foundation, and on the board of the Liberty Hill Foundation. Manulis and Heller received the Liberty Hill Founder's Award in 2010.

Manulis is a volunteer and strategic advisor for Centinela Youth Services (CYS), a community-led restorative justice non-profit, and EVAC, a youth-led movement that originated in Jacksonville, Florida.

Credits Year Title Credit Medium 2025 Fortunate SonsProducerDocumentary 2007 Arctic Tale Executive producer Film (documentary) 2007 American IdolGives Back Executive producer,documentary segments TV series (2 episodes) 2006 Believe in Me Producer Film 2006 The Woods Production Executive Film 2006 The Painted Veil CEO, Visionbox Media Group Film 2006 First Snow CEO, Visionbox Media Group Film 2006 The Illusionist CEO, Visionbox Media Group Film 2005 The L.A. Riot Spectacular Producer Film 2004 Malibu Eyes Executive producer Video 2003 Master and Commander As Production Executive (MGM) Film 2002 Teddy Bear's Picnic Executive producer Film 2002 Charlotte Sometimes Executive producer Film 2001 Falling Like This Executive producer Film 2001 Tortilla Soup Producer Film 2001 Comics on Campus Co-executive Producer TV series pilot 1999 The Invisibles Executive producer Film 1999 The Umbilical Brothers:THWAK Producer Theater (Minetta Lane Theater) 1997 Welcome to Woop Woop Executive producer Film 1997 The Chambermaidon the Titanic As Production Executive (MGM) Film 1997 Bent As Production Executive (MGM) Film 1996 Foxfire Producer Film 1996 The Preacher's Wife Executive in Charge of Production Film 1995 The Basketball Diaries Producer Film 1995 Napoleon Executive in Charge of Production Film 1994 The Madness of King George Executive in Charge of Production Film1993 Swing Kids Producer Film 1993 Daybreak Producer Television Movie 1993 Blindside Executive producer Television Movie 1991 V.I. Warshawski Co-executive Producer Film 1988 Three Ways Home Producer Theater (Astor Place Theater) 1986 Intimate Strangers Executive producer Television Movie 1984 Comedy Zone Executive producer/Creator TV series (5 episodes) 1982 The Great Grandsonof Jedediah Kohler Director (with Marshall W. Mason) Theater (Circle Repertory) 1981 Foxtrot by the Bay Director Theater (Circle Repertoryat the White Barn Theater) 1981 The Suicide Assistant director Theater (Broadway) 1981 Fifth of July Assistant director Theater (Mark Taper Forum) 1981 Talley's Folly Assistant director Theater (Mark Taper Forum) 1981 A Tale Told Assistant director Theater (Circle Repertory) 1981 Seduction Duet Director Theater (Circle Repertory) 1980 Talley's Folly Assistant director Theater (Broadway) 1979 The Deserter Director Theater (Circle Repertory) 1978 Twelfth Night Assistant Stage Manager Theater (Academy Festival Theater) 1976 All The President's Men Art Department liaison Film