David Blackman is the Head of Film & Television Development and Production at Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment. Blackman works within the company to develop, finance and produce music-driven feature films, documentaries and television projects for a global audience.
For UMG’s Polygram Entertainment, Blackman produces and executive produces a wide slate of projects including the feature documentaries “The Velvet Underground” by Todd Haynes, “Love to Love You, Donna Summer” from directors Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano, “The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?,” directed by Frank Marshall; “The Go-Gos,” directed by Alison Ellwood and “Beastie Boys Story” from director Spike Jonze, both of which shared the 2020 Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Music Documentary; “Pavarotti,” directed by Ron Howard for CBS Films; “Hitsville: The Making of Motown,” for Showtime and the 2020 Emmy Award-winner for outstanding documentary, “The Apollo," directed by Roger
Ross Williams for HBO. Blackman also serves as an executive producer on the upcoming “Stax: Soulsville, USA” for HBO as well as “James Brown: Say It Loud” for A&E Films, “Black & Blues: The Colorful Ballad of Louis Armstrong” for Apple Original Films, the Emmy Award-winning one- hour NBC series, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” and the 2022 Emmy-nominated TV film “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas.”
Prior to his role at UMG, Blackman served as President of Production for Sony-based Laurence Mark Productions (LMP), where he ran all aspects of film and television development and production. At LMP, he executive produced “Flatliners” for Sony Pictures and produced Lionsgate’s “Date & Switch,” directed by Chris Nelson and featuring Dakota Johnson, Nick Offerman and Larry Wilmore. Blackman also executive produced “Center Stage: Turn it Up” for Sony Stage 6 and co-executive produced “Summer Camp,” a Nickelodeon pilot starring Hailee Steinfeld. Blackman’s credits also include executive producing the hit Netflix romantic comedy “The Perfect Date,” starring Noah Centineo.
At Wendy Finerman Productions, Blackman served as Vice President and oversaw “The Devil Wears Prada,” starring Meryl Streep and developed Richard LaGravenese’s “P.S. I Love You.” A member of the PGA, Blackman is a native of Bethesda, Maryland and graduated with a degree in Psychology from Carleton College.
