Lawrence Kasanoff

As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Threshold Entertainment Group, Lawrence Kasanoff is a renowned producer in the world of film, television, live stage, animation, and technological advances in the next generation of entertainment, both domestically and overseas. With expertise in developing dynamic content for the most recognizable brands in entertainment, Kasanoff is a forward-thinking entrepreneur who has established a competitive advantage with innovative ways to top the market and find success in both the creative and business side of the industry. Under his Threshold Entertainment Group banner, Kasanoff oversees the company's subsidiaries which include Threshold Entertainment, Threshold Animation Studios and Blackbelt TV. As a producer or studio head, Kasanoff has raised well over a billion dollars in the film business. He and his executive team have been instrumental in the production of over 250 feature films, including Dirty Dancing, and the Academy Award® winning Best Picture, Platoon. Collectively, in the music world, they hold over 200 Gold and Platinum Records, and have worked with several of the world's biggest artists, including Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, and Guns 'n Roses. Kasanoff and Threshold Entertainment Group have been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, USA Today, Time Magazine, Wired, Maxim and Playboy and have been featured on CNN, FOX News, ABC World News Tonight, CNBC, The Howard Stern Show, and more. As an Executive Producer, Kasanoff made such box-office smash hits as James Cameron's True Lies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. As president and co-founder of Lightstorm Entertainment, Kasanoff supervised production, marketing, publicity, and merchandising for the four-time Academy Award® winning film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He produced two films, Blue Steel and Strange Days, with Academy Award® winning director, Kathryn Bigelow. Kasanoff's most prominent and widely regarded success of his intellectual property management model is Mortal Kombat. He produced all Mortal Kombat media including the two number one box office hit films, Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. Kasanoff also produced a Mortal Kombat live-action television series, an animated series, platinum-selling soundtracks, a Radio City Music Hall Live Stage show, and a live tour. The Mortal Kombat franchise has grossed approximately $5 billion. Kasanoff oversees all facets of Threshold Entertainment, which produces live-action feature films and then produces that intellectual property on multiple media platforms. The company has several films in the pipeline, focused largely on sci-fi, fantasy, and action genres. Threshold Animation Studios develops computer-generated animated films, television series, and location-based entertainment, largely based on some of the world's biggest brands, including Star Wars, Lego, Marvel, and Star Trek. Through a unique technology alliance with IBM, Threshold built one of the most advanced digital production facilities in the world. Threshold Animation Studios productions include Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, which received a 2013 Annie Award nomination for Best Children Television Production; The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man theme park 3D ride film for Universal Studios Florida; Star Trek: Borg Invasion 4D location-based entertainment film for the Las Vegas Hilton and Justice League: Alien Invasion 3D for Warner Brothers Movie World. Threshold's Marvel Superheroes 4D is a first of its kind, immersive, 360 degree dome, 4D (stereoscopic 3D plus physical effects) show now playing in its third year in Madame Tussauds London. BLACKBELT TV is an SVOD service that targets 18-34-year-old guys in Emerging Markets via a proprietary MICROSOFT deal which allows the same delivery cost to consumers anywhere in the world. Its Martial Arts content appeals worldwide and universally to the target audience. Kasanoff holds an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA from Cornell University.