Michael Kuhn

The former president and CEO of the PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Group, as well as executive vice president of the PolyGram, Group, Michael Kuhn is responsible for the company's U.S. operations as well as for all media including film, TV, and video. Under his guidance PolyGram has become a force on the Hollywood and worldwide film scene, developing or distributing such efforts as "Four Weddings and a Funeral," which was nominated for the Academy Award for best picture in 1994, and "Wild at Heart," which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990. Born in East Africa and educated in law at Cambridge, Kuhn practiced entertainment law in London before joining PolyGram as assistant legal counsel in 1974. He was made a director of the company in 1978. During this period, he chaired the British Phonographic Industry's (BPI) Rights Committee, and was also a director of the Phonographic Performance Ltd., lecturing frequently on copyright matters and becoming and active protagonist in the BPI's lobby for a blank tape royalty. In 1982, Kuhn co-founded PolyGram Music Video, one of the first such operations to specialize in long-form music "films," and from 1983-1987, Kuhn was general counsel to the PolyGram Group worldwide. It was in 1987 that Kuhn was appointed senior vice president of the PolyGram Group with responsibilities for the new business division and in 1989 he was given the added responsibilities for the media division when it was formed, thus being responsible for the company's plunge into film production and distribution. Under Kuhn's watch, PolyGram also distributed "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1994), the Australian film about three drag queens in the Outback which was an international success. Other PolyGram releases have included "Jason's Lyric" (1994), "Nell" (1994), starring Jodie Foster, whose production company is under contract to PolyGram, and "French Kiss" (1995), starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, of which Kuhn is president and CEO, has investment/production deals with four companies, Foster's Egg Pictures, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner's Working Title, Interscope and Propaganda. PolyGram's U.S. domestic distribution entity was Gramercy Pictures. Kuhn is also a produced playwright, whose works, staged in London, include "Colony," "The Carpaccio Afficiavit," and "Rehearsals."