Michael Eisner Announces a Film Deal With Universal

Fred Prouser/Reuters Michael D. Eisner

Take two - three? - on Michael D. Eisner's movie career.

Mr. Eisner, the former chief executive of the Walt Disney Company and, before that, president of Paramount Pictures, on Tuesday announced a film deal with Universal Pictures. Mr. Eisner's seven-year-old company, Tornante, will produce an unspecified number of films to be sold globally by Universal.

Tornante operates a cluster of media properties, including Vuguru, a digital studio focused on making original content for platforms like Hulu and AOL, and the Topps Company, the sports card creator and marketer. Mr. Eisner has spent recent months quietly raising money for a film production fund and hop es to have a movie in the marketplace by 2015.

Along with animated hits like “The Lion King,” highlights from Mr. Eisner's time at Disney include the creation of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series; Mr. Eisner worked on blockbusters like “Grease” and “Beverly Hills Cop” while at Paramount.

Brooks Barnes writes about Hollywood with an emphasis on Disney. Follow @brooksbarnesnyt on Twitter.