David Permut

David Permut
Permut in 2025
Born (1954-03-23) March 23, 1954 (age 72)[unreliable source?]
New York City, New York, U.S.[unreliable source?]
OccupationFilm producer

David A. Permut (born March 23, 1954) is an American film producer. He has worked on dozens of films, and has received both Academy and Emmy Award nominations.

Early life and education

Permut was born in New York City, New York to a Jewish family, the son of entrepreneur Lee Permut. His family moved from Manhattan to Los Angeles while he was a teen. While a youth, he sold maps to the Hollywood homes of the stars and later mixed with them at the Palm Springs Racquet Club and the Tennis Club, after his father purchased a second home in Palm Springs in the 1970s. He was introduced to producer Bill Sargent through family who helped him secure some casting calls. Permut then went to work as a gofer for Roger Corman while he was taking classes at UCLA and later accepted a job at an independent talent agency in Beverly Hills.

Career

Feature films

Early in his career, Permut produced the 1975 film Give 'em Hell, Harry!, which was his first producer credit. Shortly afterwards, he co-produced the 1979 comedy concert film Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, which was considered one of the first major theatrical stand-up comedy films, with Bill Sargent. He went on to produce the 1987 films Dragnet and Blind Date. In 1986, he then signed a production agreement with United Artists, where he is planning on to produce films like an adaptation of the 1950s TV show Highway Patrol, but it never came to fruition. He later produced the John Woo film Face/Off.

In 1991, Permut signed a three-year first look development and production deal with New Line Cinema, which resulted in his production company, Permut Productions, becoming a subsidiary of New Line Cinema.

He has produced a number of other films, including 1991's The Marrying Man and 29th Street, 1992's Captain Ron and Consenting Adults, 1993's The Temp, 1994's Surviving the Game, and others. 29th Street (1991) released by Twentieth Century Fox, Permut worked with Bob Saget on the March of the Penguins parody film Farce of the Penguins in 2007. He produced the 2016 film Hacksaw Ridge, which was premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.

In addition to studio films, Permut has produced a number of independent films including Charlie Bartlett, Youth in Revolt, Struck by Lightning, and Match.

Other independent films Permut has produced include The Polka King, which premiered at the Sundance film festival, and starring Jack Black, and Punching Henry, which debuted at SXSW.

Permut was the co-producer alongside Ben Stiller of the 2009 documentary The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, and later The Fabulous Allan Carr. In 2010, Permut also produced the five-part documentary series Visible: Out on Television for Apple TV+.

In 2019, Permut produced The Investigation: A Search for the Truth, a live staged reading of excerpts from the Mueller Report, with a cast that included John Lithgow, Kevin Kline, and Zachary Quinto.

Permut executive produced the 2023 Netflix film Rustin, a biopic about civil rights leader  Bayard Rustin, alongside Barack and Michelle Obama through Higher Ground Productions.The film has won numerous awards, including a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for Coleman Domingo.

Permut produced the feature film Twinless, written, directed by, and starring James Sweeney and co-starring Dylan O’Brien, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025. The film received the Sundance 2025 U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, as well as the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Dylan O’Brien.

Permut also executive produced the documentary, Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction, which premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2026.

Permut produced the 2026 film The Invite, which was co-produced by Annapurna Pictures and FilmNation, directed by Olivia Wilde, and starred Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.

Permut also produced the Apple Original Film Being Heumann, which was based on the memoir by Judy Heumann, was directed by Siân Heder, and starred Mark Ruffalo, Ruth Madeley, and Dylan O’ Brien.

Films produced by Permut have premiered at film festivals including Venice, Telluride, TIFF, and Sundance, and SXSW.

His television credits include 1984's Love Leads the Way, 1987’s Mistress, 1991's A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell Story, 1992's Breaking the Silence, 2009's Emmy-nominated and GLAAD Award-winning Prayers for Bobby, 2014's The Color of Rain, and 2023's series Lawman: Bass Reeves.

Theatre

He has done theatre production, including the stage production of The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts. He is slated to produce the Broadway theatre stage production Behind the Candelabra.

Personal life

As of 2016, Permut has lived in Westwood, California. He has a second home in Palm Springs.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year Film Credit Notes
1975Give 'em Hell, Harry!
1979 Richard Pryor: Live in Concert Producer
1982Fighting Back
1987Blind DateCo-executive producer
DragnetProducer
1991The Marrying ManProducer
29th StreetProducer
1992Captain RonProducer
Consenting AdultsProducer
1993The TempProducer
Three of HeartsExecutive producer
Money for NothingExecutive producer
1994Surviving the GameProducer
Trapped in ParadiseExecutive producer
1996EddieProducer
1997Face/OffProducer
2001Double TakeProducer
2002Route 52Producer
2003 DyFunktional Family Producer
2004The Last Shot
Uncredited
2006Local ColorProducer
Farce of the PenguinsProducer
2007Charlie BartlettProducer
2008My Mom's New BoyfriendExecutive producer
2009Youth in RevoltProducer
2012Struck by LightningProducer
2014MatchProducer
2016Punching HenryProducer
Hacksaw RidgeProducer
2017The Polka KingProducer
2019The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten ActsProducer
2023RustinExecutive Producer
2025TwinlessProducer
2025 Raoul Wallenberg: Missing Inaction Executive Producer
2026Being HeumannProducer
2026The InviteProducer
TBA
Untitled Face/Off SequelExecutive producer
Camera and electrical department
Year Film Role
1973The Student TeachersFilm loader
Miscellaneous crew
Year Film Role
1973Your Three Minutes Are UpProduction assistant

Television

Year Title Credit Notes
1984Love Leads the Way: A True StoryExecutive producerTelevision film
His MistressTelevision film
1987MistressSupervising producerTelevision film
1991A Triumph of the Heart: The Ricky Bell StoryTelevision film
1992Breaking the SilenceExecutive producerTelevision film
2009Prayers for BobbyExecutive producerTelevision film
2014The Color of RainExecutive producerTelevision film
2020Visible: Out on TelevisionPrincipal producerTelevision documentary series
2023Lawmen: Bass ReevesExecutive producerTelevision series

References

  1. 1 2 David A. Permut Biography (1954–), Filmreference.com, Retrieved January 23, 2014
  2. ↑ Dove, Steve (2017-01-24). "Hacksaw Ridge Gets 6 Oscar Nominations Including Best Picture". oscar.go.com. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  3. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2020-07-09). "Netflix Docuseries 'The Pharmacist' Acquired By 'Hacksaw Ridge' Producer David Permut For Feature Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  4. ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 13, 2017). "The tribe goes to the Oscars". J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Fessier, Bruce (December 30, 2016). "Desert resident David Permut a hot Hollywood producer". Desert Sun.
  6. ↑ Faughnder, Ryan (November 18, 2016). "How I Made It: 'Hacksaw Ridge' producer David Permut". Los Angeles Times.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "How I Made It: 'Hacksaw Ridge' producer David Permut". Los Angeles Times. 18 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Kiefer, Peter (2019-02-22). "The Only-in-Hollywood Story of the Star Maps Hustler Who Stood Up to the Mob". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-09-18.
  9. ↑ "Permut Inks Pact With United Artists; 3 Films Brewing". Variety. 1986-11-19. pp. 6, 30.
  10. 1 2 "Producer Permut Moves Indie Setup To New Line". Variety. 29 April 1991.
  11. ↑ "The Worrying Man of 'Marrying Man' : Movies: Producer David Permut's feelings about his troubled comedy can be summed up in T-shirts he had made: 'I survived the reshoot of "The Marrying Man." '". Los Angeles Times. 5 April 1991.
  12. ↑ Leydon, Joe (7 February 2007). "Farce Of The Penguins". Variety.
  13. ↑ Kay, Jeremy. "The long, frustrating journey to bring 'Hacksaw Ridge' to the big screen". Screen.
  14. ↑ Lilley, Kevin (2017-01-24). "'Hacksaw Ridge' nets 6 Oscar nominations, including best picture". Military Times. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  15. ↑ "'Charlie' script was writing sample sent to Permut". The Hollywood Reporter. 20 February 2008.
  16. ↑ "Cera takes up 'Revolt' for Dimension". The Hollywood Reporter. 15 August 2007.
  17. ↑ "Why Most People Will See Chris Colfer's Movie 'Struck by Lightning' on Video". The Hollywood Reporter. 16 January 2013.
  18. ↑ Fessier, Bruce. "Desert resident David Permut a hot Hollywood producer". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  19. ↑ Harvey, Dennis (3 July 2017). "Film Review: 'The Fabulous Allan Carr'". Variety.
  20. ↑ "'Visible' Shows TV's 'Problematic Progress' in LGBTQ Representation | Advocate.com". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  21. 1 2 "'The Investigation' Read-Thru On Mueller Report Tops More Than A Million Livestreams". Deadline. 29 June 2019.
  22. ↑ White, Abbey (2023-08-28). "Colman Domingo Delivers a Rousing Portrait of the March on Washington's Architect in 'Rustin' Trailer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  23. ↑ Filmaffinity. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  24. ↑ "Dylan O'Brien-Starrer 'Twinless' Wins Over Sundance on Opening Night Despite Audio Glitch". The Hollywood Reporter. 2025-01-24. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  25. ↑ "This is when Portland-based film 'Twinless' is set to be in Oregon theaters". The Register-Guard. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  26. ↑ "'Atropia,' 'Twinless' Win Top Sundance 2025 Awards (Full Winners List)". Variety. 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  27. ↑ "37TH ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FESTIVAL LINEUP". palmspringsca.gov.
  28. ↑ Lang, Brent (2025-04-23). "Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton to Star in Olivia Wilde's Date Night Comedy 'The Invite' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  29. 1 2 "Palm Springs-based Hollywood producer talks 'Twinless,' TIFF, working with Olivia Wilde". The Desert Sun. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  30. ↑ Kroll, Justin (2025-06-10). "Mark Ruffalo To Star In Apple's 'Being Heumann' From 'CODA' Director Siân Heder". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  31. ↑ Gonzalez, Umberto (2025-06-10). "Mark Ruffalo to Star in 'CODA' Director Sian Heder's 'Being Heumann' for Apple". TheWrap. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  32. ↑ "Dylan O'Brien Latest To Join Apple's 'Being Heumann'". Deadline. 2025-06-12. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  33. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2021-09-20). "David Permut Acquires Rights To Joanna Hodgkin's 'Tell Me Who I Am' For Narrative Adaptation". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  34. ↑ "Need a genuine astronaut? Michael Collins is available". Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2026.
  35. ↑ "'Twinless' Review: Dylan O'Brien Mourns His Dead Twin In James Sweeney's Heartfelt & Unhinged Comedy — Sundance Film Festival". Yahoo Entertainment. 2025-01-24. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
  36. ↑ McNary, Dave (2020-02-13). "LGBTQ Rights Crusader Mary Griffith Dies at 85". Variety. Retrieved 2026-10-03.
  37. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Sigourney Weaver Sounds Off On Gay Rights". HuffPost. 30 October 2013.
  38. ↑ Riedel, Michael (9 March 2017). "Liberace's sordid life story is hitting the stage". New York Post.