Damon Lee, Founder
Damon Lee is an award-winning producer, accomplished executive, and talented filmmaker with almost 20 years experience in the entertainment industry and a proven track record for creating acclaimed and high-grossing projects for both film and
television. He is the CEO and founder of Deacon Entertainment, a Hollywood production company that develops and produces projects for urban audiences and its crossover segments.
Damon won a 2011 NAACP Image award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special as Executive Producer of Lifetime movie Sins Of The Mother. The film’s star, Jill Scott won a Best Actress Award in the same category. The project originated when Lifetime Movie Network, eager to appeal to their large African-American viewership, turned to Damon because of his established reputation for success with urban markets. Upon airing, Sins became the second most-watched original film in the network’s history.
Damon served as Executive Producer for two of the top five African-American themed films of the past decade: Obsessed, starring Beyoncé Knowles, and This Christmas featuring an ensemble cast that included Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, and Regina King. Obsessed is the seventh highest grossing psychological thriller of all-time. Other projects he has executive produced include the Emmy-nominated Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story for Lifetime Television and One Flight Stand, a short film that was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.
Eager to leverage his A-list contacts and vast industry experience for social good, Damon recently expanded Deacon’s purview by producing high-quality public service video series for the Department of Education and US Navy. In addition to his job as the series’ producer, Damon has taken on the roles of both director and writer for these broadcast spots. In this new arena, Damon has worked with Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Legend, and most notably, President Barack Obama.
Damon is a pioneer in using the internet as a fertile creative laboratory within which to develop big screen projects. As an Executive Vice President at Urban Entertainment, he was instrumental in developing the animated web series Undercover Brother. He later served as Producer of the critically acclaimed, live-action feature of the same name for Universal Pictures in 2002. The film grossed over $100 million worldwide and remains the first and only crossover endeavor to date.
A graduate of the selective Peter Stark Producing Program, Damon holds a Masters of Fine Arts from U.S.C. and got his BA from Brandeis University. After graduate school, Damon quickly made his way up the Hollywood ranks of executives, working as a Vice President of Production for legendary producer Joel Silver and was actively involved in the development of The Matrix and Conspiracy Theory. He served as a Vice President at MGM, as well as the Executive Vice President of Our Stories Films, the production company created by BET founder Robert L. Johnson.
The son of two teachers, Damon has always valued education. He was an early participant in the renowned Teach For America Program, and spent his first year out of college teaching in Inglewood, California. In 2011, he began teaching as an adjunct professor in the graduate studies program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.
Damon lives in Santa Monica with his wife, Michelle, and their two sons, Carter and Beckett.
His resume can be downloaded here.
television. He is the CEO and founder of Deacon Entertainment, a Hollywood production company that develops and produces projects for urban audiences and its crossover segments.
Damon won a 2011 NAACP Image award for Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special as Executive Producer of Lifetime movie Sins Of The Mother. The film’s star, Jill Scott won a Best Actress Award in the same category. The project originated when Lifetime Movie Network, eager to appeal to their large African-American viewership, turned to Damon because of his established reputation for success with urban markets. Upon airing, Sins became the second most-watched original film in the network’s history.
Damon served as Executive Producer for two of the top five African-American themed films of the past decade: Obsessed, starring Beyoncé Knowles, and This Christmas featuring an ensemble cast that included Idris Elba, Loretta Devine, Chris Brown, and Regina King. Obsessed is the seventh highest grossing psychological thriller of all-time. Other projects he has executive produced include the Emmy-nominated Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story for Lifetime Television and One Flight Stand, a short film that was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003.
Eager to leverage his A-list contacts and vast industry experience for social good, Damon recently expanded Deacon’s purview by producing high-quality public service video series for the Department of Education and US Navy. In addition to his job as the series’ producer, Damon has taken on the roles of both director and writer for these broadcast spots. In this new arena, Damon has worked with Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Sarah Jessica Parker, John Legend, and most notably, President Barack Obama.
Damon is a pioneer in using the internet as a fertile creative laboratory within which to develop big screen projects. As an Executive Vice President at Urban Entertainment, he was instrumental in developing the animated web series Undercover Brother. He later served as Producer of the critically acclaimed, live-action feature of the same name for Universal Pictures in 2002. The film grossed over $100 million worldwide and remains the first and only crossover endeavor to date.
A graduate of the selective Peter Stark Producing Program, Damon holds a Masters of Fine Arts from U.S.C. and got his BA from Brandeis University. After graduate school, Damon quickly made his way up the Hollywood ranks of executives, working as a Vice President of Production for legendary producer Joel Silver and was actively involved in the development of The Matrix and Conspiracy Theory. He served as a Vice President at MGM, as well as the Executive Vice President of Our Stories Films, the production company created by BET founder Robert L. Johnson.
The son of two teachers, Damon has always valued education. He was an early participant in the renowned Teach For America Program, and spent his first year out of college teaching in Inglewood, California. In 2011, he began teaching as an adjunct professor in the graduate studies program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television.
Damon lives in Santa Monica with his wife, Michelle, and their two sons, Carter and Beckett.
His resume can be downloaded here.
