Our Team
Courtney solomon - co-founder & ceo
Courtney Solomon has run numerous successful production companies, and is an accomplished writer, director, producer and entrepreneur. He is currently the Co-CEO and Partner of CalMaple Media and Cinelou Films and the Founder and Partner of After Dark Films.
Starting with his first venture, Sweetpea Entertainment, Solomon produced, directed and released DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (2000).
In 2005, Solomon teamed up with Hong Kong entrepreneur and entertainment tycoon, Allan Zeman to create After Dark Films, a horror-centric film production company which produced, in conjunction with distribution partnership Lionsgate, 75 horror / action titles for which it owns the library. After Dark also handled the US wide release of both the distribution and marketing of several of its titles such as AN AMERICAN HAUNTING (2005) [Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland], grossing $30 million worldwide. After Dark Films contributed to the creation of Solomon’s HORRORFEST Film Festival.
In 2014, Courtney co-founded Cinelou Films with Co-CEO and Partner, and former EVP of Worldwide Motion Pictures at Warner Brothers, Mark Canton. CAKE (2014), [Jennifer Aniston, William H. Macy, Anna Kendrick and Sam Worthington] earned vast acclaim from SAG™, BFCA™ and Golden Globe™; MR. CHURCH (2016), directed by Bruce Beresford [Eddie Murphy]; THE COMEDIAN (2016) [Robert De Niro & Leslie Mann]; BURN YOUR MAPS (2016) [Vera Farmiga and Jacob Tremblay]; THE YELLOW BIRDS (2017), directed by Alexandre Moors [Tye Sheridan, Alden Ehrenreich, Jack Huston, Jennifer Aniston, Toni Collette and Jason Patric]; and NIGHTMARE CINEMA (2018), directed by genre legends Mick Garris, Joe Dante, David Slade, Ryuhei Kitamura and Alejandro Brugues [Mickey Rourke].
More recently Solomon and Canton launched CalMaple Media – a film / TV production company geared toward mid to high-budget commercial properties. In April 2019, AFTER, based on Anna Todd’s bestselling novel series was released worldwide - with over 1.5 billion reads across 40 countries. It was #1 in 22 countries and is the highest international grossing independent film of the year taking in over $80M globally at the box office.
mark canton - co-founder
Mark Canton (300; Power) has been a preeminent force in the entertainment industry helping to bring hundreds of pictures to the screen in his capacity as a senior studio executive and producer.
Canton’s recent credits: After (Josephine Langford, Hero Fiennes Tiffin), Den of Thieves (Gerard Butler, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson), Escape Plan (Stallone-Schwarzenegger), Escape Plan 2: Hades, Escape Plan 3, Cake (Jennifer Aniston), Mr. Church (Eddie Murphy), The Comedian (Robert DeNiro, Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito, and Harvey Keitel), 300, 300: Rise of an Empire, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Immortals.
Canton is Executive Producer of Starz’ mega hit, Power, the #1 show on premium cable. Its sixth season has wrapped with several spinoffs already being written. The series was developed with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Courtney Kemp (The Good Wife) as the showrunner.
As President of Worldwide Production, Canton was instrumental in creating the Batman, Lethal Weapon and National Lampoon’s Vacation film franchises as well as Tim Burton’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, Batman, Beetlejuice, the Academy Award® winning Driving Miss Daisy and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Canton also put into production such popular hits as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Purple Rain, The Witches of Eastwick, The Mission, and Presumed Innocent, among others.
At Chariman of Columbia Pictures, the films produced under Canton’s aegis were the Academy Award® winning As Good as It Gets (Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt); Oscar-winner Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr.; Men in Black, starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones; the Julia Roberts romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding; and Air Force One starring Harrison Ford.
jeffrey edell - president & cfo
Jeffrey Edell has had an extensive career in various C-level positions, in both the public and private sectors, leading numerous Entertainment and Media [DIC, Soundelux Entertainment, Inferno Entertainment and Cinedigm] and Tech [Myspace / elabor - ADP] companies, helping them grow to several hundred million dollars in revenues with successful exits and / or public filings.
He has overseen and managed the development of large brands such as Inspector Gadget and Strawberry Shortcake franchises into multi-billion dollar international properties, and his companies have produced films such as: The Kids Are All Right [Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore & Annette Bening], Just Friends [Ryan Reynolds & Amy Smart], Killer Elite [Robert De Niro, Clive Owen & Jason Statham], Hachi: A Dog's Tale [Richard Gere & Joan Allen], and box office success The Grey [Liam Neeson].
His companies have won 5 Academy Awards, 50 Emmys and 1 Grammy Award, with numerous other nominations and awards. He was named Entertainment Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000 by NASDAQ and Ernst & Young.
He partnered with the late comic icon, Stan Lee / POW! Entertainment, on one of Stan’s last creative projects.
He is a member of AMPAS [Oscars], ATAS [Emmys], the Producers Guild of America [PGA], as well as the Young Presidents Organization [YPO] and was formerly a Professor at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts.
Edell obtained his CPA certification at KPMG and holds a B.S. in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.