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Big Picture World
Josh Greenbaum and Jennifer Lilly run Big Picture World, a Venice Beach hybrid that produces and finances independent film while managing talent.
Big Picture World
Big Picture World launched in Venice Beach as an entertainment company blending film production with talent management. Founded by Josh Greenbaum and Jennifer Lilly, the firm leverages Greenbaum's directorial and producing credits alongside Lilly's established talent relationships. The dual revenue model draws from both representation fees and project-based financing returns. The firm concentrates on independent film and documentary — participating across development, packaging, and physical production. Its production credits include Greenbaum-directed projects that have premiered at Sundance, with the management arm representing a curated roster of actors and writers. Investment activity is structured per-project through production entities, aligning capital deployment with specific film slates rather than a blind pool. This project-based architecture keeps investment horizons tied to a film's lifecycle, typically from green light through distribution. The company maintains a lean Venice Beach footprint, consistent with boutique entertainment financing and management practices. While Big Picture World does not publicly disclose AUM or team headcount, its model mirrors other hybrid film companies that fund through a combination of operator equity and co-production arrangements. In 2024, Greenbaum directed a major theatrical release for a large studio, though filming was completed earlier (per IMDb public record). The management division continues to represent clients across the film and television industries. What separates Big Picture World from a pure production company or a pure talent agency is the vertically integrated structure. By housing both representation and production financing under one roof, the firm can originate projects and avoid the agency-lender firewalls that define most Hollywood transactions. This embedded incentive alignment means talent and capital sit at the same table from the first development dollar.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Los Angeles
Corporate office
Venice Beach, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs creative and business decisions at Big Picture World?
Josh Greenbaum and Jennifer Lilly are the named principals. Greenbaum focuses on the production and directing side; his credits include narrative features and documentaries that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Lilly runs the talent management division, where the firm represents a roster of actors and writers. The hybrid structure places creative and financial decisions under one roof, with Greenbaum and Lilly jointly approving project slates.
How does Big Picture World finance its film projects?
The firm finances on a project-by-project basis rather than through a blind pool of capital. Each film is housed in its own production entity, drawing from operator equity, co-production partners, and distribution pre-sales. Big Picture World often packages a project — attaching talent from its management roster to a financing plan — before approaching larger studios or independent financiers for gap funding.
What kind of content does Big Picture World typically produce?
The firm focuses on independent feature films and documentaries. Greenbaum's directing work has included both comedic narrative features and documentary projects that secured theatrical distribution. The production slate leans toward director-driven material with festival potential, reflecting the firm's position outside the major studio system's franchise-driven development pipeline.
Does Big Picture World represent talent as well as produce films?
Yes. The firm operates both a talent management arm and a production company, a dual structure that David-versus-Goliath entertainment boutiques use to gain leverage. This means a writer or actor represented by Big Picture World's management side can be cast in a project that the firm is simultaneously producing and financing, though such decisions are disclosed to all parties under standard industry conflict-management protocols.
How is Big Picture World different from a talent agency or a standalone production company?
A traditional talent agency cannot directly finance the films its clients appear in without running afoul of guild regulations and conflict-of-interest rules; a pure production company lacks in-house access to creative talent. Big Picture World's management division operates as a management company, not a guild-regulated agency, giving it more latitude to bundle representation with production financing under one corporate umbrella. This integrated model allows the firm to originate and control projects from inception.
Where does Big Picture World's funding come from?
The firm does not publicly disclose its capital base. Independent film finance typically draws from a mix of high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and pre-sale agreements with international distributors. As a boutique with a modest release cadence, Big Picture World likely funds production costs through a blend of operator equity, tax credits, and partner contributions, rather than a formally raised institutional fund.
What is Josh Greenbaum's background?
Greenbaum is a director and producer whose feature work has premiered at Sundance and received wide theatrical distribution. He directed the documentary 'The Short Game' (2013) and the narrative feature 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar' (2021), and he helmed the 2024 studio comedy 'Strays.' His commercial directing work, through the production company Community Films, established his career before transitioning to feature filmmaking.
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