Oren Koules

Oren Koules (born January 31, 1961)^[1] is an American entertainment industry and professional sports industry executive. He was president of Evolution Entertainment, producer of the Saw film series. He was also the owner of the Helena Bighorns ice hockey team, and is former part-owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning ice hockey team of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Personal life

Born in Chicago to Greek^[2] immigrants, Koules is divorced but has remarried with one son, Miles, and one daughter, and lives in Los Angeles. He played soccer and starred in hockey at Lyons Township High School (alma mater of David Hasselhoff) in west suburban Chicago before leaving prior to graduation to pursue his dream of playing professional hockey. After his hockey career, he became a commodities trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where he made the money to enter the entertainment business. He then moved into the entertainment industry in production.^[3]

Sports career

He played for six Western Hockey League teams, including the Portland Winter Hawks, the Great Falls Americans, the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Brandon Wheat Kings. In Medicine Hat, he was a teammate of future NHL goaltender Kelly Hrudey. His best year was 1980–81; he scored 28 goals for the Spokane Flyers and was a teammate of future NHL defenseman Ken Daneyko. He also participated in the 1981 US Olympic Festival, which was part of evaluation process for the 1984 US Olympic Hockey Team.

As a member of the Hampton Roads Gulls, Koules played 18 games and scored 6 goals and 21 points^[4] during the 1982–83 ACHL season. On the roster was a 24 year old John Tortorella, who would later coach the Tampa Bay Lightning while Koules was part-owner of the team.

Despite not ever being drafted by an NHL team, Koules participated in two training camps with the Chicago Blackhawks^[5].

Entertainment career

Koules helped found Peak Productions in the mid 1990s. After two hit films, he became a Vice President of Production with Paramount Pictures. In 1999, he helped found the Evolution Entertainment film production company with Mark Burg. In 2004, the partnership formed Twisted Pictures to produce films.^[3] He starred in Saw in a small role as a murder victim and in a scene in Saw IV as the same character. In June 2011, after twelve years, Koules departed from Evolution Entertainment; Burg purchased his 50% of the company. Burg chose CAA agent-turned-producer Michael Menchel as the new president.^[6]

Filmography

Producer

• The Tortured (2010)
• Lottery Ticket (2010)
• Saw 3D (2010)
• Saw VI (2009)
• Saw V (2008)
• Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
• Catacombs (2007)
• Dead Silence (2007)
• Saw IV (2007)
• Saw III (2006)
• Saw II (2005)
• Saw (2004)
• Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)
• Lockdown (2003)
• John Q (2002)
• Run Ronnie Run (2002)
• Diary of A Sex Addict (2001)
• Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)
• Set It Off (1996)

Executive producer

• Love Don't Cost a Thing (2003)^[7]
• Black and White (2000)

Television executive producer

• Vlog (2008)
• Love, Inc. (2005–2006)
• Two and a Half Men (2003–2011

References

1. ^ http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php3?pid=8990
2. ^ College Tampa Profil
3. ^ ^{a b} "Tampa Bay Lightning – Front Office". NHL. http://lightning.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=17047. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
4. ^ Oren Koules Hockeydb.com Profile
5. ^ HelenAir.com: A Miracle Brings Hockey To Helena
6. ^ Fleming, Mike (June 23, 2011). "Evolution’s Mark Burg Cashes Out Oren Koules, Names Mike Menchel President". Deadline.com. Mail.com Media. http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/evolutions-mark-burg-cashes-out-oren-koules-names-mike-menchel-president/. Retrieved September 21, 2011. 
7. ^ Oren Koules Filmography – Yahoo! Movies

External links

• Oren Koules at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Koules, Oren
Alternative names
Short description	American ice hockey player
Date of birth	January 31, 1961
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death