Martin Wiley Obituary – Death: Veteran Film Producer & Executive Cause Of Death

Martin Wiley, a 65-year-old veteran producer and executive known for his work on films like Acts of Violence, Never Talk to Strangers, and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, passed away on March 20th according to his son Cameron who spoke to Deadline. Wiley, who received his post-graduate degree from UCLA after attending USC, worked as a creative executive responsible for development on films made at studios such as Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate, and also served as supervising producer and/or unit production manager on over a dozen theatrical features.

Starting his career in the late 1980s, Wiley worked as a producer or co-producer on several films including Mutator, Diving In, and Little Sister. He received his first executive producing credit on the 1995 Steven Seagal action sequel Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and produced the Antonio Banderas-Rebecca DeMornay thriller Never Talk to Strangers that same year. Other notable films he produced include Chill Factor, Tamara, Madison, Drive Thru, The Plague, Woodstock or Bust, and The Lazarus Project. In addition to his producing work, Wiley wrote and directed the 2004 dance documentary Freestyle and wrote the screenplay for The Speak (2011).

As a production executive, he was responsible for acquiring and developing several films, including the 1999 Paramount Pictures hit Varsity Blues, Nurse Betty, American History X, and The Cooler. Wiley worked at L.A.-based Red River Films since 2007 as a producer and was head of production at Armada Pictures in Beverly Hills from 2005-08. He was also a senior consultant at J.J. Little and Associates from 2011-14, specializing in entertainment litigation and transactional law practice, and taught a course called “The Art of Line Production” at UCLA Extension’s Professional Film Production Program.

Leslie Bloom of Big Kid Films, a longtime friend and colleague of Wiley, spoke highly of him, saying, “Martin was one of the best producers I’ve ever worked with in my 30 years as a DGA member. He produced my directorial debut Woodstock or Bust in Portland, Oregon, where we both grew up. He believed in my training as AD to take the next step. We were mounting my next film Rainbow Cowboy when he fell ill. Martin and I were like peas and carrots on the set. I will have a hard time finding that perfect match again.” Plans for a memorial service have not yet been announced.