Career
Simpson moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s. He first worked as an actor and then got a job Paramount Pictures in 1975. He later became the president of production at Paramount. Simpson left the company in 1982 and forged a partnership with Jerry Bruckheimer.
The two would go on to produce some of the most financially successful films of the 1980s: Flashdance (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Top Gun (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). In 1990, Simpson and Bruckheimer signed a five-year deal with Paramount worth a reported $300 million. However, the duo's first film for Paramount, 1990's Days of Thunder, received mixed reviews and did poorly at the box office. Simpson and Bruckheimer blamed Paramount for the film's failure stating that Paramount rushed the planning and release of the film. Paramount blamed the film's failure on Simpson and Bruckheimer's overspending. The duo mutually parted with Paramount shortly thereafter.
In 1991, the two signed with Disney. Their first film for Disney, The Ref (1994), was a financial flop. Their following films, Dangerous Minds, Crimson Tide, and Bad Boys, all released in 1995, brought the pair back to success.
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