Steven Aaron Golin ( March 6 , 1955 – April 21 , 2019 ) was an American film and television producer . He was the founder and CEO of Anonymous Content LLP , a multimedia development , production and talent management company and co-founder and CEO of Propaganda Films . Golin graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in 1976 and attended the AFI Conservatory . He won Best Picture at the 2016 Academy Awards for '' Spotlight '' . Golin and partner Joni Sighvatsson launched Propaganda Films , a talent management , advertising , and video production company , in 1986 . They built Propaganda into the largest music video and commercial production company in the world , winning more MTV Video Awards and Cannes Palme d'Or Awards than any other company and quickly became a home for the most sought-after young music video and commercial directors . One of its first discoveries was David Fincher , then an unknown video director . Not long afterward , a young filmmaker showed up with a reel containing a Donny Osmond video and a spec Coke commercial . Golin watched the clips and told Michael Bay , " Nice to meet you . You 're hired . " After seeing a couple of skateboard videos he liked , Golin brought Spike Jonze into the fold . Other discoveries included Antoine Fuqua , Gore Verbinski , and Alex Proyas . Golin and Sighvatsson sold the company to PolyGram , but when PolyGram was sold to Seagram in 1998 , Golin lost control of the company and exited in 1999
2016 Academy Awards
88th Academy Awards
Steve Golin