Lawrence Bender

Lawrence Bender

Bender at a premiere for
Inglourious Basterds in August 2009
Born (1957-10-17) October 17, 1957
The Bronx, New York City U.S.
Occupation Film producer
Years active 1987–present

Lawrence Bender (born October 17, 1957) is an American film producer. He rose to fame by producing Reservoir Dogs in 1992 and has since produced all of Quentin Tarantino's films with the exception of Death Proof, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight. He also produces documentary films, most notably the controversial film An Inconvenient Truth (2006).

Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards and has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture.[1]

Early life

Bender was born to a Jewish family[2] in The Bronx, New York, and grew up in New Jersey, where his father was a college history professor and his mother was a kindergarten teacher. In high school, he decided to pursue a career as a civil engineer. His grandfather had been a civil engineer and he heard there were good jobs available in the field.[3] He is a graduate of The University of Maine, Class of 1979, majoring in Civil Engineering.[3][4][5]

While attending U-Maine Bender acquired a passion for dance. After graduating Bender wanted to be a dancer and followed that dream for several years until an injury sidelined him.[5]

Career

In the 1980s, he worked as a grip on the syndicated anthology series Tales from the Darkside. In 1989, he produced the film Intruder, in which leading roles are Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. His films to date, including such hits as Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting, have been honored with 29 Academy Award nominations, including three for Best Picture, and have won 6. His film An Inconvenient Truth, which raised unprecedented awareness about climate change, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

His latest documentary, Countdown to Zero, features Tony Blair, Presidents, Musharef, Gorbachev, De Klerk and Carter among others, details the urgent risk posed by proliferation, terrorism, and accidental use of nuclear weapons. Other films include, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Anna and the King (1999), The Mexican (2001), Innocent Voices (2004), and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004) and Inglourious Basterds. Lawrence has also produced, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights; Knockaround Guys; A Price Above Rubies; White Man's Burden; Killing Zoe; and Fresh. He produced the 2012 film Safe, which starred Jason Statham.

Bender makes cameo appearance in many of the films he produces: he was a police officer chasing Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs, a guest billed as a "long-haired yuppie scum" in Fresh, Pulp Fiction and Four Rooms and a hotel clerk in Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Since May 2005, Bender has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post. He now works in Hollywood running the day-to-day operations of his own production company, Lawrence Bender Productions. Bender has been working with Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor to create a television TV series based on the 2007 album Year Zero.[6]

Personal Life

Bender is also a passionate social and political activist and supports many causes. Bender is on the Advisory Board to the Dean at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and serves on the board of The Creative Coalition. He is a member of Council on Foreign Relations the Pacific Council. He is a recipient of the Torch of Liberty Award from the ACLU and spends much of his time throwing fundraisers for political and social causes in Los Angeles. Bender is on the Advisory Board for the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.[7][8] He was named a Wildlife Hero by the National Wildlife Federation.

Lawrence Bender gave an interview for UMaine where he talks about his favorite UMaine memories.[9] On May 11, 2013, he returned to The University of Maine to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and share remarks during the 2013 Commencement ceremonies.[10]

He is a member of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.[11]

Filmography

References

  1. ↑ "Lawrence Bender, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability". www.environment.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  2. ↑ L.A. Confidential: "Lawrence Bender Loves Israel" By Lawrence Bender retrieved May 25, 2015
  3. 1 2 http://www.pressherald.com/life/audience/high-production-values_2013-05-05.html
  4. ↑ http://umaine.edu/commencement/speakers/
  5. 1 2 http://bangordailynews.com/2013/04/23/living/umaine-alum-hollywood-producer-bender-to-give-commencement-address/?ref=latest
  6. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2008-06-08). "Frustration and Fury: Take It. It's Free.". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  7. ↑ UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
  8. ↑ Lawrence Bender on His Involvement with the UCLA IoES on YouTube
  9. ↑ Video on YouTube
  10. ↑ http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/32702305
  11. ↑ Hollywood Reporter: "Hollywood's Hottest $150 Million Project Is an 83-Year-Old Synagogue - Studio heads, agency chieftains and top producers have come together, "Avengers"-style, to save their iconic but decaying Wilshire Boulevard Temple -- an A-list house of worship far from the Westside" by Gary Baum May 30, 2012
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