Lawrence Bender
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Bender 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
.
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
. In addition, he has been the producer on many other successful movies including Good Will Hunting
, The Mexican
, the 2007 Academy Award winning film An Inconvenient Truth
, Kill Bill
, Pulp Fiction
, and the From Dusk Till Dawn
trilogy. He was an executive producer of the Legend of Earthsea
TV miniseries.
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 both 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
.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. He rose to fame by producing Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
in 1992 and has since produced all of Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
's films with the exception of Death Proof
Death Proof
Death Proof is a 2007 American action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film centers on a psychopathic stunt man who stalks young women before murdering them in staged car accidents using his "death-proof" stunt car...
.
In the 1980s, he worked as a grip
Grip (job)
In the U.S. and Canada, grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions...
on the syndicated anthology series Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside
Tales from the Darkside is an anthology horror TV series produced by George A. Romero; it originally aired from 1983 to 1988. Similar to Amazing Stories, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, and Tales From The Crypt, each episode was an individual short story that ended with a plot...
. In 1989, he produced the film Intruder, in which leading roles are Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi
Samuel Marshall "Sam" Raimi is an American film director, producer, actor and writer. He is best known for directing cult horror films like the Evil Dead series, Darkman and Drag Me to Hell, as well as the blockbuster Spider-Man films and the producer of the successful TV series Hercules: The...
and Bruce Campbell
Bruce Campbell
Bruce Lorne Campbell is an American film and television actor. As a cult movie actor, Campbell starred as Ashley J. "Ash" Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of films and he has starred in many low-budget cult films such as Crimewave, Maniac Cop, Bubba Ho-tep, Escape From L.A. and Sundown:...
. In addition, he has been the producer on many other successful movies including Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting
Good Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
, The Mexican
The Mexican
The Mexican is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, with a plot that is an unusual mixture of romantic comedy and road movie....
, the 2007 Academy Award winning film An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
, Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, Pulp Fiction
Pulp fiction
Pulp fiction may refer to:* pulp magazines, short stories presented in a magazine format, printed on cheaply made wood-pulp paper* Pulp Fiction, a 1994 film directed by Quentin Tarantino...
, and the From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
trilogy. He was an executive producer of the Legend of Earthsea
Legend of Earthsea (TV miniseries)
Legend of Earthsea is a miniseries , a loose adaptation of the award-winning "Earthsea" novels by Ursula K. Le Guin...
TV miniseries.
Bender makes cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in many of the films he produces: he was a police officer chasing Mr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
, a guest billed as a "long-haired yuppie scum" in both Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
and Four Rooms
Four Rooms
Four Rooms is a 1995 portmanteau comedy film telling four stories set in a hotel in the US city of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth stars as the principal character of the frame tale; he also takes part to some degree in all four stories....
and a hotel clerk in Kill Bill
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
Volume 2.
Since May 2005 Bender has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
. 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
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
' Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
to create a television TV series based on the 2007 album Year Zero
Year Zero (album)
Year Zero is the fifth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on April 17, 2007, by Interscope Records. Frontman Trent Reznor wrote the album's music and lyrics while touring in support of the group's previous release, With Teeth...
.
Filmography
- Tale of Two SistersTale of Two SistersTale of Two Sisters is a 1989 drama film about two sisters who, having not seen each other for 5 years, catch up and relive childhood experiences. It directed by Adam Rifkin, narrated by Charlie Sheen and starring Claudia Christian and Valerie Breiman as two sisters...
(1989) (producer) - Intruder (1989) (producer)
- Reservoir DogsReservoir DogsReservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
(1992) (producer) - Fresh (1994) (producer)
- Pulp FictionPulp Fiction (film)Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(1994) (producer) - Killing ZoeKilling ZoeKilling Zoe is a 1994 film, written and directed by Roger Avary. The story details a safe cracker named Zed who returns to France to aid an old friend in performing a doomed bank heist...
(1994) (producer) - Four RoomsFour RoomsFour Rooms is a 1995 portmanteau comedy film telling four stories set in a hotel in the US city of Los Angeles on New Year's Eve. Tim Roth stars as the principal character of the frame tale; he also takes part to some degree in all four stories....
(1995) (producer) - White Man's BurdenWhite Man's Burden (film)White Man's Burden is a 1995 dramatic film about racism in an alternative America where black and white Americans have reversed cultural roles....
(1995) (producer) - Snakeland (1996) (executive producer)
- From Dusk till DawnFrom Dusk Till DawnFrom Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
(1996) (executive producer) - Good Will HuntingGood Will HuntingGood Will Hunting is a 1997 drama film directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver, and Stellan Skarsgård...
(1997) (producer) - Jackie BrownJackie Brown (film)Jackie Brown is a 1997 American crime drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is an adaptation of the novel Rum Punch by American novelist Elmore Leonard and pays homage to 1970s blaxploitation films....
(1997) (producer) - A Price Above RubiesA Price Above RubiesA Price Above Rubies is a 1998 film directed by Boaz Yakin, starring Renée Zellweger as a young woman who finds it difficult to conform to the restrictions imposed on her by her community. Reviews of the movie were mixed, though generally positive to Zellweger's performance. The title is a biblical...
(1998) (producer) - From Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood MoneyFrom Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood MoneyFrom Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money is a 1999 American horror film and the sequel to From Dusk till Dawn. It was co-written and directed by Scott Spiegel, co-writer of Evil Dead 2 and director of Intruder....
(1999) (executive producer) - Anna and the KingAnna and the KingAnna and the King is a 1999 biographical drama film loosely based on Anna and the King of Siam, the story of Anna Leonowens, who was an English schoolteacher in Siam, now Thailand, in the 19th century...
(1999) (producer) - From Dusk till Dawn 3: The Hangman's DaughterFrom Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's DaughterFrom Dusk till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter is a 2000 American horror film, a prequel to the 1996 film From Dusk till Dawn. It was released straight to video and nominated for the Best Home Video Release Saturn Award.-Plot:...
(2000) (executive producer) - Anatomy of a Hate Crime (TV) (2001) (executive producer)
- The MexicanThe MexicanThe Mexican is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, with a plot that is an unusual mixture of romantic comedy and road movie....
(2001) (producer) - Knockaround GuysKnockaround GuysKnockaround Guys is a 2002 gangster film starring Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, John Malkovich and Dennis Hopper.- Plot :Matty Demaret is the son of a mob boss, but he is used as little more than an errand boy...
(2001) (producer) - Lost in OzLost in OzLost in Oz is a 2002 television pilot for a planned series, an original sequel to The Wizard of Oz, inspired by the Oz books of L. Frank Baum. The series was planned to start September 1, 2002 but was cancelled, perhaps because the special effects required for each episode would have been too...
(TV) (2002) (executive producer) - Stark Raving MadStark Raving Mad (film)Stark Raving Mad is a film, produced by A Band Apart, about a heist pulled during a rave. The film was directed and written by Drew Daywalt and David Schneider. It stars Seann William Scott, Lou Diamond Phillips, Timm Sharp, Patrick Breen, John B. Crye, Monet Mazur, Suzy Nakamura, C. Ernst Harth,...
(2002) (executive producer) - Nancy Drew (TV) (2002) (executive producer)
- Kill BillKill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
(2003, 2004) (producer) - Dirty Dancing: Havana NightsDirty Dancing: Havana Nights# "Dance Like This" - Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz # "Dirty Dancing" - The Black Eyed Peas# "Guajira " - Yerba Buena# "Can I Walk By" - Jazze Pha featuring Monica# "Satellite " - Santana featuring Jorge Moreno...
(2004) (producer) - The Survivors Club (TV) (2004) (executive producer)
- Voces inocentesVoces inocentesVoces inocentes is a 2004 Mexican film directed by Luis Mandoki. The plot is set during the Salvadoran Civil War in 1980, and is based on writer Óscar Torres's childhood. The film serves as a general commentary on the military use of children. The movie also shows injustice against innocent...
(2004) (producer) - Dr. VegasDr. VegasDr. Vegas is a television drama starring Rob Lowe and Joe Pantoliano that ran on CBS in 2004. It aired in Ireland on TG4, and on Challenge in the UK as part of its "Player" gambling strand. In Slovakia, Markíza began airing the show on February 20, 2008....
(TV) (2004) (executive producer, "Pilot", "Limits") - Earthsea (2004) (exeuctive producer)
- The ChumscrubberThe ChumscrubberThe Chumscrubber is a 2005 dark comedy film directed by Arie Posin and written by Posin and Zac Stanford, starring an ensemble cast. The film focuses on the lack of communication between teenagers and their parents, and the prevalence of prescription drugs in American society...
(2005) (producer) - Build or Bust (TV) (2005) (executive producer)
- The Great RaidThe Great RaidThe Great Raid is a 2005 war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan, adapted from William Breuer's book of the same name. It tells the story of the January 1945 liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon during World War II. It is directed by John Dahl and stars Benjamin...
(2005) (producer) - Goal!Goal! (film)Goal! is a 2005 film directed by Danny Cannon. It is the first installment of a trilogy also named Goal!. This film was made with full cooperation from FIFA, which is one of the reasons actual teams and players are used throughout the film...
(2005) (executive producer) - Flirt (TV) (2006) (executive producer)
- An Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient TruthAn Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
(2006) (producer) - The Line-Up (TV) (2007) (executive producer)
- 88 Minutes88 Minutes88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet starring Al Pacino, Benjamin McKenzie, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, and Neal McDonough. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005 and wrapped in December 2005...
(2007) (executive producer) - Long Island Confidential (TV) (2008) (executive producer)
- The Youngest Candidate (2008) (producer)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009) (producer)
- Countdown to ZeroCountdown to ZeroCountdown to Zero is a documentary film released in 2010 which argues that the likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons has increased since the end of the Cold War due to terrorism, nuclear proliferation, theft of nuclear materials and weapons, and other factors.The documentary film was set for a...
(2010) (producer)