Biography for
Ian Jessel More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Mini Biography

London born, Oxford educated, Ian Jessel spent his early years at the Rank Organization and Pinewood studios before forming his own company. One of his acquisitions was the political thriller "Z" which won two Oscars. After moving to LA he became a VP at CBS Films, working closely with David Brown and John Frankenheimer. Later, while CEO of Nelson Ent., he supervised international distribution of "When Harry Met Sally", and was instrumental in distributing David Lynch's "Twin Peaks", and acquiring Altman's "The Player". Appointed President of Miramax International, he presided over the international releases of "Farewell My Concubine", "Pulp Fiction", 'Bullets Over Broadway", and "The Piano". Jessel has also served as executive producer on Altman's "The Pret-A-Porter". and the thriller "Dead Man's Curve".

Mini Biography

Ian Jessel was born in London and was educated at Queen Elizabeth's School in London and Brasenose College, Oxford University where he obtained both B.A. and M.A. degrees in Modern languages. Upon graduation from Oxford, Ian was selected by the Rank Organization as a management trainee in London and at Pinewood Studios. At this time Rank had a strong international presence throughout the world and Ian traveled extensively working closely with senior management in Europe and Australia, ultimately being responsible for worldwide acquisitions.

After five years with Rank, Ian left to set up his own company and acquired the rights to the political thriller Z (1969) which won two awards at Cannes and two Oscars. During the 1970s. Ian was Managing Director of John Heyman's World Film Sales and Lord Grade's I.T.C. Entertainment where he was responsible for all the company's international activities including I.T.C., A.T.V. and in addition was a director of the Classic Cinemas Circuit. Among the films with which was actively involved were "The Go-Between", "The Boys from Brazil", "The Muppet Movie", "Sophie's Choice", "Return of the Pink Panther", "The Eagle Has Landed" and "On Golden Pond".

In 1981, Ian relocated from London to Los Angeles upon being appointed Vice President of International Distribution and Marketing at CBS Films. During his tenure at CBS, Ian worked closely with filmmakers of the caliber of David Brown and John Frankenheimer and traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Pacific Rim, where he was responsible for all CBS Films' international acquisititions and distribution activities.

Since leaving CBS, Ian has been President and CEO of Nelson Entertainment, where he supervised all international distribution of Rob Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally", and Spelling Films where he was instrumental in acquiring 'Robert Altman''s "The Player" and distributing David Lynch's "Twin Peaks." In both these companies, Ian established all international operations and oversaw their rapid growth and success.

In 1992, Ian Jessel was appointed President of Miramax International, one of the strongest independent companies which, during Ian's tenure, acquired, produced and distributed films of class and distinction such as Robert Altman's Prêt-à-Porter (1994), 'Chen Kaige''s "Farewell My Concubine", Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction", Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway", Jane Campion's "The Piano", and 'Peter Jackson''s "Heavenly Creatures."

Miramax International was created in July 1992 and under Ian's leadership in two years became the world's leading independent foreign sales company. In addition to supervising all Miramax international activities, Ian was also Executive Producer on Robert Altman's "Pret-a-Porter."

In May 1995, Ian formed Condor Communications, an international production/distribution company based in Los Angeles with strong links to all the leading international distributors and broadcasters. In addition to continuing his international distribution and marketing activities Ian also was Executive Producer on a thriller entitled _Curve, The (1998)_ and will be Executive Producer of two highly commercial projects entitled "Russell" and "Guiseppi's War." Ian has excellent credentials in the international film community and is currently preparing to co-produce a new version of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and is in active pre-production in partnership with 'Martin Brown', the producer of "Moulin Rouge", to shoot Russell in Canada and Australia in 2002. Ian speaks fluent French, German and Italian and is currently a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Film Academy, the American Film marketing Association and LAAFTA.