Lawrence Gordon(I)
- Producer
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Lawrence Gordon (Producer) has been one of the entertainment industry's
most prolific and successful producers in a career spanning six
decades. He has been behind such timeless films as the drama "Field of
Dreams," for which Gordon received a Best Picture Oscar nomination; the
landmark action film "Die Hard"; and the ultimate buddy picture "48
Hrs.," starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. Born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Gordon graduated from Tulane
University with a degree in business administration. Moving to Los
Angeles in the early 1960s, he went to work as executive assistant to
Aaron Spelling at Four Star Television and soon became a writer and
associate producer of Spelling shows. He followed with a stint as
head of West Coast talent development for ABC Television and later as
an executive with Bob Banner Associates. In 1968, he joined Sam Arkoff
and Jim Nicholson at American International Pictures (AIP) as story
editor, and rose to vice president in charge of development. He then
segued to vice president at Screen Gems, the television division of
Columbia Pictures, where he helped put together the classic television
movie "Brian's Song," as well as the first "novel for television," the
adaptation of Leon Uris' QB VII. Accepting an offer to become the first
executive in the company's history to head worldwide production, Gordon
returned to AIP. His many projects included "Coffy," "Foxy Brown,"
"Hell's Angels '69," "Wild in the Streets," John Milius' "Dillinger"
(which Gordon also executive-produced), and Ralph Bakshi's
groundbreaking and controversial animated hit "Heavy Traffic," which
was named one of The New York Times' top-10 films of 1973. Gordon then
formed Lawrence Gordon Productions and began a long and successful
association with director Walter Hill. Among the duo's memorable titles
are "Hard Times," starring Charles Bronson; "The Driver," with Ryan
O'Neal and Isabelle Adjani; the cult classic "The Warriors"; "48 Hrs.,"
teaming Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy, in his feature film debut; the
rock-and-roll fable "Streets of Fire"; "Brewster's Millions," with
Richard Pryor and John Candy; and "Another 48 Hrs.," which reunited the
stars from the original. Gordon also produced the comedy hit "The End,"
starring Burt Reynolds, and collaborated with him again on the box
office smash "Hooper." During this period, Gordon also produced the
Paul Schrader-penned "Rolling Thunder," and the now-cult movie musical
"Xanadu," starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. By 1977, he was
housed at Paramount Pictures with an overall producing deal. In 1982, he
reunited with his old boss Aaron Spelling to create and executive
produce the ABC television series "Matt Houston." In 1984, Gordon
became president and chief operating officer of 20th Century Fox, where
he oversaw such successful titles as James Cameron's "Aliens"; James L.
Brooks' "Broadcast News"; "Commando," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger;
and "Jewel of the Nile," starring Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and
Danny DeVito. During his tenure, "The Simpsons" television series was
created by Matt Groening and James L. Brooks, as were series by Stephen
Bochco and David E. Kelley. After his stint at Fox, in 1986, Gordon
produced the critically acclaimed "Lucas," marking the directorial
debut of David Seltzer; and "Jumpin' Jack Flash," starring Whoopi
Goldberg, which was Penny Marshall's first film as a director. During
the 1980s, Gordon also produced for the stage. For Broadway, he
produced the 1986 musical "Smile," with music by Tony, Grammy and Oscar
winner Marvin Hamlisch and book and lyrics by Tony and Oscar winner
Howard Ashman. Off-Broadway, Gordon produced the 1982 revival of Joe
Orton's "Entertaining Mr. Sloane," which won the Drama Desk Award for
Best Revival of a Play. For the screen, Gordon produced the 1987 summer
action hit "Predator," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, later, its
sequel. In 1988, he produced the mega-blockbuster "Die Hard," which
introduced Bruce Willis as an action hero and forever changed the
action genre. The film went on to spawn three hit sequels, in addition
to becoming one of cinema's most successful and imitated franchises.
The following year, Gordon produced another seminal hit, "Field of
Dreams," starring Kevin Costner under the direction of Phil Alden
Robinson. The beloved film earned three Oscar nominations, including
one for Best Picture, while the title itself and the famous line, "If
you build it...," became part of the cultural lexicon. Gordon
subsequently produced "Family Business," directed by Sidney Lumet and
starring Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick; the comedy
hit "K-9," starring James Belushi; "The Rocketeer," directed by Joe
Johnston; and "Lock Up," starring Sylvester Stallone. In 1989, Gordon
formed Largo Entertainment with the backing of JVC Entertainment, Inc.
of Japan, representing the first major Japanese investment in the
entertainment industry. As the company's chairman and chief executive
officer, Gordon was responsible for the production of such films as
"Point Break," starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves; "Unlawful
Entry," starring Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe; "Used
People," starring Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Marcia
Gay Harden and Marcello Mastroianni; and "Timecop," starring
Jean-Claude Van Damme. Largo also co-financed and handled the foreign
distribution of the acclaimed biopic "Malcolm X," directed by Spike Lee
and starring Denzel Washington in the title role. Gordon left Largo in
1994 in favor of a long-term producing deal with Universal Pictures.
There, his first production was the controversial Kevin Costner-starrer
"Waterworld," which grossed $300 million worldwide. Other Lawrence
Gordon Productions include "The Devil's Own," starring Harrison Ford
and Brad Pitt; the critically acclaimed "Boogie Nights," directed by
Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Heather
Graham and Julianne Moore; and "Mystery Men," starring Ben Stiller. In
2001, Gordon produced two pictures that opened at number one at the box
office: the summer hit "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," starring Angelina
Jolie, and the acclaimed "K-PAX," starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff
Bridges. In summer 2003, "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life"
was released, with Angelina Jolie back as Lara Croft. The next year,
Gordon produced the Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy," based on the
popular Mike Mignola comic book series and starring Ron Perlman and
Selma Blair. In summer 2008, he scored an even bigger hit with its
sequel, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," reuniting the original cast and
filmmakers. Gordon's "Watchmen" directed by Zack
Snyder ("300") was released in March of 2009 as one of the highest
R-rated openings ever. Gordon is producing a documentary for Netflix on the legendary basketball player Bill Russell. He is also executive producer on a television adaptation of "Field Of Dreams" for Peacock, and executive produced the "Predator" spinoff "Prey" on Hulu. Gordon served for many years as a member of the Board of Directors of
the Producers Guild of America (PGA) and the
Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,
as well as the Board of the American Film Institute. He is a recipient
of the ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award, the PGA's prestigious
David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award, Tulane University's Distinguished Alumni Award, and most recently the Mississippi Governor's Arts Award.