Biography
Bender began his producing career after appearing in bit parts and working on production crews for three years, beginning with student projects at the American Film Institute. He entered commercial features as a grip on low-budget genre fare. His first producing credits were on the direct-to-video horror tale "The Intruder" and the little-seen improvisational drama "A Tale of Two Sisters" (both 1989).
Introduced to Tarantino by a mutual …
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Career Milestones
| Debut as executive producer, "Killing Zoe", written and directed by Roger Avary | ||
| Did bit parts in small independent films and worked on stage | ||
| Formed A Band Apart Productions with Tarantino | ||
| Formed Lawrence Bender Productions | ||
| Joined the Ralph Robertson Ballet Company; toured around Maine and Boston | ||
| Rejecting a career as a civil engineer, relocated to NYC after graduation to study dance | ||
| Supported himself working as a flamenco dancer | ||
| Won a scholarship to "Fame" choreographer Louis Falco's dance academy | ||
1985 | Moved to L.A. to pursue acting but ended up working behind the scenes on a number of films made through the American Film Institute | |
1987 | First credit in a feature film, as a grip, "The Allnighter" | |
1989 | First credit as a producer, Scott Spiegel's "Intruder" starring writer-director Sam Raimi; also received story credit and played bit part; went straight to video | |
1990 | First substantial acting role, "Lionheart" | |
1991 | Served as 2nd assistant director on "Ulterior Motives/Deadline", a straight to video thriller (also acted) | |
1992 | Produced first theatrical release, "Reservoir Dogs"; first collaboration with actor-writer-director Quentin Tarantino | |
1994 | Produced his most acclaimed film, Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (also acted in bit part as "Long Hair Yuppie Scum") | |
1995 | Produced "White Man's Burden", the first film from Lawrence Bender Productions | |
1997 | Produced "Good Will Hunting", directed by Gus van Sant; film earned nine Academy Award nominations including Best Picture | |
1997 | With Tarantino, formed A Band Apart Records; entered into agreement to market and distribute recordings made on Madonna's Maverick label | |
1999 | Served as a producer on "Anna and the King" | |
2000 | Joined with producer Kevin Brown to oversee several TV projects, including the HBO pilot "No Matter How Long I Shout" | |
2001 | Was one of the producers of "The Mexican", starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts | |
2001 | With Brown, produced the MTV original movie "Anatomy of a Hate Crime", about the murder of college student Matthew Shepard | |
2003 | Produced Tarantino's two part assassin thriller, "Kill Bill" (released in fall 2003 and and Spring 2004) | |
2004 | Executive produced the TV-miniseries "Legend of Earthsea" on the Sci-Fi Channel | |
2006 | Produced the Al Gore global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" | |
2009 | Produced Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds"; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture | |
Awards
1993 | Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature in Reservoir Dogs |
1994 | Academy Award for Best Picture in Pulp Fiction |
1994 | BAFTA Award for Film in Pulp Fiction |
1995 | Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature in Pulp Fiction |
1997 | Academy Award for Best Picture in Good Will Hunting |
2009 | Academy Award for Best Picture in Inglourious Basterds |