By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

Jonathan Gordon New Production Prez For Annapurna Pictures

Posted Tuesday, May 27th, 2014 - Comments Off on Jonathan Gordon New Production Prez For Annapurna Pictures
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(LOS ANGELES, CA) May 27, 2014 – Annapurna Pictures’ Megan Ellison announced today that the company has hired producer Jonathan Gordon as President of Production for the company, effective immediately. Gordon will oversee the development and production of Annapurna projects, and will report to Ellison. Gordon most recently produced AMERICAN HUSTLE with Ellison, Charles Roven and Richard Suckle and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK with Bruce Cohen and Donna Gigliotti. HUSTLE won three Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture, Comedy or Musical and earned 10 Academy Award-nominations including Best Picture.

Prior to joining Annapurna Pictures and Gordon worked as both an independent producer and executive. He has a long history with Russell which dates back to FLIRTING WITH DISASTER. Their second collaboration, PLAYBOOK was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture. Prior to becoming a producer, Gordon was President of Production at Universal Pictures under Stacey Snider and previously spent fifteen years with Harvey and Bob Weinstein at Miramax Films, where his last position was that of Co-President of Production. While there, he oversaw the production of such films as GOOD WILL HUNTING, Kevin Smith’s DOGMA, and George Clooney’s directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND.

“I got to know Megan while working alongside her, Charles and Richard on AMERICAN HUSTLE,” said Gordon. “Megan has impeccable taste, is a gifted producer, and I saw firsthand how in Annapurna she has created the most daring, exciting, and filmmaker friendly environment in the business. You really can’t ask for a better company to make a movie with and I leapt at the opportunity to work with her and her team in a deeper way.”

“After working closely with Jon on AMERICAN HUSTLE, I was so impressed by him that I knew I needed to have him as a part of Annapurna,” stated Ellison. “I have such respect and admiration for him as a producer and a friend, and I am thrilled that Jon has decided to join our team.”

 

About Annapurna Pictures:

Annapurna Pictures is a film production and finance company founded with the goal of boldly creating sophisticated, high-quality and ambitious films that appeal to a variety of audiences.

 

Annapurna’s projects from 2013 alone earned 17 Academy Award nominations, and made Ellison the first woman to earn two Best Picture nominations in the same year. Those projects included David O. Russell’s AMERICAN HUSTLE starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence which was released by Sony in December. The film won three Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture. In addition, Annapurna produced Spike Jonze’s HER starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Rooney Mara, also released in December through Warner Bros. HER won multiple critical awards including a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Annapurna’s SPRING BREAKERS, directed by Harmony Korine and starring Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and James Franco, broke records earning the biggest box office opening weekend of 2013 for a film playing in limited release; and Wong Kar Wai’s THE GRANDMASTER, the story of martial arts master and Bruce Lee trainer Ip Man, which was released in August 2013 by The Weinstein Company and was nominated for two Academy Awards.

Under Ellison’s guidance, Annapurna has provided the industry with a critical boost of intelligent, adult dramas in recent years. Annapurna’s past releases include Kathryn Bigelow’s multiple Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated film ZERO DARK THIRTY; Paul Thomas Anderson’s multiple Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated masterpiece THE MASTER; Andrew Dominik’s KILLING THEM SOFTLY starring Brad Pitt and John Hillcoat’s LAWLESS.

Later this year, Bennett Miller’s FOXCATCHER starring Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, and Mark Ruffalo based on the true story of convicted millionaire murderer John DuPont will be released by Sony Pictures. Additionally, Annapurna has partnered with Nina Jacobson’s Color Force on the best-selling comedic novel WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE?, written by Maria Semple and has partnered with Denver & Delilah and CJ Entertainment on the SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE remake written by William Monahan and starring Charlize Theron. Annapurna recently announced they will produce a currently untitled Garbo/Dietrich Television Project from writers Angela Robinson and Alex Kondracke focusing on the intersecting lives of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich.

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I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

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