Edward R. Pressman
With over 70 diverse motion pictures to his credit, native New Yorker and motion picture producer Edward R. Pressman has forged a career of international renown, marked by originality and eclecticism.
As a producer, Pressman's specialty is discovering new talent and bringing new experiences to motion picture audiences. He is known for fostering the careers of young and inspired filmmakers. Terrence Malick's visual genius was first brought to the screen in Pressman's Badlands. Pressman also produced the Academy® Award-winning Wall Street and Reversal of Fortune. He was responsible for giving artist/musician David Byrne his premiere moment behind the camera with True Stories and Alex Proyas his directorial debut with The Crow.
Over the last few years, Pressman has produced and executive produced a number of director-driven, high-profile projects, including Mary Harron's American Psycho, starring Christian Bale in the title role. Recent productions include The King starring Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt (Un Certain Regard at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and released by THINKFilm) and Thank You for Smoking based on the Christopher Buckley book starring Aaron Eckhart. Thank You for Smoking was acquired by Fox Searchlight at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival and opened in March, 2006 to great acclaim.
Pressman enjoys a unique collaboration in Sunflower Productions with long-time friend Terrence Malick. Sunflower Productions' first film, Happy Times, by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, was released by Sony in 2001. Sony also released Sunflower's The Beautiful Country starring Nick Nolte, Tim Roth, and Bai Ling.
Other current projects include Steven Shainberg's new film Fur, an imaginary portrait of photographer, Diane Arbus, based on the book by Patricia Bosworth, starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey, Jr., which Picturehouse will open November 17th. Production recently wrapped on two Pressman productions: a re-make of Brian DePalma's Sisters directed by Doug Buck and starring Chloe Sevigny, Lou Doillon and Stephen Rea; and The Mutant Chronicles, a sci-fi adventure movie based on the globally popular role-playing board game directed by Simon Hunter and starring Thomas Jane, Stephen Rea, Devon Aoki, and John Malkovich. Pressman recently announced that he will produce a film version of the Christopher Buckley novel Little Green Men with Whit Stillman directing.
Pressman attended New York's Fieldston School and then went on to graduate with honors from Stanford University with a B.A. in Philosophy. He pursued graduate studies at the London School of Economics.
Over the past 30 years, Edward R. Pressman has produced more than 70 motion pictures. He has received achievement awards from the French Cinematheque, the Museum of Modern Art, London's National Film Theatre, Pacific Film Archives, and American Film Magazine which ranked Mr. Pressman as the best producer of the 1980's based on a nationwide poll of American Film Critics.
A number of Mr. Pressman's productions have received nominations and Academy Awards, including such critically acclaimed films as Das Boot, Wall Street, and Reversal of Fortune.
