Lawrence Bender facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lawrence Bender
Bender at a premiere for Inglourious Basterds in August 2009
Born	(1957-10-17) October 17, 1957 (age 67) New York City, U.S.
Education	University of Maine
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1987–present

Lawrence Bender (born October 17, 1957) is an American film producer. He helps make movies happen! Over his career, the films he has produced have been nominated for 36 Academy Awards, winning eight of them.

Bender became well-known for producing Reservoir Dogs in 1992. He has worked on many films by director Quentin Tarantino, including Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2, and Inglourious Basterds. He has also produced three documentary films. One of the most famous is An Inconvenient Truth (2006), which won an Academy Award.

Early Life and Education

Lawrence Bender was born in The Bronx, New York. He grew up in New Jersey. His father was a history professor, and his mother was a kindergarten teacher.

He went to Cherry Hill High School East. At first, he wanted to be a civil engineer, like his grandfather. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1979 with a degree in Civil Engineering.

While in college, Lawrence discovered a love for dance. After graduating, he pursued dancing and even received a scholarship. He worked as a dancer for some time. However, injuries eventually ended his dance career.

Film Career

In the 1980s, Lawrence Bender worked on film sets. He helped with equipment as a grip. In 1989, he produced the film Intruder. He also helped write the story for it.

Working with Quentin Tarantino

In 1990, he met director Quentin Tarantino. He was given the script for Reservoir Dogs. Lawrence agreed to produce the movie, and it became very successful.

He then produced many other popular films with Tarantino:

• Pulp Fiction (1994)
• Jackie Brown (1997)
• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
• Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
• Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Inglourious Basterds was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. This was the last time Bender and Tarantino worked together.

Other Notable Films

Lawrence Bender has produced many other movies. These include:

• Good Will Hunting (1997)
• The Mexican (2001)
• Safe (2012), starring Jason Statham
• The Forest (2016)
• Silence (2016)
• Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
• How Kids Roll (2024)

He often makes small appearances in the films he produces. For example, he was a police officer in Reservoir Dogs. He also appeared as a restaurant patron in Pulp Fiction.

Documentary Films

Lawrence Bender is also known for producing important documentary films.

Raising Climate Change Awareness

In 2006, he produced An Inconvenient Truth. This documentary helped many people learn about climate change. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

He was also an executive producer for the sequel, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017).

Global Security Efforts

In 2008, Bender helped start Global Zero. This campaign works to reduce the risk of nuclear weapons.

His 2010 documentary, Countdown to Zero, talked about the dangers of nuclear weapons. It featured important leaders like Tony Blair and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Television Work

In the early 2000s, Lawrence Bender started a production company called Bender Brown Productions.

They produced the TV drama Dr. Vegas for CBS. They also made the mini-series Earthsea for the Syfy channel.

More recently, Bender was an executive producer for the 2018 Netflix series Seven Seconds. He also executive produced Roswell, New Mexico, which started in 2019.

Personal Life and Activism

Lawrence Bender is very passionate about social and political causes. He supports many different groups. He is on the board of The Creative Coalition. He is also a member of the Global Zero campaign.

He has supported political campaigns in the past. In 2015, he signed a letter with other members of the Los Angeles Jewish community. The letter supported a nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.

In May 2013, he returned to The University of Maine. He received an honorary degree there and gave a speech to the graduating class.

Awards and Recognition

Lawrence Bender has received many awards for his work.

• In 1994, Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.
• In 2001, he won a producer of the year award at the Cannes Film Festival. He was the first American to receive this honor.
• The ACLU gave him the Torch of Liberty award in 2005.
• In 2011, the National Wildlife Federation named him a Wildlife Hero.

Overall, films he has produced or executive produced have won eight Academy Awards.

Filmography

Films

Producer

Executive producer

Television

Executive producer

• Anatomy of a Hate Crime (2001)
• Lost in Oz (2002)
• Nancy Drew (2002)
• The Survivors Club (2004)
• Dr. Vegas (2004)
• Earthsea (2004)
• Build or Bust (2005)
• Flirt (2006)
• The Line-Up (2007)
• Long Island Confidential (2008)
• Seven Seconds (2018)
• Roswell, New Mexico (2019)

Producer

• Flesh and Bone (2015)

See also

In Spanish: Lawrence Bender para niños