Lawrence Gordon

Biography

Lawrence Gordon (born March 25, 1936) is an American film producer and executive producer best known for action cinema. His career, which runs from the 1970s into the 2010s, made him one of the most influential figures in Hollywood genre filmmaking.

After moving to Los Angeles, he began working for Aaron Spelling, producing for television and creating the series Matt Houston in the early 1980s. Earlier he held executive posts at American International Pictures in the 1970s. He worked repeatedly with producer Joel Silver, most notably on Streets of Fire and 48 Hrs., and from 1984 to 1986 he served as president of 20th Century Fox. He then formed Largo with his brother Charles Gordon, backed by the Japanese company JVC, and in 1989 he produced Field of Dreams. Later he worked with Universal under the Lawrence Gordon Productions banner, where he oversaw Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, the Hellboy films and Watchmen.

His legacy rests on a filmography that mixes large-scale franchises with more personal projects such as Boogie Nights. He is the father of filmmaker and musician George Joseph Gordon.

Key films

• Predator (1987): the science fiction action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which became one of the defining action franchises of the 1980s.
• Die Hard (1988): the film that launched the John McClane series and shaped the urban action blockbuster of its era.
• 48 Hrs. (1982): Walter Hill's buddy cop comedy with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte, a key title from his early work.
• Waterworld (1995): a large-scale post-apocalyptic adventure with Kevin Costner, known for its troubled shoot and huge budget.
• Hellboy (2004): the adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic directed by Guillermo del Toro.
• Watchmen (2009): the adaptation of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons graphic novel directed by Zack Snyder.