Ted Hope (born 1962) is an American

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

producer based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He is best known for co-founding the production/sales company Good Machine, where he produced the first films of such notable filmmakers as

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popul ...

, Nicole Holofcener,

Todd Field William Todd Field (born February 24, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for directing three feature films: '' In the Bedroom'' (2001), '' Little Children'' (2006), and '' Tár'' (2022). He has received three Academy Award no ...

, Michel Gondry,

Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan theater director, filmmaker, playwright, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, based in New York City, and co-founder of Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre. He was awarded the 2016 Nati ...

, and Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, among others. Hope later co-founded

This is That ''This is That'' was a news satire program broadcast on CBC Radio, which aired comedic news stories presented in the style of a real CBC Radio public affairs program.Natasha LedermanCBC Radio satirical show 'This Is That' sparks as much outrage ...

with several associates from Good Machine. He later worked at the San Francisco Film Society and

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed t ...

. Among Hope's twenty-three

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada *Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood *Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated place ...

entries, are three Grand Jury Prize winners: '' American Splendor'' (2003), '' The Brothers McMullen'' (1995) and '' What Happened Was...'' (1994). ''American Splendor'' also won the FIPRESCI Award at the 2003

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

, the Critics prize at the 2003 Deauville Film Festival, and was nominated for five Spirit Awards and one

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

. Hope has also produced two Sundance Opening Night selections: Nicole Holofcener's '' Friends with Money'' (2006) and Moises Kaufman's ''

The Laramie Project ''The Laramie Project'' is a 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project (specifically, Leigh Fondakowski, writer-director; Stephen Belber, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts, Stephen Wangh, Amanda Gronich, Sara Lambert ...

'' (2002), which was nominated for five Emmys. In 2013,

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

named Hope to its inaugural list of Influencers, a list "dedicated to 40 of the people and companies who have captured our attention as we watch them try to figure out what the independent film industry is today and, more importantly, what it will become." The ''Hollywood Reporter'' cited Hope and his partners at

among the twenty-five most powerful people in the Independent Film business.

Early life

Hope transferred into the undergraduate film program at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. He met his frequent collaborator and former business partner Anne Carey on his first day there. After graduating, Hope worked as a production assistant for approximately three years, while also working as a script reader for numerous companies including New Line and MGM. Hope advanced from work as a Production Assistant to Assistant Directing and Production Management. During that time he started to identify projects and filmmakers he wanted to work with. Most notably Hope started working with Hal Hartley in the years prior to their first production. Hope's first productions were Hartley's '' The Unbelievable Truth'' and '' Trust'', on which he is credited as First Assistant Director and Line Producer, respectively.

Film career

The Good Machine years

In 1990, Hope and James Schamus founded Good Machine, an independent film production company based in New York. They started doing line production for hire for various international auteurs, including

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film '' Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble E ...

, Dani Levy, and Jan Schutte. At Good Machine, Hope and James Schamus produced

's early films including '' Pushing Hands'', '' The Wedding Banquet'' and '' Eat Drink Man Woman'' (both Academy Award nominees), ''

The Ice Storm ''The Ice Storm'' is a 1994 American novel by Rick Moody. The novel was widely acclaimed by readers and critics alike, described as a funny, acerbic, and moving hymn to a dazed and confused era of American life.Ride with the Devil''. Hope produced Todd Solondz's Cannes Critics' Prize-winning ''

Happiness Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. ...

'', which Hope and his partners at Good Machine released themselves when its distributor dropped the film. Hope also executive produced

's '' In the Bedroom'', which earned five Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress,

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to th ...

, Best Supporting Actress, and

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. Hope and Schamus brought David Linde in as a partner to Good Machine, in order to start their foreign sales arm, Good Machine International. In 2000, the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

honored Good Machine with a retrospective. In 2001, the partners sold the company to Universal. Schamus and Linde stayed on and merged the international sales company with

USA Films Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in the U ...

to create

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as part of Universal Pictures, a division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in t ...

This is That

With fellow Good Machine producers Anne Carey and Anthony Bregman, and Head of Business Affairs Diana Victor, Hope co-founded New York production company

in 2002. This is That specialized in unique content and innovative storytelling. This is That has produced seventeen films in the six years since its inception. This is That's first release, '' 21 Grams'', received two Academy Award nominations and five BAFTA nominations. The company's second release, ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pie ...

'', won an

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with th ...

. Hope's production of Oscar-winner Alan Ball's feature film directorial debut '' Towelhead'' marked his 18th production of a first time feature film director. In 2010, the company released '' The American'', which opened at No. 1 at the US box office on opening week, and completed '' Super'', written and directed by

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with '' Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a direct ...

, which was the first film to sell that year at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. The company closed its doors in September 2010 after financial struggles with maintaining the office space. Hope hinted that he and Carey could possibly produce together again in the future.

San Francisco Film Society directorship

On August 8, 2012, the San Francisco Film Society named Hope as executive director of SFFS effective September 1. Ted Hope began work at the San Francisco Film Society Mid September 2012. Upon taking the position, Hope stated that it was an offer he could not refuse: “to save Indie Film and build it better than it has been before.” Moving away from project-specific producing, Hope has turned his focus on producing an infrastructure that will sustain and nurture diverse artists, discover and promote fresh talent, and advance the tools and practices that will benefit those that create and appreciate truly ambitious art and entertainment. Hope announced he would resign as executive director at the end of 2013, citing the challenges of working with a staff of 26 and a board. He said he planned to remain in the San Francisco Bay Area and lead the Film Society's advisory board. In March 2014, Noah Cowen, former director of the

, took over as executive director of the SFFS.

Amazon Studios

On January 8, 2014, Hope was named CEO of Fandor, a curated online service for independent and international films. He left Fandor at the beginning of 2015 to become the head of production for Amazon Original Movies, stating, "To help carry the torch into the feature film world for such an innovative company is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility. Amazon Original Movies will be synonymous with films that amaze, excite, and move our fans, wherever customers watch." After July 2018 he served as the Co-Head of Movies for the studio under Jennifer Salke. Amazon has released 38 films since 2016, notably winning three Academy Awards in the studio's first year as a distributor for titles '' Manchester by the Sea'' and '' The Salesman''. In May 2020, Salke announced that Hope had stepped down from his role as Co-Head of Movies to go back to being an independent producer. Hope made a

first-look deal A first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a pre-emption right A pre-emption right, right of pre-emption, or first option to buy is a contractual ...

with Amazon that began on June 2, 2020.

MPAA campaign

Hope was instrumental in organizing the successful 2003 antitrust campaign against the MPAA and its ban on screeners, uniting a diverse constituency, strategizing the effort, and ultimately providing in court the oral testimony that helped sway the judgement. Although the MPAA head,

Jack Valenti Jack Joseph Valenti (September 5, 1921 – April 26, 2007) was an American political advisor and lobbyist who served as a Special Assistant to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was also the longtime president of the Motion Picture Associatio ...

, claimed The Screen Ban was about combating "piracy", it was recognized by the court as stifling competition, particularly that of independent filmmakers against Hollywood.New York magazine
/ref> Hope has claimed a double win in the court case, as it is also where he met his wife filmmaker Vanessa Hope.

Double Hope Films

Double Hope Films A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

is a production company founded by independent film producer Ted Hope and his wife Vanessa Hope in 2010. Double Hope's first film, ''

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

'' premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

in 2011, and the company's sophomore effort, '' Starlet'', premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2012.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;Second unit director or assistant director ;Production manager ;Miscellaneous crew ;As an actor ;

Television

;Second unit director or assistant director

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Ted American film producers Living people 1962 births Cinema of the San Francisco Bay Area American independent film production company founders