"American Sniper" producer Andrew Lazar and writer/director Gil Junger ("10 Things I Hate About You") have closed a financing deal with China-based M-Star International for family film "Dog's Best Friend." The film, which will begin shooting in October in the U.S. and China, is aimed at starting a new franchise for M-Star in its first co-production with American filmmakers. M-Star is producer of the "Home With Kids" franchise of over 300 television episodes for the Chinese market. Junger will direct...
Mad Chance, Tango Pictures
Andrew
Lazar
One of Hollywood’s top producers, with great instincts for finding and developing compelling material, he was Oscar nominated for co-producing 2014’s smash “American Sniper” – and won AFI’s “Movie of the Year” award along with director Clint Eastwood and star Bradley Cooper.
That commercial and critical success is just one of many highlights in a long and fruitful career that’s spanned three decades, with an eclectic resume that includes both big mainstream studio pictures (“Space Cowboys,” “Get Smart,” “Cats and Dogs”) and smaller, quirkier indie projects (“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” “I Love You Phillip Morris”).
This New Yorker, who started off making shorts, got his first break – and learned the importance of good writing – working for legendary Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck before joining Dino De Laurentis’ company where he eventually became exec VP of Production. Early credits included producing the crime thriller “Bound” for writer/directors the Wachowskis, and the big budget Sylvester Stallone action film “Assassins” for director Richard Donner.
In the mid-nineties, Lazar set up his own shingle, Mad Chance, to develop smart, well-written projects in every genre and budget range. Coincidentally, his latest production, “Think Like a Dog,” reteams him with writer/director Gil Junger who helmed his company’s first project, “10 Things I Hate About You.”
