Chris Bender (born 1971) is an American film producer whose beginnings were through developing and co-producing '' American Pie'' film series based on his and writer Adam Herz' own high school experiences. In November 1998, he established the management and production company, Benderspink, with partner J.C. Spink, a fellow alumnus of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...

. Benderspink had a successful first look deal with

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

for over 15 years and a first look deal with

Universal Cable Productions Universal Content Productions (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal. History Universal Cable Productions In July 2008, Universal Cable Productions was split off ...

and prior to that, CBS Studios and Fox 21. In 2016, Bender and Spink split up to pursue forming their own companies. J.C. Spink died in 2017 and was celebrated at a memorial service attended by industry friends and family. Chris Bender founded Good Fear Content in 2016 with Jake Weiner. The company produces clutter-busting media across theatrical, TV and emerging digital platforms with a focus on nurturing and establishing new voices aspiring to be generation-defining talent. Under the company’s banner, Bender’s most recent release was as producer on David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake with Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, and Topher Grace. The film was screened in competition in Cannes and was released by

A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...

domestically in April 2019. In 2020, Amazon Studios released ''

My Spy ''My Spy'' is a 2020 American spy comedy film directed by Peter Segal, written by Jon and Erich Hoeber, and starring Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Kristen Schaal, Parisa Fitz-Henley, and Ken Jeong. It follows a CIA agent who finds himself at th ...

''. The film is directed by Pete Segal with Dave Bautista and Kristen Schaal starring. That project was followed by ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

'', a live action version of the classic adventure of a young Chinese maiden who disguises herself as a warrior in order to save her father. Released by Disney, the film is directed by

Niki Caro Nikola Jean Caro (born 20 September 1966) is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter. Her 2002 film '' Whale Rider'' was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals. She directed the 2020 live action vers ...

and stars Yifei Liu,

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years o ...

Gong Li Gong Li ( Chinese: 巩俐; born 31 December 1965) is a Chinese actress. She starred in three of the four Chinese-language films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Gong was born in Shenyang, Liaonin ...

, and

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

. Other projects produced by Bender include the hit comedy ''

We're the Millers ''We're the Millers'' is a 2013 American crime comedy film directed by Rawson M. Thurber and starring Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter, Nick Offerman, Kathryn Hahn, Molly Quinn, and Ed Helms. The film's screenplay wa ...

'', starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis; ''

Horrible Bosses 2 ''Horrible Bosses 2'' is a 2014 American crime comedy directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders and John Morris. A sequel to 2011's ''Horrible Bosses'', the film stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx ...

'', starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day; and ''

Vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

'', starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, and Chris Hemsworth, all for New Line. Bender has produced or developed projects that have grown into six franchises in various genres: ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was ...

'', '' American Pie'', '' The Ring'', ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Bal ...

'', ''

The Butterfly Effect ''The Butterfly Effect'' is a 2004 American science fiction thriller film written and directed by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, William Lee Scott, Elden Henson, Logan Lerman, Ethan Suplee, and ...

'', and ''

The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, E ...

'' series. Eight of his movies have opened to number one, and Bender was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for ''

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, ...

''.Produced By Conference Bio
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Filmography

Producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bender, Chris 1971 births Living people American producers Place of birth missing (living people) American film producers