Mark Gordon was born on October 10, 1956 in Newport News, Virginia, USA. He is a producer known for his work on Saving Private Ryan, Speed, The Day After Tomorrow, The Patriot, Steve Jobs, Greys Anatomy, Criminal Minds, and Ray Donovan. In addition he served as president of the Producer’s Guild of America from 2010 to 2014 where he championed the producer’s mark.
Mark Gordon
Movies
Speed
When a young Los Angeles police department, Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) officer called Jack Traven angers retired Atlanta police department bomb squad member Howard Payne, by foiling his attempt at taking hostages stuck in an elevator with a bomb, Payne in retaliation arms a bus with a bomb that…
Fun Facts
Has two daughters.
Grew up in Newport News, Virginia.
Was a partner in Mutual Film Company with Gary Levinsohn.
Quotes
People appreciate directness and honesty. The best bullshit is truth because it's totally disarming.
Most people think, 'Oh, the producer's the guy who gets the money.' And that's part of it. But the producer also develops the script, brings in the director, works as an editor, is involved in the marketing. It's really hard to define.
And the older I get, the less the idea of failure has any meaning. Just because something doesn't work, doesn't mean you've failed.
Up until about 10 years ago, I was very caught up in outcome. I wanted to be a member of the Big Hit Club, and then I wanted to stay a member of the Big Hit Club. So instead of enjoying, or even noticing the process, I was always racing ahead to see what would happen next.
Sometimes I feel like I'm not working hard enough. There are always going to be people making a bigger movie, making what seems like a better deal. But you can't spend your life thinking about it. Or I guess you can, and some people do, but I am trying to not be one of them.
The 2010 Produced By Conference in Los Angeles, California: At the every least, the conference should help give producers an attitude adjustment. 'It's how does one turn lemons into lemonade.' Take the renewed focus on sequels and remakes. 'It's frankly a little depressing for everyone because most people have a passion for storytelling and don't want to rehash the same thing over and over again.' That's the reality of the business right now.' You can either say 'This is not interesting for me' and go play somewhere else. Or you can figure out a way to deliver what studios want while developing passion projects independently.