Meet the Panel - Lawrence Bender Biography

Following the Demand Zero Day screenings of Countdown to Zero on June 21st a live discussion panel will be broadcast to cinemas across the UK and Ireland. High-profile dignitaries, UK parliamentarians, and celebrities will come together to hear a discussion panel starring Her Majesty Queen Noor, Labour Party politician Margaret Beckett, ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson and Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender. Over the coming days we will be focusing on each panel member, starting off with Lawrence Bender.

Lawrence Bender, producer and political activist, has a career that spans two decades of producing highly successful films.  His films to date, including such hits as Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting, have been honored with 29 Academy Award nominations, including three for Best Picture, and have won 6.  His film An Inconvenient Truth, which raised unprecedented awareness about climate change, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.   His new documentary, Countdown To Zero, which features Tony Blair, Presidents, Musharef, Gorbachev, De Klerk, and Carter among others details the urgent risk posed by proliferation, terrorism, and accidental use of nuclear weapons.  Other films include, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Anna and the King (1999), The Mexican (2001), Innocent Voices (2004), and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (2004).  Lawrence has also produced, Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2; Knockaround Guys; A Price Above Rubies; White Man’s Burden; Killing Zoe; and Fresh.  He also just finished shooting a new film, Safe, which stars Jason Statham and will be released worldwide later this year. 

Bender is also a passionate social and political activist.  In 2003, Bender co-founded the Detroit Project, targeting the gas-guzzling SUV.  He also traveled to the Middle East with the Israeli Policy Forum.  In addition, Bender is on the Advisory Board to the Dean at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and serves on the board of The Creative Coalition.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council.  He is a recipient of the Torch of Liberty Award from the ACLU and is honored as a Wildlife Hero from the National Wildlife Federation.  Bender spends much of his time throwing fundraisers for political and social causes in Los Angeles, where he calls home.

If you want to submit a question in advance to Lawrence Bender then head over to our Facebook page