Cassian Elwes | |
|---|---|
 Elwes at the 2009 Art of Elysium Heaven & Hell Gala | |
| Born | Cassian Cary Elwes 7 August 1959 London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Film producer, talent agent |
| Spouses | Priscilla A. Woolworth (m. 1988;div. 2000)Holly Wiersma (m. 2006;div. 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parents |
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| Relatives | Damian Elwes (brother) Cary Elwes (brother) |
Cassian Cary Elwes (born 7 August 1959) is a British independent film producer and talent agent.
Cassian Elwes was born on 7 August 1959 in London. He is the son of Dominic Elwes, a portrait painter, and Tessa Kennedy, an interior designer. Cassian is the elder brother of actor Cary Elwes and artist Damian Elwes. Cassian is the stepson of Elliott Kastner, an American film producer.
Cassian Elwes began his producing career with 1984's Oxford Blues starring Rob Lowe and Ally Sheedy; he has continued enjoying success in film. His earlier roles include Men at Work with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, The Chase with Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, and Henry Rollins; as well as The Dark Backward with Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, and Rob Lowe. In 1989 he produced the independent film Never on Tuesday which featured a cast of cameos including Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Nicolas Cage, and Cary Elwes.
The Hollywood Reporter has said that Cassian Elwes was "involved in a virtual who's who of every great independent film of the last ten years"[ citation needed ] with films such as Thank You for Smoking , Half Nelson , and Frozen River (the last two of which garnered Oscar nominations for Ryan Gosling and Melissa Leo respectively).
Elwes ventured briefly into writing and directing films with the low budget 1993 independent film Blue Flame starring former child actor Kerri Green. The film was critically panned and effectively ended Green's career. His next venture came in the 2023 drama Passenger C , an independent film recreating Elwes' own experience with an unruly airline passenger and the emotional aftermath he experienced.
"What people lose sight of," Elwes said to Screen International, "is that these films cost a tenth of the films that they competed against at the Academy Awards. The privilege was the recognition."[ citation needed ]
Elwes is an expert in the field of arranging financing and distribution for independent films having done so for 283 films during his tenure at William Morris Independent.
Since leaving William Morris Independent,[ when? ] Elwes has been involved in arranging financing and distribution for 23 films including Lawless , directed by John Hillcoat, ( The Road ), starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, and the thriller The Paperboy , directed by Lee Daniels ( Precious ), starring Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron. Elwes produced the period drama The Butler , which was directed by Lee Daniels and featured an ensemble cast, including Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Terrence Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Williams among others.
Additionally, he produced Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner; Ain't Them Bodies Saints starring Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck and Ben Foster; and Hateship, Loveship starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, and Nick Nolte.
On 29 October 2013, Elwes launched the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriter Fellowship, in conjunction with The Black List, to award one writer an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and mentorship from Elwes. Elwes and The Black List award the fellowship annually. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
From 1994 to 2009, he co-headed William Morris Independent as an agent at The William Morris Agency, representing independent films and independent film producers; a position he held until the agency merged with Endeavor.[ when? ] [6] [7]
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Ivan Simon Cary Elwes is an English actor. He starred as Westley in The Princess Bride (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and the Saw series. The accolades he has received include nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Satellite Awards. Elwes' other performances in films include Glory (1989), Days of Thunder (1990), Hot Shots! (1991), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Twister (1996), Kiss the Girls (1997), Liar Liar (1997), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), The Cat's Meow (2001), Ella Enchanted (2004), Pope John Paul II (2005), No Strings Attached (2011), BlackBerry, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).
Emilio Estevez is an American actor and filmmaker.
That Was Then... This Is Now is a 1985 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The film was directed by Christopher Cain, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and stars Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.
Rated X is a 2000 American television film starring brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, with the latter also directing. Based on the nonfiction book X-Rated by David McCumber, the film chronicles the story of the Mitchell brothers, Jim and Artie, who were pioneers in the pornography and strip club businesses in San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s. The film focuses on the making of their most profitable film, Behind the Green Door. It also portrays Artie's descent into drug addiction.
Men at Work is a 1990 American action comedy thriller film written and directed by Emilio Estevez, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Charlie Sheen, Leslie Hope and Keith David. The film was released in the United States on August 24, 1990.
Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom during her seven-season tenure on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012.
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award.
Tiptoes is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matthew Bright. The film stars Gary Oldman, Kate Beckinsale, Patricia Arquette, and Matthew McConaughey. The film's plot revolves around an average-sized man (McConaughey) who struggles with revealing to his pregnant fiancée (Beckinsale) that his entire family are little people, as he worries that their unborn child may be born with dwarfism. The film attracted controversy for the casting of non-dwarf actor Gary Oldman as a dwarf. Oldman plays McConaughey's character's twin brother despite being eleven years older than him.
Lee Daniels is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He made his directorial film debut with Shadowboxer (2005), followed by Precious (2009) which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. He has since directed The Paperboy, The Butler (2013), The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021), and The Deliverance (2024). He also produced the films Monster's Ball (2001), The Woodsman (2004), Tennessee (2008), Pimp (2018), and Concrete Cowboy (2020).
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first success as a leading man came in the legal drama A Time to Kill (1996). His career progressed with lead roles in the science fiction film Contact (1997), the historical drama Amistad (1997), and the war film U-571 (2000).
Never on Tuesday is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by Adam Rifkin. The film was released on VHS video rental by Paramount Home Entertainment in 1989 and was originally slated to be re-released in the United States on DVD format through City Lights Entertainment before the company went out of business.
The Paperboy is a 2012 American crime drama thriller film co-written and directed by Lee Daniels and based on Pete Dexter's 1995 novel of the same name. The novel was inspired by a true story. It follows Miami reporter Ward Jansen who returns to his hometown in Florida to investigate a murder case involving a death row inmate. The film stars Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, David Oyelowo, John Cusack and Macy Gray.
Diandrea Rees is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films Pariah (2011), Bessie (2015), Mudbound (2017), and The Last Thing He Wanted (2020). Rees has also written and directed episodes for television series including Empire, When We Rise, and Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
Reach Me is a 2014 American drama film directed and written by John Herzfeld. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Terry Crews, Thomas Jane, Kevin Connolly, Lauren Cohan, Kelsey Grammer, and Tom Berenger. The film was produced by Rebekah Chaney, Cassian Elwes, Buddy Patrick, John Herzfeld.
Matthew McConaughey is an American actor who made his breakthrough by starring in the Richard Linklater-directed coming of age comedy Dazed and Confused in 1993. His first lead role was in the 1996 film adaptation of the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill. The following year, McConaughey played the lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin opposite Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins in the Steven Spielberg-directed historical drama Amistad, and also starred opposite Jodie Foster in the Robert Zemeckis-directed science fiction drama Contact. In 1998, he appeared in the Linklater-directed comedy-drama The Newton Boys. During the 2000s, McConaughey was typecast as a romantic comedy lead in the films The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006), and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009).
Hateship, Loveship is a 2013 American drama film directed by Liza Johnson and written by Mark Poirier, based on the 2001 short story "Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage" by Alice Munro. The film stars Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte. It premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2013.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known collectively as the Daniels, are an American filmmaking duo. They began their career as directors of music videos, including ones for "Houdini" (2012) by Foster the People and "Turn Down for What" (2013) by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, both of which earned them nominations at the Grammy Awards.
Best Sellers is a 2021 comedy-drama film directed by Lina Roessler and written by Anthony Grieco. It stars Michael Caine, Aubrey Plaza, Scott Speedman, Ellen Wong, Veronica Ferres, and Cary Elwes.
A Haunting in Cawdor is a 2015 American horror thriller film written and directed by Phil Wurtzel and starring Cary Elwes.
A Bit of Bad Luck is a 2014 American thriller comedy film written and directed by John Fuhrman and starring Cary Elwes. It is set in Seattle, and was filmed in Seattle and Morton, Washington.
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