Gordon Bijelonic

Gordon Bijelonic is an Serbian / American film producer known for the feature films Laggies and Kid Cannabis, and for his work as a senior executive at One Race Films. He also produces 3D documentaries for the IMAX theatre venues.

Gordon Bijelonic
Gordon Bijelonic at the 2014 Miami International Film Festival presentation of Kid Cannabis
NationalitySerbian American
OccupationFilm Producer
Websitehttp://www.gordonbijelonic.com

Career

Born and raised in New York City, Bijelonic has produced over forty films, involving over 100 million production dollars.[1] He has worked with actors such as Vin Diesel, Robert De Niro, Forest Whitaker, John Travolta, Christopher Plummer,[2] Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage,[3] Ellen Burstyn, and 50 cent.[4]

Bijelonic began his career as a New York City theater actor, before seguing into production work. At the request of Vin Diesel, Bijelonic executive produced the actor's first feature film Strays in 1997, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. The independent film was directed, written by and starred Diesel.[5] Bijelonic became a senior executive for ten years at Vin Diesel's production company One Race Films. While he was there, the company produced the features Fast and the Furious, xxx, A Man Apart, and The Chronicles of Riddick.

Bijelonic later teamed up with Datari Turner, a former model for the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs.[6] The duo have produced a series of films, including romantic comedies, crime thrillers, and black comedies.[5] They produced the features Another Happy Day and LUV.[6][7][8] Both were presented at the Sundance Film Festival, respectively in 2011 and 2012,[5] with the crime drama LUV receiving a Grand Jury Prize nomination. Another Happy Day co-starring Ellen Barkin and Demi Moore, was also shown at South by Southwest. Another feature, titled Kid Cannabis, was produced in 2014. Based on a true story, the plot revolves around a teenager smuggling marijuana from Canada. The film was screened at the Miami International Film Festival.

Bijelonic's film Laggies premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and is a romantic comedy starring Keira Knightley. In 2016, Bijelonic had planned on going into production with the film Crossed.[9] The script was co-written by his good friend, the late rapper Dwight "Heavy D" Myers who was originally supposed to star in the film.

In 2017, Bijelonic spoke about his partnership with Large Screen Cinema at the SXSW festival.[10] In order to showcase a 3D documentary film he produced, Bijelonic is building the first IMAX Theater in Panama. The film in question is about the Panama Canal and is narrated by Morgan Freeman.[11][10] He also plans on building the first IMAX theatre in Peru and producing a 3D film on Machu Picchu.[1]

In 2018, Bijelonic partnered with the directors Joe and Anthony Russo to launch a project in Las Vegas involving immersive theater. It allows the audience to modify the play's narrative through active participation.[12]

Bijelonic is a member of the Producers Guild of America.[13]

Background

Bijelonic's family immigrated to the United States before he was born.[14] Both his parents are of Serb descent and left Bosnia, Yugoslavia in 1969. They spent time in an Austrian refugee camp after fleeing the Socialist regime in Bosnia. The Cathedral of Saint Sava in New York City assured them safe passage to the United States.[15]

Filmography[16]

References
  1. "SXSW 2017 Schedule". schedule.sxsw.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13.
  2. "The Forger (2014)". Archived from the original on 2016-12-28 – via www.imdb.com.
  3. "The Angriest Man in Brooklyn". 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017 – via www.imdb.com.
  4. "Laggies". 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
  5. Renninger, Bryce J. (16 December 2011). "New Indie Producing Duo Says They Want to Be the Next Ron Howard/Brian Grazer". Archived from the original on 11 March 2018.
  6. "Datari Turner Talks About 'Another Happy Day' - blackfilm.com/read". blackfilm.com. 16 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  7. "L.U.V – Hollywood Studios Holdings". hollywoodstudios.co. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. Jr, Mike Fleming (9 February 2012). "Indomina Buying 2012 Sundance Film 'LUV'". deadline.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  9. McNary, Dave (24 May 2016). "Heavy D's Police Thriller 'Crossed' Movie in the Works (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  10. "Panama Canal in 3D a Land Divided a World United (2017)". Archived from the original on 2018-04-04 – via www.imdb.com.
  11. Patrick, Kara. "IMAX 3D theatre to premier Canal documentary". Archived from the original on 2018-03-13.
  12. Jr, Mike Fleming (21 March 2018). "Russo Brothers Find New AGBO Storytelling Front: Interactive Venture With 'Saw II's Darren Lynn Bousman". deadline.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2018-03-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Gordon Bijelonić: Želim snimiti holivudski film u Banjoj Luci - eTrafika". etrafika.net. 31 July 2013. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  15. "Benefit on Eve of US Open Seeks to Save Saint Sava Cathedral". prweb.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  16. "Gordon Bijelonic". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18.
  17. "Panama Canal in 3D a Land Divided a World United". 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
  18. "Radiant Images Provides Versatile 3D Rig with Twin F65 Cams for Upcoming 3D IMAX Documentary on Panama Canal". www.wolfenews.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  19. "Filmography for Gordon Bijelonic". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  20. "Well Go USA Acquires 'Kid Cannabis'; Drug Drama Expected to Hit Theaters in Time for 4/20 (Exclusive)". thewrap.com. 10 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  21. "Kid Cannabis: Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  22. "2012 Sundance Predictions: Stephen Elliott's Cherry - IONCINEMA.com". www.ioncinema.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  23. "LUV: Sundance Film Review". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  24. "Goran Bijelonić: Vin Dizel često spava na mom kauču". blic.rs. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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