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Cassian Elwes

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Cassian Elwes
Elwes at the 2009 Art of Elysium Heaven & Hell Gala
Born
Cassian Cary Elwes

(1959-08-07) 7 August 1959 (age 65)
London, England
Occupation(s)Film producer, talent agent
Spouses
Priscilla A. Woolworth
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2000)​
Holly Wiersma
​
​
(m. 2006; div. 2013)​
Children2
Parents
RelativesDamian Elwes (brother)
Cary Elwes (brother)

Cassian Cary Elwes (born 7 August 1959) is a British independent film producer and talent agent.

Early life and education

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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.

Career

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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]

William Morris years

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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]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Director With Rotten Tomatoes
1984 Oxford Blues Producer Robert Boris Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Amanda Pays, Julian Sands, Cary Elwes, Chad Lowe, Michael Gough, Gail Strickland, Aubrey Morris
1986 Nomads Producer John McTiernan Pierce Brosnan, Lesley-Anne Down, Adam Ant, Frances Bay 13%[8]
Heat Producer Dick Richards
Jerry Jameson 		Burt Reynolds, Karen Young, Peter MacNicol, Howard Hesseman, Diana Scarwid
1987 White of the Eye Producer Donald Cammell David Keith, Cathy Moriarty 33%[9]
Zombie High Executive Producer Ron Link Virginia Madsen, Paul Feig, Sherilyn Fenn
1988 Jack's Back Producer Rowdy Herrington James Spader
1989 Never on Tuesday Executive Producer Adam Rifkin Peter Berg, Nicolas Cage, Claudia Christian, Charlie Sheen, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Cary Elwes
Warm Summer Rain Executive Producer Joe Gayton
Cold Feet Producer Robert Dornhelm Keith Carradine, Sally Kirkland, Tom Waits, Rip Torn
Psycho Cop Producer Wallace Potts
1990 Cool Blue Co-Producer Mark Mullin
Richard Shepard 		Woody Harrelson, Hank Azaria, Sean Penn
Men at Work Producer Emilio Estevez Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Keith David, Leslie Hope 30%[10]
1991 9 1/2 Ninjas! Executive Producer Aaron Barsky
The Dark Backward Producer Adam Rifkin Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, Wayne Newton, James Caan, Rob Lowe, Lara Flynn Boyle, Wayne Newton, Claudia Christian 45%[11]
Liquid Dreams Executive Producer Mark S. Manos
Mom Executive Producer Patrick Rand
1992 Love Is Like That Executive Producer Jill Goldman Seymour Cassel
Leather Jackets Producer Lee Drysdale Bridget Fonda, D.B. Sweeney, Cary Elwes, Chris Penn, James LeGros, Jon Polito
Mad at the Moon Producer Martin Donovan Fionnula Flanagan
1993 Psycho Cop 2 Executive Producer Adam Rifkin
1994 The Chase Producer Adam Rifkin Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, Henry Rollins, Cary Elwes, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Claudia Christian, Ray Wise 29%[12]
The Cool Surface Executive Producer Erik Anjou Robert Patrick, Teri Hatcher
Frank and Jesse Producer Robert Boris Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton, Randy Travis, Alexis Arquette, William Atherton, Sean Patrick Flanery
A Brilliant Disguise Executive Producer Nick Vallelonga
1995 Deep Down Producer John Travers
The Girl with the Hungry Eyes Executive Producer Jon Jacobs
2005 What Is It? Executive Producer Crispin Glover 56%[13]
2009 The Other Woman Executive Producer Don Roos Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow 39%[14]
2010 Blue Valentine Co-Executive Producer Derek Cianfrance Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams 87%[15]
Henry's Crime Executive Producer Malcolm Venville Keanu Reeves, James Caan, Vera Farmiga 40%[16]
The Big Bang Executive Producer Tony Krantz Antonio Banderas, Snoop Dogg 13%[17]
2011 Margin Call Executive Producer J.C. Chandor Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Mary McDonnell 88%[18]
The Son of No One Executive Producer Dito Montiel Channing Tatum, Tracy Morgan, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche, Al Pacino 16%[19]
Cats Dancing on Jupiter Executive Producer Jordan Alan
Sarah Palin: You Betcha! Producer Nick Broomfield
Joan Churchill 		30%[20]
Catch .44 Executive Producer Aaron Harvey Malin Åkerman, Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis
2012 The Words Executive Producer Brian Klugman
Lee Sternthal 		Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, Dennis Quaid, J. K. Simmons 22%[21]
Lawless Executive Producer John Hillcoat Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska, Gary Oldman 67%[22]
The Paperboy Producer Lee Daniels Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman 43%[23]
Generation Um... Executive Producer Mark Mann Keanu Reeves 0%[24]
Stolen Executive Producer Simon West Nicolas Cage, Malin Åkerman, Bruce Willis 16%[25]
2013 Ain't Them Bodies Saints Producer David Lowery Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Ben Foster 81%[26]
All Is Lost Executive Producer J. C. Chandor Robert Redford 94%[27]
The Butler Producer Lee Daniels Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda 73%[28]
Dallas Buyers Club Executive Producer Jean-Marc Vallée Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Steve Zahn 94%[29]
2014 She's Funny That Way Executive Producer Peter Bogdanovich Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte, Rhys Ifans, Cybill Shepherd, Ahna O'Reilly, Joanna Lumley, Lucy Punch
A Case of You Executive Producer Kat Coiro Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Sam Rockwell, Sienna Miller, Brendan Fraser, Vince Vaughn, Peter Dinklage 40%[30]
Hateship, Loveship Producer Liza Johnson Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce, Christine Lahti 57%[31]
Reach Me Producer John Herzfeld Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Thomas Jane, Tom Berenger, Cary Elwes, Kelsey Grammer, Danny Trejo, Danny Aiello, Tom Sizemore
Parts per Billion Executive Producer Brian Horiuchi Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Gena Rowlands
Black and White Executive Producer Mike Binder Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer
We'll Never Have Paris Executive Producer Simon Helberg
Jocelyn Towne 		Melanie Lynskey, Simon Helberg, Zachary Quinto, Maggie Grace
Midnight Man Executive Producer Rob Kennedy
Theo Executive Producer Ezna Sands
Shreveport Executive Producer Ryan Phillippe Ryan Phillippe
Shelter Executive Producer Paul Bettany Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie
I Origins Co-Executive Producer Mike Cahill Michael Pitt, Brit Marling
Burying the Ex Executive Producer Joe Dante Anton Yelchin, Alexandra Daddario
2015 Queen of the Desert Producer Werner Herzog Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson
Submerged Executive Producer Steven C. Miller Talullah Riley
The Knife Thrower Executive Producer Terry Nemeroff Jason Flemyng, Lars Mikkelsen, Patrick Bauchau, Peter Stormare, Ray Winstone, Til Schweiger, Jon Gries
Knock Knock Executive producer Eli Roth Keanu  Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas
2016 Elvis & Nixon Producer Liza Johnson
2017 Mudbound Producer Dee Rees Garrett Hedlund, Carey Mulligan[32] 97%[33]
2018 The Con Is On Producer James Oakley
Siberia Executive Producer Matthew Ross 7%[34]
Billionaire Boys Club Producer James Cox 13%[35]
2020 The Last Thing He Wanted Producer Dee Rees
2021 Crisis Producer Nicholas Jarecki
Best Sellers Producer Lina Roessler
Violet Executive producer Justine Bateman
2022 9 Bullets Producer Gigi Gaston
Medieval Producer Petr Jákl
TBA Desperation Road† Producer Nadine Crocker Garrett Hedlund, Mel Gibson[36]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ "'Cassian Elwes, Black List's Franklin Leonard Will Take A Wannabe Scribe To Sundance'". Deadline Hollywood. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Cassian Elwes Launches Indie Screenwriting Fellowship". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Producer Cassian Elwes and Black List Team for Independent Screenwriting Fellowship". Indiewire.com. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  4. ^ "'Cassian Elwes May Take You To Sundance If You Have Not Earned $5,000'". Variety. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Cassian Elwes and the Black List Will Bring a Screenwriter to Sundance". TheWrap.com. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Screen Daily article on Cassian Elwes". Screendaily.com. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  7. ^ Fleming, Michael (27 May 2009). "Variety article on Cassian Elwes". Variety. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Nomads". Rotten Tomatoes. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  9. ^ "White of the Eye". Rotten Tomatoes. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Men at Work". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  11. ^ "The Dark Backward (The Man with Three Arms)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  12. ^ "The Chase". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  13. ^ "What Is It?". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  14. ^ "The Other Woman". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  15. ^ "Blue Valentine". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  16. ^ "Henry's Crime". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  17. ^ "The Big Bang". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  18. ^ "Margin Call". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  19. ^ "The Son of No One". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  20. ^ "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  21. ^ "The Words". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  22. ^ "Lawless". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  23. ^ "The Paperboy". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  24. ^ "Generation Um..." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  25. ^ "Stolen". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  26. ^ "Ain't Them Bodies Saints". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  27. ^ "All Is Lost". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  28. ^ "Lee Daniels' The Butler". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  29. ^ "Dallas Buyers Club". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  30. ^ "A Case of You". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  31. ^ "Hateship Loveship". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  32. ^ "Mudbound (2017)" – via www.filmaffinity.com.
  33. ^ «Mudbound - Rotten Tomatoes»
  34. ^ "Siberia (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  35. ^ "Billionaire Boys Club (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  36. ^ «Garrett Hedlund, Mel Gibson Set For Nadine Crocker Thriller ‘Desperation Road,’ Signature Entertainment Repping Sales (EXCLUSIVE)» - October 27, 2022.
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