Ted Hope, together with partners Anthony Bregman and Anne Carey, runs the independent New York-based feature film production company This is that. This is that develops and produces a handful of really good projects with very talented writers and directors.
This is that was co-founded by Mr. Hope and was formed in the summer of 2002 out of the production and development arms of the groundbreaking independent film company Good Machine, which Mr. Hope had co-founded in 1991 with James Schamus.
In its first year, the company has produced, for release by Focus Features, 21 Grams; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by Michel Gondry, written by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and Kirsten Dunst; and The Door in the Floor, written and directed by Tod Williams (whose screenplay is adapted from John Irving's best-selling novel A Widow for One Year), and starring Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, and Jon Foster.
Next up for This is that is Mike Mills' feature directorial debut, Thumbsucker. Tilda Swinton, Keanu Reeves, and Vincent D'Onofrio star in Mills' adaptation of Walter Kirn's novel of the same name. Production began in Portland, Oregon in July 2003. Thumbsucker tells the story of an orally fixated young man and his misadventures with his family.
Mr. Hope also produced released American Splendor, written and directed by Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, and starring Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis. The feature earned the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and subsequently screened to further acclaim at the 2003 Cannes International Film Festival.
American Splendor marked the 14th of Mr. Hope's productions to play as Official Selections at Sundance. The prior year (2002), he had three productions there: Human Nature, directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman; Todd Solondz' Storytelling; and Moisés Kaufman's Emmy Award-nominated The Laramie Project.
His production of Nicole Holofcener's Lovely & Amazing earned six Independent Spirit Award nominations, more than any other 2002 release. He was executive producer of Todd Field's In the Bedroom, which earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and numerous other awards and honors.
Mr. Hope has produced, with James Schamus, many of Ang Lee's films, including Ride with the Devil, The Ice Storm, Pushing Hands, and the Academy Award-nominated Eat Drink Man Woman and The Wedding Banquet. He also produced Todd Solondz' award-winning Happiness, which he and his Good Machine partners self-distributed.
He was executive producer of two past Grand Jury Prize winners at Sundance, Edward Burns' The Brothers McMullen (1995) and Tom Noonan's What Happened Was... (1994). He got his start as producer on Hal Hartley's movies; among the eight features they collaborated on together were Amateur, Simple Men, and Trust.
During Mr. Hope's 11 years with Good Machine, the company made over 50 feature and short films. Good Machine was recently honored with a 10-year retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
His career honors include the 2001 NYC Crystal Apple Award, the 2001 Provincetown Filmmaker On the Edge Award, the Gotham Producer of the Year Award, and the IFP Award for Outstanding Achievement in Producing.
Mr. Hope's proudest accomplishment and production remains Michael Herbert Hope, who is almost three years old.
Focus Features
