David Klawans
David Klawans (born September 10, 1968) is an American film producer. He is the executive producer of the movie Argo, winner of the Best Picture Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards. Klawans has been described in the press as a ‘story detective’ and is known for developing obscure true stories into movies.[1]
David Klawans | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 10, 1968 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | film producer |
Early life and education
Klawans was born in Chicago. He was raised in Europe after his family moved to Belgium. He later returned to America and graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he was mentored by film producer David Brown (Jaws, A Few Good Men).[2]
He started his career as a production coordinator for an LA-based Japanese television commercial company, and developed movie ideas in his spare time. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Klawans recalled how he was unable to afford a car, and rode to movie studios on a bicycle to pitch films based on “oddball, overlooked true-life stories.”[3]
Career
In 2002, Klawans discovered a true story about a Mexican priest who moonlighted as a Lucha Libre wrestler to raise money for his church orphanage.[2] He developed the idea into the 2006 Jack Black comedy Nacho Libre, a film that grossed $99,255,460 worldwide.[4]
In 2003, he produced the independent documentary Togbe, the true story of an unemployed white Dutchman who was believed to be the reincarnated king of the West African nation of Ghana. It aired on PBS and was screened at the United Nations.
Klawans has developed more than 30 feature projects at major studios, almost all based on true stories. The most notable example is Argo, a declassified true story Klawans discovered while scouring the quarterly CIA journal ‘Studies in Intelligence’ in 1998.[3] He then spent several years developing the project, which eventually became the 2012 Ben Affleck-directed movie, which grossed $230 million at the box office.
He developed the true story of the McDonald’s Monopoly promotion fraud, which created one of the biggest bidding wars in Hollywood history for a single magazine article,[5] according to the Hollywood Reporter.[6] The project sold to Twentieth Century Fox in August 2018, with Matt Damon attached to star and Ben Affleck attached to direct.[7]
Miscellaneous
In 2007, Klawans was named by LA Weekly as one of Los Angeles’ most interesting people in their annual ‘Best of LA People’ issue.[2]
References
- Masters, Kim (October 22, 2012). "David Klawans". KCRW.
- Bearman, Joshuah (May 9, 2007). "David Klawans". LA Weekly.
- Lee, Chris (January 28, 2013). "'Argo' producer scours for the next stranger-than-fiction story". Los Angeles Times.
- "Nacho Libre". Box Office Mojo. June 16, 2006.
- Lee, Chris. "Behind Hollywood's A-List Bidding War for a McDonald's Monopoly Article". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- Abramovitch, Seth. "Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Paid $1 Million for McDonald's Monopoly Scam Story". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
- Mike, Fleming Jr. "Fox, Ben Affleck & Matt Damon Win Hot Package On Multi-Million Dollar Theft Of McDonald's Monopoly Game". Deadline.com. Retrieved 16 April 2019.