Edward Pressman obit

Edward Pressman, Notable Indie Producer of ‘Wall Street,’ ‘Conan the Barbarian,’ ‘Badlands,’ Dies at 79

 

 He was not on the list.

Maverick independent producer Edward R. “Ed” Pressman, who shepherded more than 90 movies including “Wall Street,” “Badlands,” “Bad Lieutenant,” “Conan the Barbarian” and “American Psycho,” died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 79.

The fiercely independent producer had an impressive track record for discovering new talent, having worked with an array of notable filmmakers including Oliver Stone, Werner Herzog, Kathryn Bigelow, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alex Cox, Brian De Palma, Abel Ferrara, Terrence Malick, John Milius and Mary Harron.

Pressman shepherded De Palma’s early films “Sisters” and “Phantom of the Paradise,” as well as Malick’s directorial debut “Badlands” with Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen.

His longtime collaboration with Oliver Stone started with the filmmaker’s directing debut “The Hand,” and Pressman met his future wife, actor Annie McEnroe, on the set of that film. Pressman went on to produce Stone’s “Talk Radio” and “Wall Street,” and the sequel “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”

Pressman and Stone co-produced Bigelow’s early thriller “Blue Steel,” starring Jamie Lee Curtis.

One of the first producers to adapt comic books, such as “Conan the Barbarian” and “The Crow,” as well as films based on video games and toys, he also founded ContentFilm with John Schmidt to focus on digital production. 

Pressman’s upcoming projects were set to include the immersive VR experience “Evolver,” produced with Malick and Cate Blanchett, and the upcoming reboot of “The Crow” directed by Rupert Sanders with Bill Skarsgard and FKA Twigs.

Pressman was born in New York to Jack and Lynn Pressman, the founders of Pressman Toy. After studying philosophy at Stanford, he went to grad school at the London School of Economics, where he met director Paul Williams. The filmmakers came to Hollywood, where they secured a two-picture deal from United Artists.

Among his numerous honors were the Chevalier Des Arts et Lettres from the French government, the IFP Gotham Award for lifetime achievement, and tributes at the National Film Theatre in London, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Pacific Film Archives and the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Cinematek. 

He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Annie McEnroe Pressman, and son Sam Pressman. Sam Pressman has worked for Edward R. Pressman Productions for the past decade and will continue producing films for the company in honor of his father.  

 

Filmography

 

As an actor

 

Year       Film       Role

1985      Crimewave         Ernest Trend

1994      Street Fighter     Lonely Cook

 

Music department

 

Year       Film       Role

1996      The Crow: City of Angels               Executive soundtrack producer

 

Miscellaneous crew

 

Year       Film       Role

1980      Christmas Evil    Presenter

 

Thanks

 

Year       Film       Role

2020      American Terrorist           The producers wish to thank

 

Producer

 

    Out of It (1969)

    The Revolutionary (1970)

    Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972)

    Sisters (1972)

    Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

    Old Boyfriends (1979)

    Heart Beat (1980)

    The Hand (1981)

    Plenty (1985)

    Cherry 2000 (1987)

    Wall Street (1987)

    Talk Radio (1988)

    Blue Steel (1990)

    Reversal of Fortune (1990)

    Stranger in the House (1990) (Co-producer)

    Homicide (1991)

    Year of the Gun (1991)

    Bad Lieutenant (1992)

    Storyville (1992)

    Hoffa (1992)

    The Crow (1994)

    Street Fighter (1994)

    City Hall (1996)

    The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)

    The Crow: City of Angels (1996)

    The Blackout (1997)

    The Winter Guest (1997)

    Two Girls and a Guy (1997)

    New Rose Hotel (1998)

    Legionnaire (1998)

    After the Truth (1999) (Co-producer)

    American Psycho (2000)

    The Crow: Salvation (2000)

    The Beautiful Country (2004)

    Undertow (2004)

    The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005)

    Amazing Grace (2006)

    Sisters (2006)

    Mutant Chronicles (2008)

    Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

    Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

    The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015)

    Dalíland (2022)

    The Crow[7] (TBA)

 

               

 

Executive producer

 

    Badlands (1973)

    Paradise Alley (1978)

    Victoria (1979)

    Das Boot (1981) (Director's cut)

    Conan the Barbarian (1982)

    The Pirates of Penzance (1983)

    Flicks (1982)

    Conan the Destroyer (1984) (Uncredited)

    Crimewave (1985)

    Half Moon Street (1986)

    True Stories (1986)

    Good Morning, Babylon (1987)

    Masters of the Universe (1987)

    Walker (1987)

    Paris by Night (1988)

    Martians Go Home (1989)

    To Sleep with Anger (1990)

    Waiting for the Light (1990)

    Iron Maze (1991)

    Dream Lover (1993)

    Judge Dredd (1995)

    The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998-1999)

    Black and White (1999)

    Happy Times (2000)

    Wendigo (2001)

    Harvard Man (2001)

    The Guys (2002)

    The Cooler (2003)

    Party Monster (2003)

    The Hebrew Hammer (2003)

    Owning Mahowny (2003)

    Love Object (2003)

    Rick (2003)

    Never Die Alone (2004)

    The King (2005)

    Thank You for Smoking (2005)

    Driving Lessons (2006)

    Fur (2006)

    The Moth Diaries (2011)

    Red Wing (2013)

    Paterno (2018) (TV movie)