Motion Pictures
February 15, 2001
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Signs New Long-Term Contract As President, Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures
(February 15, 2001 – Burbank, CA) - Lorenzo di Bonaventura has signed a new long-term contract extending his 11-year career at Warner Bros. and expanding his responsibilities as President, Worldwide Production, Warner Bros. Pictures, it was announced today by Alan Horn, President & COO, Warner Bros.
“Lorenzo has proven over and over again to be one of the most talented and creative executives in the motion picture business today,” said Horn. “His talent relations (with those in front of and behind the camera) are second to none. He has a phenomenal sense of story, of what makes a great film and of what audiences around the world want to see.”
Di Bonaventura will continue to be responsible, on a worldwide basis, for overseeing every aspect of the development, creative production and acquisition of all feature films for Warner Bros. Pictures. As the Studio ramps up its interest in international productions and co-productions, so do di Bonaventura’s creative responsibilities. Di Bonaventura also adds general oversight, to his current creative role, of the Studio’s theatrical independent production deals.
Some of di Bonaventura’s successes as President of the Studio’s theatrical production division include: “The Matrix,” “Analyse This,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Three Kings” and “The Perfect Storm.” Upcoming 2001 releases include “A.I.,” “Ocean’s 11” “Cats & Dogs,” “Summer Catch” and “Harry Potter,” to name a very few.
Known for his nurturing and supportive style and his keen theatrical sensibilities, di Bonaventura draws the widest spectrum of talent to him--from those that are in the vanguard to those that have long, established track records of success. From the Wachowski brothers to the Farrelly brothers to Steven Soderbergh to David O. Russell to Joel Silver to Wolfgang Petersen, from Keanu Reeves to George Clooney to Sandra Bullock to Robert De Niro.
Di Bonaventura joined Warner Bros. Pictures in 1989 as a Production Executive and was promoted to Vice President, Production shortly thereafter. He was named Senior Vice President, Production in 1993 and Executive Vice President, Production in 1995. In 1996, he became the co-head of Warner Bros. Pictures’ theatrical production, assuming his current position as sole president of Warner Bros. Pictures’ worldwide production in April 1998.
Prior to joining Warner Bros. Pictures, di Bonaventura held a number of creative, production and distribution positions at Columbia Pictures, including Manager, Pay Cable and Home Entertainment. His first job following college was running a river-rafting company.
Di Bonaventura received his undergraduate degree in intellectual history at Harvard College and his Master of Business Administration at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. # # #