Barry Mendel

Barry Mendel (born 1963) is a two-time Oscar-nominated American film producer.[1][2]

Mendel first produced Wes Anderson’s Rushmore starring Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, which won two Film Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. [3][4] This was followed by The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.[5] Subsequently, he produced its follow-up, Unbreakable,[6] then went back to work with Anderson on The Royal Tenenbaums, which was Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay.[7] Their collaboration continued on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,[8] which Mendel followed by producing Joss Whedon’s feature film directorial debut, Serenity.[9][10] Mendel next conceived, developed and produced Munich,[11] directed by Steven Spielberg, which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture.[12] He then produced Whip It, Drew Barrymore’s debut as a feature director, which starred Elliot Page and Kristen Wiig.[13] Mendel produced another film with Page, Peacock, which co-starred Cillian Murphy and Susan Sarandon.[14]

In recent years, Mendel and Judd Apatow have become frequent collaborators. Mendel produced the Apatow-directed Funny People,[15] This Is 40,[16] Trainwreck[17] and most recently The King of Staten Island starring Pete Davidson.[18] The pair also produced Bridesmaids[19] and The Big Sick,[20] which were both Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay, bringing to five the number of screenplay nominations for films Mendel has produced.

He also produced Sundance Special Jury Prize-winning musical God Help the Girl, a collaboration with Stuart Murdoch of the Scottish band Belle and Sebastian, who wrote and directed the film.[21]