Ted Hope

Hope transferred into the undergraduate film program at New York University. He met his frequent collaborator and former business partner Anne Carey on his first day there. After graduating, Hope worked as a production assistant for approximately three years, while also working as a script reader for numerous companies including New Line and MGM.

Hope advanced from work as a Production Assistant to Assistant Directing and Production Management. During that time he started to identify projects and filmmakers he wanted to work with. Most notably Hope started working with Hal Hartley in the years prior to their first production. Hope's first productions were Hartley's The Unbelievable Truth and Trust, on which he is credited as First Assistant Director and Line Producer, respectively.

In 1990, Hope and James Schamus founded Good Machine, an independent film production company based in New York. They started doing line production for hire for various international auteurs, including Claire Denis, Danny Levy, and Jan Schutte.

At Good Machine, Hope and James Schamus produced Ang Lee's early films including Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet and Eat Drink Man Woman (both Academy Award nominees), The Ice Storm, and Ride with the Devil.

Hope produced Todd Solondz's Cannes Critics' Prize-winning Happiness, which Hope and his partners at Good Machine released themselves when its distributor dropped the film. Hope also executive produced Todd Field's In the Bedroom, which earned five Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Hope and Schamus brought David Linde in as a partner to Good Machine, in order to start their foreign sales arm, Good Machine International. In 2000, the Museum of Modern Art honored Good Machine with a retrospective.[3]

In 2001, the partners sold the company to Universal. Schamus and Linde stayed on and merged the international sales company with USA Films to create Focus Features.

With fellow Good Machine producers Anne Carey and Anthony Bregman, and Head of Business Affairs Diana Victor, Hope co-founded New York production company This is That in 2002. This is That specialized in unique content and innovative storytelling. This is That has produced seventeen films in the six years since its inception.

This is That's first release, 21 Grams, received two Academy Award nominations and five BAFTA nominations. The company's second release, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Hope's production of Oscar-winner Alan Ball's feature film directorial debut Towelhead marked his 18th production of a first time feature film director. In 2010, the company released The American, which opened at No. 1 at the US box office on opening week, and completed Super, written and directed by James Gunn, which was the first film to sell that year at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The company closed its doors in September 2010 after financial struggles with maintaining the office space. Hope hinted that he and Carey could possibly produce together again in the future.[4]

Double Hope Films is a production company founded by independent film producer Ted Hope and his wife Vanessa Hope in 2010. Double Hope's first film, Dark Horse premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2011, and the company's sophomore effort, Starlet, premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in 2012.

On August 8, 2012, the San Francisco Film Society named Hope as executive director of SFFS effective September 1.[5] Ted Hope began work at the San Francisco Film Society Mid September 2012. Upon taking the position, Hope stated that it was an offer he could not refuse: “to save Indie Film and build it better than it has been before.” Moving away from project-specific producing, Hope has turned his focus on producing an infrastructure that will sustain and nurture diverse artists, discover and promote fresh talent, and advance the tools and practices that will benefit those that create and appreciate truly ambitious art and entertainment.

Hope announced he would resign as executive director at the end of 2013, citing the challenges of working with a staff of 26 and a board. He said he planned to remain in the San Francisco Bay Area and lead the Film Society's advisory board.[6] In March 2014, Noah Cowen, former director of the Toronto International Film Festival, took over as executive director of the SFFS.

On January 8, 2014, Hope was named CEO of Fandor, a curated online service for independent and international films.[7] He left Fandor at beginning of 2015 to become the head of production for Amazon Original Movies, stating, "To help carry the torch into the feature film world for such an innovative company is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility. Amazon Original Movies will be synonymous with films that amaze, excite, and move our fans, wherever customers watch."[8] Since July 2018 he has served as the Co-Head of Movies for the studio under Jennifer Salke.

Amazon has released 38 films since 2016, notably winning three Academy Awards in the studio's first year as a distributor for titles Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman.

In May 2020 Salke announced that Hope stepped down from his role as co-head to go back to being a producer. He made a first look deal with Amazon that began on June 2.[9]

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Ted Hope is a member of the following boards and institutions:

Not For Profit

• IFP board member (2000–2005; 2009–2012)
• Adrienne Shelly Foundation board member
• Film Collaborative Advisory Board
• Power To The Pixel Advisory Board
• Woodstock Film Festival Advisory Board
• Harmony Institute Advisory Board

For Profit

• Crowd Play, Co-Founder & Officer, board member
• Double Hope Films LLC, Co-Founder, Officer, Partner
• Fandor Advisory Board; Hammer To Nail, Co-Founder & Officer, board member

Education

• Cinema Research Institute @ NYU, Co-Founder & Board

Hope is one of the most influential voices of independent film on social media with many followers on Twitter and other platforms.

He maintains several blogs, including Bowl of Noses (a curated site for children age 6+), These Are Those Things, and Truly Free Film. Consolidated on his website, HopeForFilm, they cover topics including fun things happening in New York City, trends in indie film, and tips for better filmmaking. He also co-founded Hammer To Nail, a film review site focused on Truly Independent Film.

• HopeForFilm, collection of Ted Hope's blogs.
• Hammer To Nail, film reviews.

Hope has also published articles in several periodicals, and consults on independent film and media. He is cited in the following books:

• Rough Guide To American Independent Film by Jessica Winter
• Down & Dirty Pictures by Peter Biskind
• Wake up Screening: What to Do Once You've Made That Movie by John Anderson and Laura Kim
• Killer Life by Christine Vachon
• Reel Truth by Reed Martin

Hope was instrumental in organizing the successful 2003 antitrust campaign against the MPAA and its ban on screeners, uniting a diverse constituency, strategizing the effort, and ultimately providing in court the oral testimony that helped sway the judgement.[10] Although the MPAA head, Jack Valenti, claimed The Screen Ban was about combating "piracy", it was recognized by the court as stifling competition, particularly that of independent filmmakers against Hollywood.[11] Hope has claimed a double win in the court case, as it is also where he met his wife filmmaker Vanessa Hope.

• Ted Hope at IMDb
• Official website