Benjamin Odell (producer)


Benjamin Odell is an American writer, director and producer of independent films.

Biography

Early life

Odell was born in Philadelphia, and spent his childhood in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia. He studied creative writing and English literature at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. He holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University.

Career

Odell is a producer and screenwriter.
Odell is a partner of 3pas Studios with Mexican comedian and director Eugenio Derbez. On 28 April 2017 their movie, How to Be a Latin Lover, was released in the US, and on 5 May in Mexico. The movie was produced by Odell and Derbez, directed by Ken Marino and stars Derbez, Salma Hayek, Kristen Bell, Rob Lowe, Renée Taylor, Raquel Welch, Michael Cera, Rob Riggle, Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel and Linda Lavin. They produced a remake of the 1987 film Overboard, released on 4 May 2018, starring Anna Faris and Derbez, and written and directed by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher.
Derbez is Mexico's most beloved comic star and his previous movie, Instructions Not Included, made over a 100 million dollars worldwide, becoming the highest grossing Spanish language film of all time in the US, and the second highest-grossing film in any language in Mexico. 3pas has a first look deal with Pantelion Films, the joint venture between US entertainment studio Lionsgate and Mexican media conglam, Estudios Televisa. They are in development on many feature films, including a remake of the French comedy, The Valet.
Odell was previously Head of Production for Pantelion Films. In his role at Pantelion, Odell developed and produced films aimed at the Hispanic market in the US as well as for Mexico and Latin America. Amongst others, he produced the inspirational true story, Spare Parts, starring George Lopez, Jamie Lee Curtis and Marisa Tomei, and the coming of age comedy, Girl in Progress, starting Eva Mendes, Matthew Modine, Derbez, and Patricia Arquette.
Outside of his role at Pantelion, Odell also produced UN CUENTO CHINO, starring Ricardo Darin and written and directed by Sebastian Borensztein. CHINO was the top grossing Argentinean film of 2011 and one of the highest grossing Argentinean films of all times. In its international release it has broken box office records for Latin American films in both Latin America and Europe. It won the Argentinean Academy Award for best feature and the Goya, the Spanish Academy Award, for Best Latin American Film. It has won numerous festivals including the grand jury prize and audience award at the Rome Film Festival.
Odell was also an executive producer on the English language 3D family thriller, The Games Maker, starring Joseph Fiennes and Ed Asner. Made in co-production with Disney Latin America, the movie was produced in Argentina by Pampa Films and directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini. It was released widely across Latin America in the summer of 2014.
Prior to Pantelion Odell was President of Production at PANAMAX FILMS where he produced feature films and TV movies for the Hispanic market under a deal with Lionsgate. They produced and executive produced many films in both Spanish and English. Odell also produced the art house Spanish language thriller, SANGRE DE MI SANGRE. SANGRE won the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and played at the New Directors/New Films Festival at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the Spring of 2007. It was released by IFC. SANGRE received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay.
From 1992 to 2000, Odell lived in Colombia, where he worked as a freelance journalist before becoming a Spanish-language television writer and screenwriter. He wrote or created a number of television series, including Castillo de naipes, La mujer del presidente, De pies a cabeza, and Fuego verde, which Odell co-wrote with American journalist Tom Quinn. In 1997, Odell wrote, along with Colombian filmmaker Sergio Cabrera, the political satire Golpe de estadio, which was nominated for a Goya Award in 1999, and was Colombia's nomination to the Oscars in 2000.
From 2001 to 2004, Odell studied at the film division of the Columbia University School of the Arts in New York.
In 2006, Odell joined Panamax Films, which was founded by James M. McNamara, former CEO and president of the Spanish-language television network, Telemundo Communications.
The Spanish-language thriller, Sangre de mi sangre, also titled Padre Nuestro and directed by fellow Columbia Film School MFA Christopher Zalla, tells the story of a pair of Mexican immigrants in New York. The film—starring Jesús Ochoa, Armando Hernández, Jorge Adrián Espíndola, and Paola Mendoza—won the grand jury prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It was also an official selection at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the Miami International Film Festival, the Havana Film Festival, and the Pusan International Film Festival, as well as closing the Morelia Film Festival in Mexico. In May, 2008, the film was released by IFC Films, after which it received two Independent Spirit Awards nominations, for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay.
In 2007, continuing his work with Panamax Films, Odell produced Ladron Que Roba a Ladron, which was released in the United States by Lionsgate. The New York Times called the Spanish-language heist movie an "effervescent comedy". This was followed by two Spanish-language films in 2008, Amor, Dolor y Vice Versa and All Inclusive
He also wrote Sin Memoria, a Televisa, Lionsgate co-production, scheduled for release in 2011.
Most recently he was an executive producer on the movie, "From Prada To Nada", a co-production between Lionsgate, Televisa and OddLot.

Filmography