Template:Multiple issuesMario F. Kassar (Arabic: ????? ?????; born October 10, 1951) is a film producer and industry executive whose projects are frequently in association with Andrew G. Vajna. He founded Carolco Pictures, which produced many blockbuster movies. Many films he has produced have gone on to gross over $250,000,000 worldwide at the box office.
[on Producing] ...If it costs you 1 dollar a day to open your eyes ... you need to make 2.
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In those days when I was bidding on something everyone who was capable got in on it because I had this bubble and this streak going and people wanted to try and take something away from me, especially from us, because we were the foreign guys.
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On Terminator: I enjoy the franchise, but producing it is a headache. ...The Rights are complicated.
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Making more than one movie at a time isn't producing anymore - it's project management.
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I find myself talking to more and more young filmmakers these days and the one piece of advice I give: ...don't force it! If the material is good, the people in this town will know it.
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I think the road to becoming a producer is one thing, the road to becoming a director is more interesting.
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Independent film is difficult to produce. No matter what you do for financing, there's always a piece missing.
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I'm not a dentist or a lawyer; making movies is the only thing that turns me on.
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Whenever I've done a picture I've always tried to make it a fun experience; especially when we were starting out, because it was really tough to get our first pictures made... So if there's no fun, then there's no point in doing it.
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Fact
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An executive at Columbia/Tri-Star Pictures [2003]
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At the height of his success, had an armed-guard at his estate providing security. The only other film personality of that era to go to such lengths was Mogul Lew Wasserman.
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Mortgaged his house to help finance one of his first films First Blood (1982).
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Lives 4 houses away from Hugh M. Hefner and the Beverly Hills Playboy mansion.
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Mario's old production company Carolco Pictures bankrupt after Renny Harlin's Cutthroat Island (1995) because a massive failure because of the loss of money. The film's budget was $92 million however the box office was only $10,017,322.
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Set up C2 Pictures with his old partner Andrew G. Vajna in 2002 soley for the resurrection of the Terminator franchise.
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(1984-1995) - Head of his own theatrical distribution company Carolco International Pictures, until its collapse in 1995, this company was a venture through Tri Star Pictures and distributed a number of major motion pictures including "The Terminator", "Terminator 2: Judgement Day", "DeepStar Six", "Basic Instinct", "Stargate" and "Cutthroat Island". Kassar has now returned to work at Columbia/Tri-Star.
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Served nearly 20 years as an executive at both Columbia Pictures and Tri Star Pictures.
$1.7 Million
