Gary Lucchesi Biography

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GARY LUCCHESI (producer) is Producer/President of Lakeshore Entertainment, an independent film company in Los Angeles. Most recently, Lucchesi produced the box-office hit “The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Prior to that, he executive produced the Academy Award-winner “Million Dollar Baby,” directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. Lucchesi is currently producing “The Last Kiss,” starring Zach Braff for DreamWorks, “Underworld: Evolution,” starring Kate Beckinsale for Screen Gems; and “Wannabe” for Lions Gate. In 2004, Lucchesi produced “Wicker Park,” directed by Paul McGuigan starring Josh Hartnett for MGM. In 2003, Lucchesi produced “Underworld” and “The Human Stain,” based on the Philip Roth novel, directed by Academy Award winner Robert Benton and starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman.

Lucchesi's released credits with Lakeshore Entertainment include “The Mothman Prophesies,” starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney; “Autumn in New York,” starring Richard Gere and Winona Ryder; and Sam Raimi's “The Gift,” which starred Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank and Giovanni Ribisi. Lucchesi was the executive producer on the box-office hit “Runaway Bride,” starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and directed by Garry Marshall; “The Next Best Thing,” a Madonna/Rupert Everett film directed by John Schlesinger; and “Passion of Mind,” a Demi Moore feature, directed by Alain Berliner.

Lucchesi previously served as president of Gary Lucchesi Productions, an independent production company where he produced the Oscar® nominated film “Primal Fear” as well as “Virtuosity,” “Jennifer Eight,” “Three Wishes,” and “Just the Ticket.” He also produced the Emmy nominated “Gotti,” as well as “Breast Men” and “Vendetta,” all for HBO. In addition, Lucchesi produced the Emmy-winning Showtime movie “Wild Iris.”

While serving as President to Andrew Lloyd-Webber's The Really Useful Film Company, Lucchesi executive produced the film version of the musical Cats, as well as original feature films and direct-to-video releases of theatrical hits.

Prior to becoming an independent producer, Lucchesi was President of Production at Paramount and oversaw production of a large number of highly successful films, including “Ghost,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The Hunt for the Red October,” “Coming to America,” “The Naked Gun” and “The Untouchables,” with a cumulative box office gross exceeding $2 billion.

Other films which Lucchesi oversaw include “The Godfather, Part III,” “Days of Thunder,” “Another 48 Hours,” “The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear,” “Pet Cemetery,” “Scrooged,” “Major League,” “Star Trek V and VI,” and “Black Rain.” “Fatal Attraction,” (1988), “The Godfather, Part III” (1990) and “Ghost” (1990) were nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture. Ghost was awarded an Academy Award® for Best Screenplay.

Prior to his tenure at Paramount, Lucchesi worked at Tri-Star Pictures for four years as both Vice-President and Senior Vice President of Production. Lucchesi began his career in Los Angeles as an agent for the William Morris Agency where he represented such stars as Kevin Costner, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and John Malkovich.