Through his signature production company, Lawrence Bender Productions, Bender has spent the last three decades producing a robust slate of critically lauded, high-profile films including Good Will Hunting, Hacksaw Ridge, and most of Quentin Tarantino’s movies including Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, and Oscar®-winning Pulp Fiction.While Pulp Fiction alone was selected by the Library of Congress National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” Lawrence Bender-produced films have been nominated for more than 35 Academy Awards® total – winning eight of those nominations. Bender’s films have earned more than $1 billion in worldwide box office.Other notable Lawrence Bender films include Safe, a taut action thriller featuring Jason Statham, White Man’s Burden, a film tackling racism and prejudice from a unique angle, and Fresh, a coming-of-age crime story told through an inner- city lens. Bender was the producer of Al Gore’s wildly popular An Inconvenient Truth, winner of the Academy Award® for Best Documentary, and its eminent follow-up film, An Inconvenient Sequel. He also produced the groundbreaking documentary Countdown To Zero which examines the threat posed by nuclear weapons in today’s world.Bender has also branched out into television, producing Seven Seconds, a Netflix series exploring racial tensions when an African American teen is injured by a police officer, and Flesh and Bone, a TV miniseries that follows a dancer who runs off to New York City only to be dropped into the brutal world of professional ballet.As a passionate activist, Bender has produced several documentaries to raise awareness on some of the most pressing issues of our time. His 2010 film Countdown to Zero tracks the history of nuclear weapons, and explores how an accident, a misunderstanding, terrorism or failed diplomacy can lead to terrible world-wide consequences.

A long-time advocate for the elimination of nuclear weapons, Lawrence Bender co-founded Global Zero alongside military, political and civil leaders to develop and deliver sensible plans to reduce nuclear stockpiles. Working with other Global Zero activists, Bender delivered a plan of action to then-President Barack Obama and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev to reduce – and ultimately remove – nuclear weapons, over the period of 20 years. This initiative drew widespread support by G8 leaders. Global Zero is currently working to reform the U.S. President’s nuclear launch protocol and first strike power.

As a board member of UCLA’s Institute of Environment and Sustainability (IoES), Bender works with teachers and students to create a safe, sustainable environment for all. In 2014, Bender was honored with the Environmental Excellence Award for his passionate work as an advocate and leader. He recently co-chaired the 2018 IoES Gala honoring Keely Shaye Brosnan and Pierce Brosnan for their work on Poisoning Paradise, a documentary covering how harmful pesticides from large corporations negatively impact peaceful Hawaiian communities.

Since 2003, Lawrence Bender has been a high-profile member of the Israeli Policy Forum, a New York-based advocacy organization focused on creating a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Middle East conflict. As part of his activism, Bender has traveled with to the West Bank in Ramallah to explore peaceful solutions to the conflict with the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. He also met with then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for the same reason. He has been honored for his activism with the group, including receiving the 2008 Socially Responsible Media Award from Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles.