Edward Pressman, the legendary producer of “Wall Street,” “The Crow” and “Conan the Barbarian,” has died, according to a rep for the Pressman family. Pressman was 79.
Pressman, who also produced “American Psycho” and “Bad Lieutenant,” died Tuesday night in Los Angeles. He was surrounded by family and friends and members of the Pressman Film company.
With over 90 diverse motion pictures produced over his 50+ year career, Pressman forged a career fostering renowned director-driven titles that pushed the envelope with originality and eclecticism. Pressman’s foremost specialty was discovering new talent and bringing new cinematic experiences to global audiences.
Some of the notable directors Pressman has worked with include Oliver Stone, Abel Ferrara, Terrence Malick, John Milius, Mary Harron and Alex Proyas.
Pressman helped hone and broke out the first films of Brian DePalma (“Sisters” and “Phantom of the Paradise”), Terrence Malick (“Badlands”) and Oliver Stone (“The Hand”). It was on the set of “The Hand”
where Pressman met and fell in love with Annie McEncroe, his lifelong wife and partner. Pressman would also go on to produce Stone’s “Talk Radio” and the Academy Award-winning “Wall Street” as well as its sequel “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”
With Stone, Pressman produced Kathryn Bigelow’s early film, the thriller, “Blue Steel” starring Jamie Lee Curtis. He gave Alex Proyas his directorial debut with “The Crow,” Sylvester Stallone his with “Paradise Alley,” Joan Tewkesbury hers with “Old Boyfriends,” starring Talia Shire and John Belushi, David Byrne’s with “True Stories” and Jason Reitman’s “Thank You for Smoking.”
A native New Yorker and lifelong Dodgers fan, Pressman was born April 11th, 1943 and grew up on the Upper West Side. He was the son of Jack and Lynn Pressman who founded and ran Pressman Toy, which just celebrated 100 years in business. In his youth, Pressman sold popcorn in his uncle Moe Lane’s movie theater, The Tribune.
After graduating from Fieldston High School in New York, Pressman went to Stanford University where he studied philosophy. He attended graduate school at the London School of Economics where he met director Paul Williams. He and Williams collaborated in 1966 on a short film set to Williams music of the Beatles’ “Girl.” Off the strength of the short, Pressman and Williams journeyed to Hollywood with a two picture deal from United Artists under which they made “Out of It” and “The Revolutionary” both starring Jon Voight.
Pressman found great commercial success throughout his career and was notably one of the first film producers to adapt comic books (“Conan the Barbarian”) graphic novels (“The Crow”), video games (“Street Fighter”), and toys (Mattell’s “He-Man Masters of the Universe”) for the big screen.
Pressman’s reputation as a daring filmmaker was cemented with the international recognition of the French Cinematheque, which presented a 1989 retrospective of his films and awarded him the esteemed Chevalier Des Arts et Letters medal. He’s also received tributes from The National Film Theatre in London, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Pacific Film Archives and the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Cinematek.
In 2022, Pressman produced Keith Maitland’s documentary “Dear Mr. Brody,” Charlotte Colbert’s
debut feature “She Will,” “Daliland” directed by Mary Harron and starring Ben Kingsley, “Evolver,” an
immersive VR experience produced alongside Terrence Malick and Cate Blanchett, and the upcoming reboot of “The Crow” directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Bill Skarsgaard and FKA Twigs.
Pressman was the president and founder of Edward R. Pressman Film Corp. He is survived by his wife of 39 years Annie McEncroe Pressman and his son Sam Pressman, who has worked for his father for the past decade. Sam will continue the Pressman legacy producing films for the company in honor of his father.