Chris Bender (born 1971) is an American film producer whose beginnings were through developing and co-producing an American Pie film series based on his and writer Adam Herz's own high school experiences. In November 1998, he established the management and production company Benderspink with partner J.C. Spink, a fellow alumnus of Bucknell University. Benderspink had a successful first-look deal with New Line Cinema for over 15 years, a first-look deal with Universal Cable Productions, and before that, CBS Studios and Fox 21.
In 2016, Bender and Spink split up to pursue forming their own companies. J.C. Spink died in 2017 and was celebrated by industry friends and family at a memorial service.
Chris Bender founded Good Fear Content in 2016 with Jake Weiner. The company produces clutter-busting media across theatrical, TV and emerging digital platforms, focusing on nurturing and establishing new voices aspiring to be generation-defining talent. Under the company's banner, Bender's most recent release was as producer on David Robert Mitchell's Under the Silver Lake with Oscar nominee Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, and Topher Grace. The film was screened in a Cannes competition and released by A24 domestically in April 2019. In 2020, Amazon Studios released My Spy. Pete Segal directs the film, and Dave Bautista and Kristen Schaal are the stars. That project was followed by Mulan, a live-action version of the classic adventure of a young Chinese maiden disguised as a warrior to save her father. Released by Disney, the film is directed by and stars Yifei Liu, Jet Li, Gong Li, and Donnie Yen.
Other projects produced by Bender include the hit comedy We're the Millers, starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis; Horrible Bosses 2, starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day; and Vacation, starring Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, and Chris Hemsworth, all for New Line.
Bender has produced or developed projects that have grown into six franchises in various genres: Final Destination, American Pie, The Ring, Cats & Dogs, The Butterfly Effect, and The Hangover series. Eight of his movies have opened to number one, and Bender was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for A History of Violence.
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