Jim Lemley produced Wanted, the action thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov, which grossed $341 million worldwide. The film starred James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, and Angelina Jolie; a sequel is in development. As producer, Mr. Lemley is also developing several features on which to reteam with Mr. Bekmambetov as director, including Moby Dick – based on Herman Melville's classic novel – for Universal Pictures.
Mr. Lemley also executive-produced The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Based on the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby, the movie won 2 Golden Globe Awards including Best Foreign-Language Film, and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Director (Julian Schnabel).
The producer established his career while at Icon Productions, working on such features as Maverick (directed by Richard Donner); Immortal Beloved and Anna Karenina (both directed by Bernard Rose); Payback (directed by Brian Helgeland); 187 (directed by Kevin Reynolds); and the multi-Academy Award winning epic Braveheart, directed and produced by Icon founder Mel Gibson. Mr. Lemley capped his decade-long stint at Icon as executive producer of We Were Soldiers (directed by Randall Wallace).
His first move into independent production was the medieval romance Tristan + Isolde, which he executive-produced with Ridley and Tony Scott and on which he reteamed with director Kevin Reynolds. Mr. Lemley partnered with Bonnie Curtis to executive-produce Red Eye, the hit thriller directed by Wes Craven and starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy.
Focus Features
