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Sigurjón Sighvatsson

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Sigurjón Sighvatsson
Born (1952-06-15) 15 June 1952 (age 72)
Reykjavík, Iceland
Other namesJoni Sighvatsson
EducationAFI Conservatory
Occupation(s)Film producer, businessman

Sigurjón "Joni" Sighvatsson (born 15 June 1952) is an Icelandic Hollywood film producer and businessman.

Sighvatsson, a veteran producer with over 50 feature films, television series, and documentaries to his credit, is the principal of Palomar Pictures, an independent production company, as well as chairman of Scandinavian film distributor/producer Scanbox Emntertainment.

Sigurjón has worked with some of the most successful filmmakers in the industry, including David Lynch, Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Sheridan, Julian Schnabel and multiple Academy Award nominees and winners. Among his films are The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Brothers, Z for Zachariah and Killer Elite, as well as classics such as Wild at Heart, Arlington Road and Basquiat.

Sigurjón also continues to be a significant force in the world of art films. After having paved the way for visual artists moving into feature films with Schnabel's highly acclaimed Basquiat, Sigurjón has also produced the groundbreaking Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, as well as the controversial Destricted, a collection of short films by some of the world's leading artists focusing on the concept of pornography.

Career

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Before coming to the United States, Sigurjón enjoyed a successful career as a musician in his native Iceland, founding the country's first recording studio at the age of 21. After finishing a B.A. in Literature from the University of Iceland, Sighvatsson came to Los Angeles on a Fulbright Scholarship to earn his MFA in the Graduate Film Studies program at USC. He then was invited to and joined the Director's Program at the American Film Institute.

In 1986, Sigurjón co-founded Propaganda Films, which quickly became the leading music video and commercial production company in the world before expanding into feature films with Red Rock West, Kalifornia, and David Lynch's Wild At Heart which won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. At Propaganda, Sighvatsson launched the careers of such directors as David Fincher, Michael Bay, and Spike Jonze.

Sigurjón has also been involved with numerous television shows, including the Emmy-nominated "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," the innovative cult classic "Twin Peaks," the triple ACE Award-winning anthology series "Fallen Angels," the quadruple ACE-winning "Heat Wave," as well as the popular original "Beverly Hills 90210". In 1995, Sigurjón became the founding president of Lakeshore Entertainment, where he produced or executive produced films such as Polish Wedding, 200 Cigarettes and Arlington Road.

In 1999, Sigurjón became the controlling shareholder in Palomar Pictures, another pioneer in music videos and television commercials and cultivated a new generation of top directors including Joseph Kahn, Gary McKendry and Marcos Siega. In 2006 Sigurjón acquired Scanbox Entertainment, a leading Scandinavian film distributor as well as heritage clothing company 66 North in Iceland, which he built into an award winning international outdoor brand.

Sigurjón has served in various industry and civic organizations including, as president of the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and as a board member of the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers), The American-Scandinavian Foundation, the ACLU of Southern California, the Ocean Park Community Center, and currently serves on the Hammer Museum Board of Overseers. Sigurjón is also the Honorary Consul General for Iceland in Southern California.

Producer selected filmography

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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Year Film Credit Notes
1985 Hard Rock Zombies Associate producer
American Drive-In Associate producer
1987 Aria Associate producer
P.I. Private Investigations
1988 The Blue Iguana
1989 Kill Me Again
Fear, Anxiety & Depression
1990 Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?
Wild at Heart
Rust
1992 Ruby
A Stranger Among Us
Candyman
1993 Behind Schedule Associate producer
Red Rock West
Kalifornia
Dream Lover
1994 Final Combination Executive producer
Gospel According to Harry Executive producer
A Pig's Tale Executive producer Direct-to-video
S.F.W. Executive producer
1995 Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh
Canadian Bacon Executive producer
Lord of Illusions Executive producer
1996 Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy Executive producer
Basquiat
Box of Moonlight Executive producer
1997 Going All the Way
'Til There Was You Executive producer
The Real Blonde Executive producer
A Thousand Acres
1998 Polish Wedding Executive producer
Homegrown Executive producer
Phoenix Executive producer
1999 200 Cigarettes Executive producer
Arlington Road Executive producer
2000 Passion of Mind Executive producer
The Weight of Water
2002 K-19: The Widowmaker
2005 Pretty Persuasion Executive producer
A Little Trip to Heaven
2006 Destricted Executive producer
The Last Winter Executive producer
2009 Valhalla Rising Executive producer
The Good Heart Executive producer
Brothers
2011 Killer Elite
2013 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared Executive producer
2015 Z for Zachariah
2016 I.T. Co-producer
2017 Wind River Executive producer
I Remember You
2018 Isabelle Executive producer
2019 End of Sentence
Production manager
Year Film Role
1984 Nickel Mountain Post-production supervisor
Thanks
Year Film Role
2013 Parkland The producers wish to thank

Television

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Year Title Credit Notes
1987 Richard Marx Live Executive producer Television special
1990 Heat Wave Executive producer Television film
Industrial Symphony No. 1 Executive producer Television film
1990 Salute Your Shorts Executive producer Television pilot
1990−91 Beverly Hills, 90210
1991 Coca-Cola Pop Music Backstage Pass to Summer Co-executive producer Television special
1992 Memphis Executive producer Television film
1993 Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell Executive producer Documentary
Tales of the City Executive producer

References

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