Bob Yari (Persian: باب یاری; born May 30, 1961) is an Iranian-born American film producer and director.

Bob Yari
Born (1961-05-30) May 30, 1961 (age 65)
CitizenshipAmerican
Alma materUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
OccupationFilm Producer
Years active1989–present

Biography

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Yari was born to a Jewish family[1] in Tehran, Iran. He grew up in New York City, and studied film in Santa Barbara. Yari has produced numerous award winning films, including Crash and The Illusionist. His directorial credits include Mind Games and Papa: Hemingway in Cuba.[2] Yari has also produced numerous televisions series, including Yellowstone, 1883, and Mayor of Kingstown.

Yari began his film career in the 1980s working for film and television producer Edgar Scherick.[3] In 1989, he directed and produced his first film, Mind Games. Yari left the film industry in the 1990s and spent the next decade developing large scale commercial real estate projects, including Greenspoint Mall in Houston, Texas.[4] In the early 2000s, Yari returned to film and began developing, financing and producing films under four labels, including Laws of Attraction (Stratus Film), Employee of the Month (Bull's Eye Entertainment), A Love Song for Bobby Long (El Camino Pictures), and Crash (Bob Yari Prods).[4] Over the next decade, Yari is credited with producing over forty features, including The Painted Veil, Street Kings, Prime and the Agent Cody Banks series. He also produced the feature documentaries Tyson, Dave Chappelle's Block Party and Can't Stand Losing You: Surviving the Police.[5]

In 2016, Yari directed the biopic Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, which won the jury prize for Best World Feature at the Sonoma International Film Festival.[6] The film was the first U.S. production in over five decades to be shot on location in Havana.[7][8]

Yari first began producing for television in 2008 with the series Crash, a spinoff of the Oscar-winning film.[9] Yari later partnered with 101 Studios to produce the Paramount Western series Yellowstone, and its prequel 1883, as well as Mayor of Kingstown. In 2022, Paramount announced that Yari would executive produce an additional slate of series, including: 1923, another chapter in the Yellowstone franchise starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford, Land Man, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Lioness starring Zoe Saldaña, Tulsa King, and the limited series Bass Reeves, starring David Oyelowo.[10][11]

In 2021, Yari published his first book, The Human Condition: A Pathway to Peace and Fulfillment, exploring a pathway to happiness rooted in a balanced lifestyle and attitude.[12] The following year, Yari published On Creation and the Origins of Life: An Exploration of Intelligent Design, an exploration of the various possibilities and theories on the start of life on our planet.[13]

Film credits

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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Year Film Credit
1989Mind GamesExecutive Producer
1998Gohar-e shab cheraghExecutive producer
2000Perfect Fit
2003Agent Cody BanksExecutive producer
Where the Red Fern Grows
Devil's PondExecutive producer
2004Employee of the Month
In Enemy HandsExecutive producer
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
Laws of AttractionExecutive producer
House of D
A Love Song for Bobby Long
Crash
Haven
Around the BendExecutive producer
2005ThumbsuckerExecutive producer
The ChumscrubberExecutive producer
The MatadorExecutive producer
Hostage
The L.A. Riot SpectacularExecutive producer
SueñoExecutive producer
Winter PassingExecutive producer
PrimeExecutive producer
2006The Illusionist
Find Me GuiltyExecutive producer
Even MoneyExecutive producer
First Snow
The Hoax
Gray Matters
The Painted Veil
Factory GirlExecutive producer
2007Resurrecting the Champ
Kickin' It Old Skool
Christmas in WonderlandExecutive producer
2008Assassination of a High School President
The Accidental Husband
Street KingsExecutive producer
Nothing but the Truth
What Doesn't Kill You
2009The Maiden Heist
Possession
2014The BarberExecutive producer
2015Papa: Hemingway in Cuba
2017The Current WarExecutive producer
2019Above SuspicionExecutive producer
2020The War with GrandpaExecutive producer
2023FinestkindExecutive producer
Strange Darling

Executive producer

2025Bride HardExecutive Producer
TBA
Fireflies at El MozoteExecutive producer

As director

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Television

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Year Title Credit
2008−09CrashExecutive producer
2019The Last CowboyExecutive producer
2019−2024YellowstoneExecutive producer
2021Under the InfluenceExecutive producer
2021−presentMayor of KingstownExecutive producer
2021−221883Executive producer
2022−23George & TammyExecutive producer
2022−presentTulsa KingExecutive producer
2023−251923Executive producer
2023Waco: The AftermathExecutive producer
Lawmen: Bass ReevesExecutive producer
2023−presentSpecial Ops: LionessExecutive producer
2024LandmanExecutive producer
2025MobLandExecutive producer
TBA6666Executive producer
Unspeakable: The Murder of JonBenét RamseyExecutive producer

References

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  1. Melamed, Karmel. "Having found success in U.S., Iranian Jews turn to show biz". St. Louis Jewish Light. Archived from the original on February 3, 2007. Retrieved January 15, 2007.
  2. Verongos, Helen (April 28, 2016). "Review: 'Papa: Hemingway in Cuba,' a Mild Voyage With the Old Man and 'the Kid'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  3. Finke, Nikki (January 30, 2003). "The Sundance Suckers". LA Weekly. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Bing, Jonathan (August 3, 2003). "Mall mogul makes movie moves". Variety. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  5. "Can't Stand Losing You: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. November 12, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  6. Driscoll, Molly (May 9, 2014). "Hemingway biopic 'Papa' brings Hollywood back to Cuba". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  7. Keegan, Rebecca (April 29, 2016). "'Hemingway' filmmaker Bob Yari sees Cuba as a cinematic Garden of Eden after U.S. bid farewell to embargo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  8. "Film Review: 'Papa: Hemingway in Cuba'". Variety. April 27, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  9. Bellefante, Ginia (October 16, 2008). "Trafficking in Intimate Deceptions". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  10. Otterson, Joe (February 15, 2022). "Paramount Plus Orders More '1883' Episodes, New 'Yellowstone' Prequel Series '1932'". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  11. "Taylor Sheridan's 'Yellowstone' Prequel Series '1932' at Paramount+ Renamed '1923'". Variety. June 20, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  12. Radon, Michael (June 30, 2022). "The Human Condition: A Pathway to Peace and Fulfillment". The US Review of Books. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  13. On Creation and the Origins of Life: An Exploration of Intelligent Design. March 27, 2022. ISBN 978-1663226129.
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