Who

A prolific indie producer, Hope has helped shepherd more than 50 films to the screen over the past two decades, including In the Bedroom, American Splendor, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Backstory

The son of English professors, NYU grad Hope first arrived on the scene as assistant director to Hal Hartley on such late '80s films as The Unbelievable Truth and Trust. In 1991, he started the production outfit Good Machine with James Schamus, and zeroed in on the burgeoning indie market, making his name with projects like Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman and Ed Burns's The Brothers McMullen and She's the One. Good Machine was one of the most prolific producers of indie films in the late '90s, responsible for such pics as The Ice Storm, Michel Gondry's Human Nature, Hartley's The Book of Life and No Such Thing, and Todd Solondz's Happiness and Storytelling, the last two of which he co-produced with Christine Vachon.

After a dizzying string of mergers and acquisitions—Universal purchased Good Machine and folded it into USA Films and when Universal itself was later sold, it morphed into Focus Features—Hope took his exit and founded a new company, This Is That, in partnership with his Good Machine co-workers Anthony Bregman and Anne Carey.

Of note

Hope's first major success after leaving Focus Features to set up This Is That (or "Tit" as it's known in the industry) was American Splendor, the Paul Giamatti vehicle that took home the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2003. Subsequent successes have included popular indies like 21 Grams (starring Naomi Watts), Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, John Waters's A Dirty Shame (produced with old friend Christine Vachon), the Jennifer Aniston-Catherine Keener-Frances McDormand bleak comedy Friends With Money, and Zach Braff/Jason Bateman dud The Ex.

Personal

Hope has a son named Michael from his first wife, music exec Karen Hefler. He's currently dating Vanessa Guest. In 2007, he bought a $2.125 million apartment in Chelsea.