Restrictions on Access
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Processing Note
Preferred Citation
Biography
Chronology of Film and Television Projects
Scope and Content
Organization and Arrangement
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Title: Dennis Bishop papers
Collection number: PASC 113
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
122 linear ft.
(244 boxes, including 208 document boxes, 11 half document boxes, 1 scrapbook/ledger box, 3 shoeboxes and 2 non-standard
boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1973-2009
Abstract: Dennis Bishop is an American film and television producer who has worked on numerous projects including commercials, award
winning features and television projects. The collection contains production and administrative materials related to film
and television projects, program materials for film festivals, committee materials concerning California tax incentive legislation,
speech notes and memorabilia.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections
for paging information.
Creator:
Bishop, Dennis
Restrictions on Access
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UC Regents. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the
creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright
owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS DIGITAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for viewing. To access digital
materials you must notify the reference desk in advance of your visit.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Dennis Bishop, May 2010.
Processing Note
Processed by Yasmin Damshenas in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli,
2010-2011.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Dennis Bishop Papers (Collection PASC 113). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, UCLA.
Biography
Dennis Bishop is a Dallas native with an entertainment career as an American film and television producer who has worked on
numerous projects since the early 1980s including commercials, award winning feature films and television projects such as
Trip to Bountiful (1985),
Inherit the Wind (1999) and the pilot of
Dexter (2006).
Bishop began his career working freelance on documentary and commercial productions in Texas. Prior to his film career, Bishop
ran a foreign automotives mechanic shop, but would commence his feature film work as a location/unit manager for films like
Local Hero (1983). He continued his career as a production manager and line producer, working on film projects such as:
1918 (1985),
Trip to Bountiful (1985),
Promised Land (1987), and
Daddy's Dyin'--Who's Got the Will (1990). Between 1990 and1994 Bishop served as director, and later vice president, of physical production at HBO Pictures,
where he oversaw twenty-seven productions including:
And the Band Played On (1993),
Barbarians at the Gate (1993) and
The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom (1993). After departing HBO, Bishop executive-produced
Houseguest (1995) and Big Green (1995), and co-produced
The Evening Star (1996), a sequel to
Terms of Endearment (1983). Over his career, Bishop's work branched out to include cable television movies such as the MGM/Showtime remake of
Inherit the Wind (1999), independent features like
El Cortez (2006), and TV pilots such as
Dexter (2006). His passion for cars and experience in film production were combined in
The Fast and the Furious (2001) for which he helped oversee aspects of production and
NASCAR: The IMAX 3D Experience (2004) on which he served as co-producer/UPM.
An avid supporter and public spokesman for independent film, Bishop has spoken at and participated in numerous conferences,
seminars, and film festivals. He was a resource advisor for the Sundance Institute's Summer Workshop for several years (1982-1987).
He has also been a strong advocate for keeping film production in the U.S. and is a founding member and former Co-Chair of
the FilmUSA Committee (2006) at the Producer's Guild of America (PGA), and the Runaway Production Committee (2005-2006) at
the Director's Guild of America (DGA). In 2006, Bishop was appointed to the Runaway Advisory Committee of the California Film
Commission to advise in the drafting of tax incentive legislation for California. He has been similarly active in his home
state and was involved in tax incentive legislation passed in Texas in 2009.
During his later career, Bishop served as an educator and mentor. He has guest lectured at universities, trade schools, high
schools and grade schools and served as an adjunct professor and/or visiting professional at universities such as the University
of Southern California (USC), as well as mentored for PGA and DGA mentorship programs. He has produced 16 panels for the 2008
AFI Dallas International Film Festival. In October of 2009, Bishop created the Associates of Applied Arts Degree Motion Picture
Production Program at KD College in Dallas, Texas. Currently, Bishop is the Director of the Lone Star Film Society, as well
as its annual Lone Star International Film Festival in Fort Worth, Texas.
Chronology of Film and Television Projects
1982 |
Miss All-American Beauty (TV movie) (location manager) |
1983 |
Local Hero (location manager: U.S.) |
1984 |
Deep in the Heart (location manager) |
1984 |
Not for Publication (production supervisor) |
1985 |
1918 (unit production manager) |
1985 |
The Trip to Bountiful (line producer) |
1986 |
Thompson's Last Run (TV movie) (executive in charge of production) |
1987 |
Promised Land (associate producer/production manager) |
1988 |
Kenny (line producer) |
1988 |
Paramedics (associate producer/production supervisor) |
1990 |
Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got the Will? (line producer/unit production manager) |
1991 |
Strawberry Road (line producer) |
1995 |
Houseguest (executive producer/unit production manager) |
1995 |
The Big Green (executive producer) |
1996 |
The Evening Star (co-producer) |
1998 |
Two for Texas (TV movie) (producer) |
1999 |
Inherit the Wind (TV movie) (producer) |
2003 |
Charlie (short) (associate producer) |
2004 |
NASCAR: The IMAX Experience (unit production manager) |
2004 |
World Without Waves (producer) |
2005 |
Fugitive Hunter (executive producer) |
2006 |
Dexter (TV series) (producer - 1 episode) |
2006 |
El Cortez (producer) |
2006 |
Gold Fever (short) (producer) |
2007 |
Cane (TV series) (producer - 1 episode) |
2011 |
Searching for Sonny (consulting producer) |
2011 |
Starck the Documentary (documentary) (producer) |
Scope and Content
This collection consists of production and administrative materials related to film and television projects, program materials
for a variety of film festivals, committee materials concerning California tax incentive legislation, speech notes and memorabilia.
A substantial portion of the collection consists of production and administrative materials related to film and television
projects. These include both produced and unproduced works, as well as television commercials, promotional videos, public
service announcements and a music video. Materials in the collection include scripts, treatments, script notes, budgets, cost
reports, breakdown pages, production schedules, storyboards, art department drawings, posters, continuity lists, press clippings,
press kits and promotional materials, location scout photographs, production stills, notes, casting lists, headshots, audition
tapes, resumes, dailies, correspondence, memoranda and contracts.
There are materials relating to film festivals such as programs, catalogues, screening schedules and submissions for the American
Film Institute (AFI) Film Festival, American Film Market (AFM), Columbia University Film Festival, Deep Ellum, Hatch Audiovisual
Arts Festival, Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) Market, Lone Star Film Festival, Resfest Digital Film Festival, Santa Monica
Film Festival, Showbiz Expo, South by Southwest Film Festival, Sundance, Telluride Film Festival, and USA Film Festival. There
are also materials addressing efforts to legislate a tax incentive for film production in California. This is part of Bishop's
larger efforts to help work towards keeping film production in the U.S. (2005-2008) through such organizations such as the
California Film Commission, Axium's Tax Incentive Symposium, and committees formed by the PGA and DGA. There are also speech
notes for events at which Bishop spoke including organizations like Women in Film, University of North Texas, IFP West and
Long Beach School District (1989-1998).
Among the memorabilia in this collection are a straw hat worn by George C. Scott in the role of Matthew Harrison Brady for
the television version of
Inherit the Wind (1999), a program for Kevin Brownlow's 1980 restoration of
Napoléon (1927), and a crew photograph featuring Robert Mitchum from the television movie
Thompson's Last Run (1986).
Organization and Arrangement
Arranged in the following series:
- Film projects
- Television projects
- Business and administrative files
- a. Office files (includes materials from years before and after HBO)
- b. HBO files
- Organizations
- Festivals
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Bishop, Dennis--Archives.
Motion picture producers and directors--United States--Archives.
Television producers and directors--United States--Archives.