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Dennis Bishop papers, 1973-2009
PASC 113  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • 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:
    1. Film projects
    2. Television projects
    3. Business and administrative files
      • a. Office files (includes materials from years before and after HBO)
      • b. HBO files
    4. Organizations
    5. Festivals

    UCLA Catalog Record ID

    UCLA Catalog Record ID: 6681574 

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Bishop, Dennis--Archives.
    Motion picture producers and directors--United States--Archives.
    Television producers and directors--United States--Archives.