Walter F. Parkes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Walter Steven Fishman (1951-04-15)April 15, 1951 (age 73) Bakersfield, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film producer,screenwriter,media executive |
| Spouse | Laurie MacDonald |
Walter F. Parkes (born April 15, 1951) is an American producer, screenwriter, and media executive. The producer of more than 50 films, including theMen in Black series andMinority Report, he is the co-founder and co-chairman ofDreamscape Immersive.[1][2]
Parkes and his wife and business partner, producerLaurie MacDonald, helped to buildDreamWorks, with Parkes the head of its motion picture division,[3] and the two later moved toAmblin Entertainment, where Parkes served as president.[4] He has been nominated for three Academy Awards, receiving his first nomination as the director/ producer of the 1975 documentaryThe California Reich; his second for co-writing the original screenplay forWarGames; and his third as a producer ofAwakenings.[5] Parkes and MacDonald created the Parkes + Macdonald production company (P+M, P+M Image Nation) in 2010, collaborating on the productions of a number of films, including films that Amblin has released.
Parkes was born inBakersfield, California. He attended Yale University, and graduated cum laude in 1973.[6]WarGames, co-written by Parkes withLawrence Lasker and Walon Green, garnered a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Parkes and Lasker co-produced several films, includingSneakers andAwakenings, aBest Picture Oscar nominee in 1990. Other films Parkes produced or on which he served as executive producer include, theMen in Black series,The Kite Runner,Golden Globe-winningSweeney Todd,Dinner for Schmucks,Gladiator,Minority Report,Catch Me If You Can,The Ring,The Terminal,Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events,Road to Perdition,A.I. Artificial Intelligence,Deep Impact,Twister,The Legend of Zorro andAmistad.
In 1994, Parkes was named President ofSteven Spielberg'sAmblin Entertainment and later that year, he and his wife and business partnerLaurie MacDonald[7] were tapped to help create theDreamWorks SKG motion picture studio. As the studio's president, Parkes, in partnership with MacDonald, oversaw development and production of all DreamWorks' film projects, including three consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners:American Beauty,Gladiator andA Beautiful Mind — the latter two in partnership withUniversal Studios. Other films produced during their tenure include:Cameron Crowe'sAlmost Famous,Robert Zemeckis'What Lies Beneath,Adam McKay'sAnchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,Michael Mann'sCollateral, and Steven Spielberg's Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning dramaSaving Private Ryan, which was the top-grossing film domestically of 1998.
Parkes is a member of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,The Writers Guild of America and theGlobal Business Network. He is on the board of directors for theCenter for A New American Security (CNAS).
Parkes and MacDonald live inSanta Monica, California, and have two children, Jane MacDonald and Graham Joseph.[7]
In 2023, Parkes won the Future of Life Award for reducing the risk of nuclear war through the power of storytelling.[8]
Its origins go back to 1991 when Parkes and MacDonald founded their own production company Aerial Pictures, which was first set up atColumbia Pictures. In 1993, it was moved to20th Century Fox.[9] Later that year, it was moved and merged intoAmblin Entertainment, and later toDreamWorks Pictures, so that Parkes could fill the seat left by the departure ofKathleen Kennedy.[10]
In 2005, they revived the idea of having their own production company, which is called "Parkes + MacDonald Productions" (aka P+M), and set up atDreamWorks Pictures.[11]
In 2012, the duo struck a deal with Imagenation Abu Dhabi (nowImage Nation) to form a joint venture organization.[12][13] Since then, P+M has collaborated on the productions of a number of films that Amblin and Image Nation have produced, including theMen in Black film series from the third film onwards.[13]
Producer
Executive producer
Screenwriter
| Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Eddie Dodd | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 episodes |
| 1994 | Birdland | Yes | Yes | Yes | 7 episodes |
| 1997-2001 | Men in Black: The Series | No | Yes | No | 53 episodes |
| 2014 | Crossbones | No | Yes | No | 8 episodes |
| 2015 | The Slap | Yes | Yes | Developer | Miniseries |
| Warrior | No | Yes | No | TV movie |
