SUI GENERIS PICTURES

Ross Katz is a Producer, Content Creator and Filmmaker. As a Producer, he has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for producing In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation, winning a Golden Globe for the latter.

In 2009, Katz expanded into writing and directing with HBO Films Taking Chance, starring Kevin Bacon. He was the recipient of the DGA and WGA Awards, and Kevin Bacon won the Golden Globe for that film.

After producing 2019’s My Dinner With Hervé for HBO, Katz spent a year as Head of Production and Development for SK Global.

Ross’s first job in the movie business was as a grip on Reservoir Dogs. In addition to Quentin Tarantino, he was lucky enough to have worked with Ang Lee, Oliver Stone, and Sydney Pollack, before starting his own filmmaking journey. He is a proud member of the Motion Picture Academy, the DGA, PGA, and WGA.

PRIOR WORK

(Select)

Reservoir Dogs ― Grip

Sydney Pollack, Mirage Enterprises ― Assistant

Good Machine ― Production Executive

SK Global ― Head of Production and Development

GALLERY

My-Dinner-With-Herve

Golden Globe After Party
Ross Katz, David Linde, Sofia Coppola, and James Schamus at the Golden Globes After Party celebrating for Lost in Translation's multiple wins

Lost in Translation Poster

Lost in Translation: Charlotte in Rain

Lost in Translation: Bob in an elevator

Lost In Translation: Bob and Charlotte

Lost in Translation: Charlotte karaoke

Lost in Translation: Charlotte and Bob shabu shabu

Lost In Translation Ending

In the Bedroom poster

In The Bedroom

In the Bedroom: Natalie and Frank

In the Bedroom: Matt and Ruth

Taking Chance Poster

Taking Chance salute

Directing Kevin Bacon
Ross Katz with Kevin Bacon

Ross and Kevin

Kevin Bacon as Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl

Taking Chance scene

Airport scene Taking Chance

Taking Chance: Soldiers in line

Marie Antoinette poster

Marie Antoinette scene

Marie Antoniette: Masquerade

Marie Antoinette laying in grass

Marie Antoinette fan in bed

Laramie Project DVD cover

Laramie Project courtroom scene

Searching for answers in Laramie

Laramie Project Angels

Trick poster

Trick: Gabe and Katherine

Trick: Gabriel and Mark

Trick: Miss Coco - "It Buuuuuurns"

Trick: Mark
Mark

Adult Beginners Poster

Full cast shot for Adult Beginners

Adult Beginners Trio

Bobby and Rose

Adult Beginners: Justine and Danny at Sonogram

Adult Beginners: Danny in Trouble

Adult Beginners: Justine and Jake

Adult Beginners: Danny Winning Back Justine

Adult Beginners: Joel McHale Wardrobe Fitting

Ross and Rose

Ross and Bobby

The Choice teaser poster
TheChoicePoster

Gabby (Teresa Palmer) and Travis (Benjamin Walker)
TheChoice6

Travis and Gabby embrace
TheChoice4

The cast of The Choice
TheChoice1

Monica (Alexandra Daddario)
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Gabby and Travis look to the stars
TheChoice7

Ryan (Tom Welling) faces Travis
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Travis and Gabby - an intimate moment
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The Choice: Travis and Gabby on the beach

The Choice: Doggies

The Choice: Day 23

CONTACT

Representation: Joseph Dapello
Schreck, Rose, Dapello, Adams, Berlin LLP.
Email: mdurkan@srda.com | Phone: 212-832-0386

For general inquiries, please email info@suigenerispictures.com

Unfortunately Ross is unable to accept unsolicited submissions, be they scripts or casting.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Released: 2003

Directed & Written by: Sofia Coppola

Produced by: Sofia Coppola, Ross Katz

Main Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris

Synopsis: Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is an aging American movie star who finds himself in Tokyo to film a whisky commercial for a big paycheck. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is a young college graduate who is often left behind in her Tokyo hotel room by her celebrity photographer husband. Over the course of just a few nights, the two strangers make a special kind of connection. Two lonely souls in a strange, foreign place…navigating the emptiness found in their own lives, the unfamiliar landscape of Tokyo, and the generational difference between them.

With an impeccable performance by Murray, and masterful, nuanced directing by Sofia Coppola on her sophomore effort, “Lost in Translation” is one of the most highly regarded films of its decade — winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and three Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.

“Lost in Translation was a low budget, artistic endeavor that turned out to be wildly commercial. When we were making it, we had no idea how much it would resonate. But Sofia Coppola is such a visionary writer and director — a true auteur — that she was able to infuse the film with a dreamy kind of truth that audiences related to. I loved living in Japan for those months and working with a mainly Japanese crew. The trip to the Academy Awards was thrilling and surreal, but for me, it was that first screening at the Venice Film Festival that really blew me away. I’ll never forget the life-experience that was making this movie.” — Ross Katz

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IN THE BEDROOM

Released: 2009

Directed by: Todd Field

Produced by: Todd Field, Ross Katz, Graham Leader

Main Cast: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei

Synopsis: The Fowlers are a typical family in Maine. Matt is the town doctor and loves to fish, his wife, Ruth, is the school’s choir leader, and their son, Frank, is home from his first year of college. Frank has fallen in love with Natalie, a mother who isn’t quite divorced yet from her husband, Richard Strout, whose family runs the local cannery. It makes Richard’s blood run cold to see his wife running around with another man. When the affair takes a sudden and tragic turn, the Fowlers are forced to confront the harsh reality of their situation and the inescapable consequences of their actions.

In the Bedroom was the debut feature film from actor/director Todd Field, and was nominated for multiple awards — including 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay).

“When I read Todd Field’s “In the Bedroom” in 2000, I literally could not sleep at night. I thought I might die if I did not get to produce it. It was the most beautiful screenplay I had ever read. Thankfully, Todd, along with Ted Hope and John Penotti, allowed me to come on board. It was the most intense shoot I’ve ever had. We had very little money, very little time, and a lot working against us. But Todd was so clear on his vision for the movie, that every day I felt we were piecing together something very, very special. Todd is an auteur, and every detail in his work is extraordinarily thought through. His work with our great actors was deeply inspiring to me.

Todd would later unselfishly prod me and champion me as a director. His loyalty is incomparable. Working with my now life-long friend, Tom Wilkinson, makes it clear to me that I have worked with one of the greats. Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei and Nick Stahl brought so much heart and strength and passion to our movie. Little did we know, the film would get 5 Academy Award Nominations. All we had really hoped for was to get released. Early on in the process, some people felt the film was “too arty” to find an audience. Thankfully, the critics, along with Miramax recognized what Todd had achieved, and blasted the film forward. I think this film really stands the test of time. I recently saw it on cable for the first time in years, and I found it just as emotionally gut-wrenching as the first time I saw it.” — Ross Katz

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MARIE ANTOINETTE

Released: 2006

Directed & Written by: Sofia Coppola

Produced by: Sofia Coppola, Ross Katz

Main Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Judy Davis, Steve Coogan, Rose Byrne

Synopsis: Written and directed by Academy Award® winner Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette is an electrifying yet intimate re-telling of the turbulent life of history’s favorite villainess. Kirsten Dunst portrays the ill-fated child princess who married France’s young and indifferent King Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman). Feeling isolated in a royal court rife with scandal and intrigue, Marie Antoinette defied both royalty and commoner by living like a rock star, which served only to seal her fate.

Marie Antoinette was Coppola’s third feature film, and the second one in collaboration with producer Ross Katz after 2003’s Lost in Translation. Coppola offered a heavily stylized, modern view of the Queen, which was accentuated by the successful new wave, post-punk soundtrack.

“I never imagined that my job would take me to Paris for nearly a year, but thankfully Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette did just that. I had an apartment in the sixth that was beautiful and we lived and worked hard over that year. Amazingly, and entirely because of Sofia and her vision, Versailles let us shoot in places that were never allowed to be shot before. Though daunting, it was always exciting to show up at work at Versailles.

Sofia’s leadership guided us through a very tough shoot, which was complicated by intricate (and amazing) costuming, hundreds of extras, and real locations. I loved working with our cast, beginning with the exquisite Kirsten Dunst and the wonderful Jason Schwartzman. From Judy Davis to Steve Coogan, we were graced with some of the most talented people in the U.S., France, and Great Britain. It was an unforgettable experience with a huge learning curve and a great outcome.” — Ross Katz

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TRICK

Released: 1999

Directed by: Jim Fall

Produced by: Jim Fall, Ross Katz, Eric d’Arbeloff

Main Cast: Christian Campbell, John Paul Pitoc, Tori Spelling

Synopsis: What do drag queens, aspiring sex therapists, and Tori Spelling have in common? They’re part of a madcap night out in Manhattan for two frustrated guys who are trying to find a place…any place.

Gabe (Christian Campbell) and Mark (J.P. Pitoc) aren’t asking for much – just a simple one night stand. All they need is a place to seal the deal. Sound easy? Not when your neurotic best friend (Tori Spelling, The House of Yes, TV’s “Beverly Hills, 90210”) is trying to revive a dying musical career off-off-off-Broadway, your cabaret singing co-worker has just broken up with his boyfriend of seven years and the entire city seems set for a nervous breakdown.

It’s one chaotic event after another as these two hopeful romantics try to stop the city so they can get off!

Trick has endured as a modern LGBT romantic-comedy classic, with a successful soundtrack and some of the most quotable lines ever!

“Jim Fall’s Trick is the first movie I ever produced, and it was an amazing experience. Shot for just $400,000 the film would end up in competition at Sundance and being purchased by Fine Line Features for distribution. I loved making this movie during a very steamy, hot summer in New York. Jim is a great leader and had a very clear vision for the film, which turned out to be a lovely, warm, romantic comedy unlike anything I’d seen before.” — Ross Katz

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MY DINNER WITH HERVÉ

Release Date: Fall, 2018

Directed by: Sacha Gervasi

Written by: Sacha Gervasi and Sean Macaulay

Executive Producers: Jessica de Rothschild, Ross Katz, Richard Middleton, Steven Zaillian, Sacha Gervasi, and Peter Dinklage.

Main Cast: Peter Dinklage, Jamie Dornan, Andy García

Distributed by: HBO

Synopsis: “My Dinner With Hervé” explores an unlikely friendship that evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist (played by Jamie Dornan) and actor Hervé Villechaize (known for Fantasy Island & The Man With The Golden Gun, played by Game Of Throne‘s Peter Dinklage), resulting in life-changing consequences for both. Based on Gervasi’s own experience interviewing Villechaize in 1993, just days before the actor killed himself. Andy Garcia plays Villechaize’s Fantasy co-star Ricardo Montalban.

TAKING CHANCE

Released: 2009

Directed by: Ross Katz

Produced by: Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz (Executive), Brad Krevoy (Executive), Cathy Wischner-Sola (Executive), William Teitler (Executive)

Written by: Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, Ross Katz

Starring: Kevin Bacon

Synopsis: In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, USMC, came across the name of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a young Marine who had been killed by hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran with 17 years of military service, requested that he be assigned for military escort duty to accompany Chance’s remains to his family in Dubois, Wyo.

Witnessing the spontaneous outpouring of support and respect for the fallen Marine — from the groundskeepers he passed along the road to the cargo handlers at the airport — Strobl was moved to capture the experience in his personal journal. His first-person account, which began as an official trip report, gives an insight into the military’s policy of providing a uniformed escort for all casualties. The story became an Internet phenomenon when it was widely circulated throughout the military community and eventually reached the mainstream media.

Taking Chance chronicles one of the silent, virtually unseen journeys that takes place every day across the country, bearing witness to the fallen and all those who, literally and figuratively, carry them home. A uniquely non-political film about the war in Iraq, the film pays tribute to all of the men and women who have given their lives in military service as well as their families.

The HBO Film Taking Chance was Ross Katz’s directorial debut, for which he won the DGA Award for “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series.” Katz collaborated on the screenplay with Lt. Col Michael R. Strobl, USMC (Ret.), which was based on the journal of the same name by Strobl.

“Making Taking Chance was a haunting yet transcendent experience. Every member of the cast and crew were part of a deeply moving journey that took us to both terrifying and somber places, as well as helping us all remember the triumph of the human spirit and how inspiring these two individuals – Lance Cpl Chance R. Phelps and LtCol. Michael Strobl (USMC, Ret.) – could be.

The shoot was exhilarating, as all along the way we met and interacted with the real Military Personnell and individuals who transport the remains of the Fallen. We had an unbelievable cast and crew who were deeply devoted, and led by my own personal hero, Kevin Bacon. Getting to know and love the Phelps and Strobl families, and being welcomed to the Marines, has changed me forever.” — Ross

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THE LARAMIE PROJECT

Released: 2002

Directed by: Moisés Kaufman

Produced by: Declan Baldwin, Ross Katz (Executive), Ann Carey (Executive), Ted Hope (Executive)

Main Cast: Nestor Carbonell, Christina Ricci, Dylan Baker, Terry Kinney, Laura Linney, Steve Buscemi, and various

Synopsis: The small town of Laramie, Wyoming was unknown to most Americans, let alone the rest of the world. But everything changed one tragic night in 1998, when Matthew Sheppard — a young gay college student — was found tied to a fence after being brutally beaten and left to die. A nationwide debate about hate crimes and homophobia thrust Laramie into the spotlight, and the small town inhabitants were suddenly under a lot of media scrutiny.

A month after the crime, Moisés Kaufman — a writer and director with the New York City theater troupe the Tectonic Theater Project — traveled to Laramie with a handful of actors to interview people who lived in and around town. Kaufman’s goal was to create a play that focused not on the assault on Matthew Shepard, but on the community where such an attack could happen, and how many of the citizens reacted to the crime. That play, The Laramie Project, was first performed in early 2000. Two years later, this HBO film adaptation — also directed by Kaufman — brought the project to an all new level. The all-star cast includes Dylan Baker, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofolo, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Camryn Manheim, Christina Ricci, Frances Sternhagen, and Nestor Carbonell as Moisés Kaufman.

“When I met Moises Kaufman, I was floored. This eccentric genius has brought the subject of Matthew Shepard’s murder front and center in the world of theatre and was now hellbent on expanding that to film. I was desperate to produce the film, after I read Moises’s chilling, haunting, truthful words, and he would become one of the best and most true partners I’ve ever had. Moises brought with him to set every day a hunger for accuracy, a vision for beauty, and deep devotion to Matthew and the people of Laramie.

What the Tectonic Theater Project did out there in Laramie is open a wound and somehow invite the people of Laramie to participate in a vital dialogue. I’m incredibly proud of this film, the culmination of which was a screening at the Sundance Film Festival on opening night. I am eternally grateful to my partners on the project, Anne Carey and Ted Hope.” — Ross Katz

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STORY OF A GIRL

Release Date: July 23, 2017

Directed by: Kyra Sedgwick

Written by: Laurie Collyer & Emily Bickford Lansbury (based on the novel by Sara Zarr)

Producers: Emily Bickford Lansbury, Liz Levine, Adrian Salpeter, Kyra Sedgwick

Executive Producer: Ross Katz

Main Cast: Kevin Bacon, Sosie Bacon, Tyler Johnston

Synopsis: When a compromising video of sixteen year old Deanna Lambert hits social media, her teenage life is changed forever. Overcoming bullies, hurtful school-yard taunts and the enduring rage and disappointment of her father, Deanna longs to escape a life defined by her past. Directed by Kyra Sedgwick (feature directorial debut) and starring Ryann Shane, Jon Tenney and Kevin Bacon, based on Sara Zarr’s award winning novel, Story of a Girl is a coming of age drama about a young woman pushing beyond the shadow of her past to become the author of her own life.

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ADULT BEGINNERS

Released: April, 2015

Directed by: Ross Katz

Executive Producers: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass

Producers: Sam Slater, Paul Bernon, Nick Kroll, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Jared Ian Goldman

Main Cast: Rose Byrne, Nick Kroll, Bobby Cannavale

Synopsis: Adult Beginners centers around a narcissistic entrepreneur named Jake (Nick Kroll). After his technology start-up bombs, Jake is penniless and forced to go “home” to New Rochelle to live with his sister Justine (Rose Byrne) and her husband Danny (Bobby Cannavale) in the house he grew up in. The film is a portrait of two grown siblings who don’t really connect and often frustrate each other, while discovering they have more in common than they’d admit.

The film also stars Josh Charles, Jane Krakowski, Bobby Moynihan, Joel McHale, Celia Weston, Jason Mantzoukas, and Celia Weston. The film debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, where it was quickly acquired by Radius. The film was released in theaters and iTunes on April 24th, 2015.

“Adult Beginners is a script I fell in love with immediately. It is so funny and has so much heart — it struck a chord with me from the first moment I read it. Brilliantly written by Liz Flahive and Jeff Cox, the characters felt so authentic to me that all I had to do as a director, was not screw it up. I’m thrilled to have made a movie that is so vastly different from Taking Chance, as I’m interested in making all kinds of films across different genres. Working with Rose, Nick, and Bobby, was like taking a master class in acting.” — Ross Katz

Nick Jared Ross on set
Star Nick Kroll with producer Jared Goldman and director Ross Katz

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THE CHOICE

Release Date: February 5, 2016

Directed by: Ross Katz

Written by: Bryan Sipe (based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks)

Producers: Nicholas Sparks, Peter Safran, Theresa Park

Main Cast: Benjamin Walker, Teresa Palmer, Tom Welling, Alexandra Daddario, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Grace

Distributed by: Lionsgate

Synopsis: Travis Parker (Benjamin Walker) has everything a man could want: a good job, loyal friends, even a waterfront home in small-town North Carolina. In full pursuit of the good life—boating, swimming, and regular barbecues with his good-natured buddies—he holds the vague conviction that a serious relationship with a woman would only cramp his style. That is, until Gabby Holland (Teresa Palmer) moves in next door. Despite his attempts to be neighborly, the appealing beauty seems to have a chip on her shoulder about him… and the presence of her longtime boyfriend doesn’t help.

Despite himself, Travis can’t stop trying to ingratiate himself with his new neighbor, and his persistent efforts lead them both to the doorstep of a journey that neither could have foreseen. Spanning the eventful years of young love, marriage and family, The Choice ultimately confronts us with the most heartwrenching question of all: how far would you go to keep the hope of love alive?