While there are some iconic figures whose impact on the world has been so great that Hollywood has taken to making multiple biopics based on their lives (think Wyatt Earp, Allen Ginsberg, and Janis Joplin), there is one relatively anonymous person who has had three hit films made about his life in the last ten years. Meet Chris Bender, the Hollywood producer of hit films like The Ring and A History of Violence, who played an instrumental role in getting The Hangover to the big screen. According to Vulture buddy Nikki Finke, Bender originally pitched The Hangover to New Line after one of his buddies disappeared during a wild bachelor party in Vegas. While there’s nothing incredibly unusual about this if viewed as an isolated incident — after all, this is how films get made — there’s more to the story. It turns out other experiences Bender has gone through in his life were also turned into movies, specifically, the runaway hit American Pie and the Ryan Reynolds starrer Just Friends. If you put aside the fact that Bender’s life makes ours feel excruciatingly boring by comparison (total films made about the Vulture staff to date: 0), we’re pretty sure we’ve found our new personal hero. Fingers crossed that he accepts our Facebook friend invite*!
UPDATED: How ‘The Hangover’ Got Made (P.S., It’s Based On Someone In H’wood) [DHD]
*We’re just kidding, we didn’t Facebook him … yet.
