Cassian Elwes

Cassian Elwes is a British independent film producer and talent agent.

Early life and education

Cassian Elwes was born on 7 August 1959 in London. He is the son of Dominic Elwes, a portrait painter, and Tessa Kennedy, an interior designer. Cassian is the elder brother of actor Cary Elwes and artist Damian Elwes. Cassian is the stepson of Elliott Kastner, an American film producer.

Career

Cassian Elwes began his producing career with 1984's Oxford Blues starring Rob Lowe and Ally Sheedy; he has continued enjoying success in film. His earlier roles include Men at Work with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, The Chase with Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, and Henry Rollins; as well as The Dark Backward with Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, and Rob Lowe. In 1989 he produced the independent film Never on Tuesday which featured a cast of cameos including Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Nicolas Cage, and Cary Elwes.
The Hollywood Reporter has said that Cassian Elwes was "involved in a virtual who's who of every great independent film of the last ten years" with films such as Thank You for Smoking, Half Nelson, and Frozen River.
Elwes ventured briefly into writing and directing films with the low budget 1993 independent film Blue Flame starring former child actor Kerri Green. The film was critically panned and effectively ended Green's career. His next venture came in the 2023 drama Passenger C, an independent film recreating Elwes's own experience with an unruly airline passenger and the emotional aftermath he experienced.
"What people lose sight of," Elwes said to Screen International, "is that these films cost a tenth of the films that they competed against at the Academy Awards. The privilege was the recognition."
Elwes is an expert in the field of arranging financing and distribution for independent films having done so for 283 films during his tenure at William Morris Independent.
Since leaving William Morris Independent, Elwes has been involved in arranging financing and distribution for 23 films including Lawless, directed by John Hillcoat,, starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy, and the thriller The Paperboy, directed by Lee Daniels, starring Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron. Elwes produced the period drama The Butler, which was directed by Lee Daniels and featured an ensemble cast, including Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Terrence Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Williams among others.
Additionally, he produced Dallas Buyers Club starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner; Ain't Them Bodies Saints starring Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck and Ben Foster; and Hateship, Loveship starring Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, and Nick Nolte.
On 29 October 2013, Elwes launched the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriter Fellowship, in conjunction with The Black List, to award one writer an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and mentorship from Elwes. Elwes and The Black List award the fellowship annually.

William Morris years

From 1994 to 2009, he co-headed William Morris Independent as an agent at The William Morris Agency, representing independent films and independent film producers; a position he held until the agency merged with Endeavor.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director	With	Rotten Tomatoes
1984	Oxford Blues	Producer	Robert Boris	Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Amanda Pays, Julian Sands, Cary Elwes, Chad Lowe, Michael Gough, Gail Strickland, Aubrey Morris
1986	Nomads	Producer	John McTiernan	Pierce Brosnan, Lesley-Anne Down, Adam Ant, Frances Bay	13%
1986	Heat	Producer	Dick Richards Jerry Jameson	Burt Reynolds, Karen Young, Peter MacNicol, Howard Hesseman, Diana Scarwid
1987	White of the Eye	Producer	Donald Cammell	David Keith, Cathy Moriarty	33%
1987	Zombie High	Executive producer	Ron Link	Virginia Madsen, Paul Feig, Sherilyn Fenn
1988	Jack's Back	Producer	Rowdy Herrington	James Spader
1989	Never on Tuesday	Executive producer	Adam Rifkin	Peter Berg, Nicolas Cage, Claudia Christian, Charlie Sheen, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Cary Elwes
1989	Warm Summer Rain	Executive producer	Joe Gayton
1989	Cold Feet	Producer	Robert Dornhelm	Keith Carradine, Sally Kirkland, Tom Waits, Rip Torn
1989	Psycho Cop	Producer	Wallace Potts
1990	Cool Blue	Co-Producer	Mark Mullin Richard Shepard	Woody Harrelson, Hank Azaria, Sean Penn
1990	Men at Work	Producer	Emilio Estevez	Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Keith David, Leslie Hope	30%
1991	9 1/2 Ninjas!	Executive producer	Aaron Barsky
1991	The Dark Backward	Producer	Adam Rifkin	Judd Nelson, Bill Paxton, Wayne Newton, James Caan, Rob Lowe, Lara Flynn Boyle, Wayne Newton, Claudia Christian	45%
1991	Liquid Dreams	Executive producer	Mark S. Manos
1991	Mom	Executive producer	Patrick Rand
1992	Love Is Like That	Executive producer	Jill Goldman	Seymour Cassel
1992	Leather Jackets	Producer	Lee Drysdale	Bridget Fonda, D.B. Sweeney, Cary Elwes, Chris Penn, James LeGros, Jon Polito
1992	Mad at the Moon	Producer	Martin Donovan	Fionnula Flanagan
1993	Psycho Cop 2	Executive producer	Adam Rifkin
1994	The Chase	Producer	Adam Rifkin	Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, Henry Rollins, Cary Elwes, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Claudia Christian, Ray Wise	29%
1994	The Cool Surface	Executive producer	Erik Anjou	Robert Patrick, Teri Hatcher
1994	Frank and Jesse	Producer	Robert Boris	Rob Lowe, Bill Paxton, Randy Travis, Alexis Arquette, William Atherton, Sean Patrick Flanery
1994	A Brilliant Disguise	Executive producer	Nick Vallelonga
1995	Deep Down	Producer	John Travers
1995	The Girl with the Hungry Eyes	Executive producer	Jon Jacobs
2005	What Is It?	Executive producer	Crispin Glover		56%
2009	The Other Woman	Executive producer	Don Roos	Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow	39%
2010	Blue Valentine	Co-executive producer	Derek Cianfrance	Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams	87%
2010	Henry's Crime	Executive producer	Malcolm Venville	Keanu Reeves, James Caan, Vera Farmiga	40%
2010	The Big Bang	Executive producer	Tony Krantz	Antonio Banderas, Snoop Dogg	13%
2011	Margin Call	Executive producer	J.C. Chandor	Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Mary McDonnell	88%
2011	The Son of No One	Executive producer	Dito Montiel	Channing Tatum, Tracy Morgan, Katie Holmes, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche, Al Pacino	16%
2011	Cats Dancing on Jupiter	Executive producer	Jordan Alan
2011	Sarah Palin: You Betcha!	Producer	Nick Broomfield Joan Churchill		30%
2011	Catch.44	Executive producer	Aaron Harvey	Malin Åkerman, Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis
2012	The Words	Executive producer	Brian Klugman Lee Sternthal	Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldaña, Olivia Wilde, Jeremy Irons, Ben Barnes, Dennis Quaid, J. K. Simmons	22%
2012	Lawless	Executive producer	John Hillcoat	Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska, Gary Oldman	67%
2012	The Paperboy	Producer	Lee Daniels	Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray, John Cusack, Nicole Kidman	43%
2012	Generation Um...	Executive producer	Mark Mann	Keanu Reeves	0%
2012	Stolen	Executive producer	Simon West	Nicolas Cage, Malin Åkerman, Bruce Willis	16%
2013	Ain't Them Bodies Saints	Producer	David Lowery	Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Ben Foster	81%
2013	All Is Lost	Executive producer	J. C. Chandor	Robert Redford	94%
2013	The Butler	Producer	Lee Daniels	Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, Liev Schreiber, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda	73%
2013	Dallas Buyers Club	Executive producer	Jean-Marc Vallée	Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Steve Zahn	94%
2014	She's Funny That Way	Executive producer	Peter Bogdanovich	Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Will Forte, Rhys Ifans, Cybill Shepherd, Ahna O'Reilly, Joanna Lumley, Lucy Punch
2014	A Case of You	Executive producer	Kat Coiro	Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Sam Rockwell, Sienna Miller, Brendan Fraser, Vince Vaughn, Peter Dinklage	40%
2014	Hateship, Loveship	Producer	Liza Johnson	Kristen Wiig, Hailee Steinfeld, Guy Pearce, Christine Lahti	57%
2014	Reach Me	Producer	John Herzfeld	Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Thomas Jane, Tom Berenger, Cary Elwes, Kelsey Grammer, Danny Trejo, Danny Aiello, Tom Sizemore
2014	Parts per Billion	Executive producer	Brian Horiuchi	Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Teresa Palmer, Penn Badgley, Gena Rowlands
2014	Black and White	Executive producer	Mike Binder	Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer
2014	We'll Never Have Paris	Executive producer	Simon Helberg Jocelyn Towne	Melanie Lynskey, Simon Helberg, Zachary Quinto, Maggie Grace
2014	Midnight Man	Executive producer	Rob Kennedy
2014	Theo	Executive producer	Ezna Sands
2014	Shreveport	Executive producer	Ryan Phillippe	Ryan Phillippe
2014	Shelter	Executive producer	Paul Bettany	Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie
2014	I Origins	Co-executive producer	Mike Cahill	Michael Pitt, Brit Marling
2014	Burying the Ex	Executive producer	Joe Dante	Anton Yelchin, Alexandra Daddario
2015	Queen of the Desert	Producer	Werner Herzog	Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson
2015	Submerged	Executive producer	Steven C. Miller	Talullah Riley
2015	The Knife Thrower	Executive producer	Terry Nemeroff	Jason Flemyng, Lars Mikkelsen, Patrick Bauchau, Peter Stormare, Ray Winstone, Til Schweiger, Jon Gries
2015	Knock Knock	Executive producer	Eli Roth	Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas
2016	Elvis & Nixon	Producer	Liza Johnson
2017	Mudbound	Producer	Dee Rees	Garrett Hedlund, Carey Mulligan	97%
2018	The Con Is On	Producer	James Oakley
2018	Siberia	Executive producer	Matthew Ross		7%
2018	Billionaire Boys Club	Producer	James Cox		13%
2020	The Last Thing He Wanted	Producer	Dee Rees
2021	Crisis	Producer	Nicholas Jarecki
2021	Best Sellers	Producer	Lina Roessler
2021	Violet	Executive producer	Justine Bateman
2022	9 Bullets	Producer	Gigi Gaston
2022	Medieval	Producer	Petr Jákl
2023	Desperation Road	Producer	Nadine Crocker	Garrett Hedlund, Mel Gibson
2025	Bride Hard	Producer	Simon West
2025	Dead Man's Wire	Producer	Gus Van Sant