Sigurjón Sighvatsson

Sigurjón "Joni" Sighvatsson (born 15 June 1952) is an Icelandic film producer and businessman. He is the principal of Palomar Pictures, an independent production company, as well as chairman of Scandinavian film distributor/producer Scanbox Entertainment.

Sigurjón has worked with filmmakers including David Lynch, Kathryn Bigelow, Jim Sheridan, and Julian Schnabel. Among his films are The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Brothers, Z for Zachariah and Killer Elite, as well as Wild at Heart, Arlington Road and Basquiat.

Sigurjón has had influence in art films. He also produced Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, as well as the controversial Destricted, a collection of short films by some of the world's leading artists focusing on the concept of pornography.

Career Before coming to the United States, Sigurjón enjoyed a successful career as a musician in his native Iceland, founding the country's first recording studio at the age of 21. After finishing a B.A. in Literature from the University of Iceland, Sighvatsson came to Los Angeles on a Fulbright Scholarship to earn his MFA in the Graduate Film Studies program at USC. He then was invited to and joined the Director's Program at the American Film Institute.

In 1986, Sigurjón co-founded Propaganda Films, which quickly became the leading music video and commercial production company in the world before expanding into feature films with Red Rock West, Kalifornia, and David Lynch's Wild At Heart which won the coveted Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. At Propaganda, Sighvatsson launched the careers of such directors as David Fincher, Michael Bay, and Spike Jonze.

Sigurjón has also been involved with numerous television shows, including the Emmy-nominated "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," the innovative cult classic "Twin Peaks," the triple ACE Award-winning anthology series "Fallen Angels," the quadruple ACE-winning "Heat Wave," as well as the popular original "Beverly Hills 90210". In 1995, Sigurjón became the founding president of Lakeshore Entertainment, where he produced or executive produced films such as Polish Wedding, 200 Cigarettes and Arlington Road.

In 1999, Sigurjón became the controlling shareholder in Palomar Pictures, another pioneer in music videos and television commercials and cultivated a new generation of top directors including Joseph Kahn, Gary McKendry and Marcos Siega. In 2006 Sigurjón acquired Scanbox Entertainment, a leading Scandinavian film distributor as well as heritage clothing company 66 North in Iceland, which he built into an award winning international outdoor brand.

Sigurjón has served in various industry and civic organizations including, as president of the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and as a board member of the AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers), The American-Scandinavian Foundation, the ACLU of Southern California, the Ocean Park Community Center, and currently serves on the Hammer Museum Board of Overseers. Sigurjón is also the Honorary Consul General for Iceland in Southern California.

Producer selected filmography He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted. Film Year Film Credit Notes 1985 Hard Rock Zombies Associate producer American Drive-In Associate producer 1987 Aria Associate producer P.I. Private Investigations 1988 The Blue Iguana 1989 Kill Me Again Fear, Anxiety & Depression 1990 Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? Wild at Heart Rust 1992 Ruby A Stranger Among Us Candyman 1993 Behind Schedule Associate producer Red Rock West Kalifornia Dream Lover 1994 Final Combination Executive producer Gospel According to Harry Executive producer A Pig's Tale Executive producer Direct-to-video S.F.W. Executive producer 1995 Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh Canadian Bacon Executive producer Lord of Illusions Executive producer 1996 Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy Executive producer Basquiat Box of Moonlight Executive producer 1997 Going All the Way 'Til There Was You Executive producer The Real Blonde Executive producer A Thousand Acres 1998 Polish Wedding Executive producer Homegrown Executive producer Phoenix Executive producer 1999 200 Cigarettes Executive producer Arlington Road Executive producer 2000 Passion of Mind Executive producer The Weight of Water 2002 K-19: The Widowmaker 2005 Pretty Persuasion Executive producer A Little Trip to Heaven 2006 Destricted Executive producer The Last Winter Executive producer 2009 Valhalla Rising Executive producer The Good Heart Executive producer Brothers 2011 Killer Elite 2013 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared Executive producer 2015 Z for Zachariah 2016 I.T. Co-producer 2017 Wind River Executive producer I Remember You 2018 Isabelle Executive producer 2019 End of Sentence

Production manager

Year Film Role 1984 Nickel Mountain Post-production supervisor

Thanks

Year Film Role 2013 Parkland The producers wish to thank

Television Year Title Credit Notes 1987 Richard Marx Live Executive producer Television special 1990 Heat Wave Executive producer Television film Industrial Symphony No. 1 Executive producer Television film 1990 Salute Your Shorts Executive producer Television pilot 1990−91 Beverly Hills, 90210 1991 Coca-Cola Pop Music Backstage Pass to Summer Co-executive producer Television special 1992 Memphis Executive producer Television film 1993 Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell Executive producer Documentary Tales of the City Executive producer