Biography
Ashok Amritraj is Chairman and CEO of the Hyde Park Entertainment Group, and was formerly CEO of National Geographic Films. An internationally renowned award-winning producer, Amritraj has made over 100 films during the span of his 35-year career, with worldwide revenues in excess of $2 billion. He has partnered with every major studio in Hollywood and produced films starring the likes of Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Andrew Garfield, Steve Martin, Antonio Banderas, Robert De Niro, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jennifer Aniston, Nicolas Cage, and many more.
Amritraj has grown the Company into a cutting-edge independent alternative to the traditional Hollywood system, fully realizing his vision for a progressive global company that incorporates the most essential elements of a full-fledged studio. Hyde Park's mandate encompasses feature film, television, digital, documentary, and cross- cultural content, with the Company possessing development, production, and financing capabilities in addition to handling worldwide sales and marketing.
Amritraj has had box office hits such as GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, starring Nicolas Cage, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, starring Steve Martin, PREMONITION, starring Sandra Bullock, WALKING TALL starring The Rock, and many more, as well as critically acclaimed titles including 99 HOMES starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon, BLUE VALENTINE starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, and SHOPGIRL, starring Steve Martin and Claire Danes.
Amritraj's current projects include: supernatural thriller, PREY, in partnership with Blumhouse Productions, a major animated musical film, PASHMINA, to be directed by Gurinder Chadha and with music by Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman in partnership with Netflix, a major television drama, FORDLANDIA, to be directed by Werner Herzog at AMC Studios, and THE GIANT'S ARCHITECT, to be directed by Oscar-nominee Julie Delpy and starring Dakota Johnson.
Hyde Park Entertainment Group and its artists have received awards and recognition from the major award shows and film festivals including the Oscars, the BAFTA awards, the Emmys, the Independent Spirit Awards, the Cannes Film Festival, the Golden Globes, and many more. Amritraj's extraordinary career from Wimbledon tennis player to billion dollar Hollywood producer (chronicled in his autobiography Advantage Hollywood) is matched only by his commitment to education, gender, race, and class. Dedicating a significant amount of his time to philanthropic endeavors worldwide, Amritraj was appointed as the first United Nations India Goodwill Ambassador for the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Amritraj continues to pave the way for the intersection of entertainment and philanthropy, and remains fully engaged in the creation of diverse, socially-relevant content.
In December 2018, by decree of the President of the Republic of France, Amritraj was appointed a Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre National du Merite.
Amritraj serves on the Producers Executive Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and served on the Los Angeles Board for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the International Council for the Emmy Awards.
In 2015, he was bestowed an honorary Doctorate of the Arts from the University of East London and he currently serves on the advisory board for the Dodge Film School at Chapman University.
