Biography

Arthur Sarkissian's 40-year career has established him as one of Hollywood's most successful producers. Over the course of his career, Sarkissian has developed and produced feature films that have dominated the domestic and global landscape, with box office receipts totaling close to one billion dollars. His biggest hits include the Rush Hour franchise, While You Were Sleeping, Last Man Standing and The Foreigner. Sarkissian's latest feature films are the action-thriller The Protege directed by starring Maggie Q, Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson along with the thriller Memory starring Liam Neeson, both directed by Martin Campbell.

Throughout his long career, Sarkissian has put a premium on creativity, with a progressive eye and entrepreneurship that have been the common denominators in his formula for success. It is this approach and ability to produce a big budget blockbuster that has made him one of the most sought after producers in the business.

In the '70s and '80s, he produced films like Beyond Reason and Wanted: Dead or Alive. However, it was not until the 1990's that Sarkissian's films transcended box-office expectations. In 1995, Sarkissian released While You Were Sleeping, starring Sandra Bullock, which became one of the year's biggest hits grossing over $190 million worldwide.

In 1997, Sarkissian discovered and developed the first Rush Hour film, pairing the unlikely duo of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, as well as tapping the then up-and-coming director Brett Ratner. The first film-which grossed more than $140 million domestically and another $103 million internationally-made history by being the highest grossing independent film released in September or October as well as becoming one of the highest grossing films in the history of New Line Cinema. In 2001, the second installment of the Rush Hour series solidified Sarkissian's position as a hit-maker when the movie earned $347 million worldwide. Rush Hour 3 was released in 2007, turning the franchise into a $900 million hit.

In the fall of 2012 and in conjunction with CBS Television, Sarkissian created and executive produced his first TV series, Vegas, about the legendary Las Vegas Sheriff Ralph Lamb, to critical acclaim. More recently, Sarkissian produced a spin-off television series of the Rush Hour franchise again in conjunction with CBS Television.

Other projects on the horizon for Sarkissian include: The Red Circle, a retelling of Jean-Pierre Melville's classic 1970 film; Le Cercle Rouge and the next install in the Rush Hour franchise.
- IMDb mini biography by: PR