Ben Grass
Ben Grass is a British Film producer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of film and television production company, Pure Grass Films.
Early life and education
Grass was educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School; a selective grammar school for boys in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. He went on to study History at the University of Oxford in 1990. He received an MBA from INSEAD in 1997.Career
Early career
Following INSEAD, and a number of years as a management consultant, Grass became an advisor on corporate strategy at the BBC, before becoming Director of Internet and Wireless in Europe for Sony Pictures.Later career and Pure Grass films
Grass founded Pure Grass Films in May 2005 with his brother, Creative director Tom Grass. It initially focused on Digital entertainment series with spin-off potential for Television, Feature films and Games. Advisors to the company include the British Actor Damian Lewis, and chairman Christophe Charlier, the former Chairman of Renaissance Capital and the Brooklyn Nets.In March 2008, Endemol Shine UK announced it's acquisition of a 40% stake in Pure Grass Films, with the aims of expanding their digital presence.
Grass is currently producing a feature film, Twist, a modern re-imagining of Oliver Twist set in London. Raff Law, son of Jude Law was cast to play the titular Twist. Michael Caine was cast as Fagin, with Lena Headey and Rita Ora cast as female renditions of Bill Sikes and Artful Dodger, respectively. David Walliams, Franz Drameh and Sophie Simnett were also cast. The film is scheduled for a late 2020 release. Sky Cinema will distribute the film within the United Kingdom, with Saban Films distributing within North America.
Grass is also developing a modern-day feature film version of the story of the Count of Monte Cristo, which he is producing with Bear Grylls, Delbert Schoopman and Christophe Charlier.
Filmography
Grass' notable prior filmography credits include "Kirill" and "Beyond the Rave", which was Myspace’s first original series outside the US. Beyond the Rave, was an 20 part Horror series financed by Hammer Films – their first production in 25 years. The series starred Sadie Frost, Jamie Dornan and Tamer Hassan. Music was by Pete Tong. On 17 April 2008, the series was first released through MySpace TV, as their first international co-production, followed by a major international DVD release.Other credits include When Evil Calls – the world's first horror series for mobile phones, which starred Sean Pertwee, Dominique Pinon, and Chris Barrie.
| Year | Title | Acclaim |
| 2020 | Twist | Upcoming |
| 2012 | Trigger Point | - |
| 2009 | The Cell 2 | |
| 2009 | Kirill | Won a 2009 Webby for Best Drama Episode, and was also nominated for a Digital Emmy |
| 2008 | Beyond the Rave | |
| 2006 | When Evil Calls | Won the 2006 Telemedia Eureka Awards in Amsterdam. Finalist in the Broadcast Awards in the category of Best Use of Mobile TV. |