# David Valdes

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{{short description|American film producer (born 1950)}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2010}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}

{{Infobox person
| name               = <!-- use common name/article title -->
| image              = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [brackets](/source/brackets) -->
| alt                = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1950|08|12}}
| birth_place        = [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), [California](/source/California), U.S.
| death_date         = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) -->
| death_place        = 
| nationality        = 
| other_names        = 
| alma_mater         = University of California, Los Angeles
| occupation         = [Film producer](/source/Film_producer)
| years_active       = 
| known_for          = 
| notable_works      = 
}}

'''David Valdes''' (born August 12, 1950, in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles)) is an American film producer known for producing 17 films with [Clint Eastwood](/source/Clint_Eastwood), 4 films with [Francis Ford Coppola](/source/Francis_Ford_Coppola), a couple with [Kevin Costner](/source/Kevin_Costner) and a few special titles he proudly calls classics: ''[The Green Mile](/source/The_Green_Mile_(film))'' and ''[Unforgiven](/source/Unforgiven)''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Team Deakins: DAVID VALDES - Producer |url=https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/david-valdes-producer |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=teamdeakins.libsyn.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=David Valdés – Karnavati Literature & Film Festival |url=https://klff.in/speaker/david-valdes/ |access-date=2026-01-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Career ==
David Valdes earned a Bachelor of Theater Arts degree from [UCLA](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles) and began his film career as an assistant director  alongside such directors as [Martin Scorsese](/source/Martin_Scorsese), [Wim Wenders](/source/Wim_Wenders), [Clint Eastwood](/source/Clint_Eastwood) and [Francis Ford Coppola](/source/Francis_Ford_Coppola).  Some of those early films include ''[Raging Bull](/source/Raging_Bull)'', [''Hammett''](/source/Hammett_(film)), ''[Any which way you can](/source/Any_Which_Way_You_Can)'', ''[Firefox](/source/Firefox_(film))'', ''[The Outsiders](/source/The_Outsiders_(film))'', and ''[Rumble Fish](/source/Rumble_Fish)''.  David segued into producing as an associate producer on Eastwood’s ''[Pale Rider](/source/Pale_Rider)'' in 1984.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-13 |title='Can you make him white?' And more absurd lessons in pitching Latino stories to Hollywood |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-06-13/latino-gap-hollywood-producer-david-valdes-representation-struggle |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlTcL31nwlI |title=Producer David Valdes on "Point Break" |date=2016-04-04 |last=Made in Hollywood Teen |access-date=2026-01-14 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Valdes has had several films nominated in various Oscar categories over the years. He was nominated himself for Best Picture for ''[The Green Mile](/source/The_Green_Mile_(film))'' along with the film's director-producer-screenwriter [Frank Darabont](/source/Frank_Darabont).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thegreenmile.warnerbros.com/cmp/filmmakers-fr.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204233302/http://thegreenmile.warnerbros.com/cmp/filmmakers-fr.html |archive-date=2010-12-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-22 |title=The 72nd Academy Awards {{!}} 2000 |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000 |access-date=2026-01-14 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>

Valdes served as Executive Producer on the sequels to ''[Avatar: The Way of Water](/source/Avatar%3A_The_Way_of_Water)'' and ''[Avatar: Fire and Ash](/source/Avatar%3A_Fire_and_Ash).''

== Filmography ==

=== Producer ===

* ''[Point Break](/source/Point_Break_(2015_film)) (2015)''
* ''[Transcendence](/source/Transcendence_(2014_film)) (2014)''
* ''[Beautiful Creatures](/source/Beautiful_Creatures_(2013_film)) (2013)''
* ''[The Magic of Belle Isle](/source/The_Magic_of_Belle_Isle) (2012)''
* ''[The Book of Eli](/source/The_Book_of_Eli) (2010)''
* ''[The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford](/source/The_Assassination_of_Jesse_James_by_the_Coward_Robert_Ford) (2007)''
* ''[Open Range](/source/Open_Range_(2003_film)) (2003)''
* ''[The Time Machine](/source/The_Time_Machine_(2002_film)) (2002)''
* ''[The Green Mile](/source/The_Green_Mile_(film)) (1999)''
* ''[Turbulence](/source/Turbulence_(1997_film)) (1997)''
* ''[The Stars Fell on Henrietta](/source/The_Stars_Fell_on_Henrietta) (1995)''
* ''[A Perfect World](/source/A_Perfect_World) (1993)''
* ''[The Rookie](/source/The_Rookie_(1990_film)) (1990)''
* ''[Pink Cadillac](/source/Pink_Cadillac_(film)) (1989)''
* ''[The Dead Pool](/source/The_Dead_Pool) (1988)''
* ''[Like Father Like Son](/source/Like_Father_Like_Son_(1987_film)) (1987)''

=== Executive Producer ===

* ''[Avatar: Fire and Ash](/source/Avatar%3A_Fire_and_Ash) (2025)''

* ''[Avatar: The Way of Water](/source/Avatar%3A_The_Way_of_Water) (2022)''
* ''[Alita: Battle Angel](/source/Alita%3A_Battle_Angel) (2019)''
* ''[I Am Number Four](/source/I_Am_Number_Four_(film)) (2011)''
* ''[Babylon A.D.](/source/Babylon_A.D.) (2008)''
* ''[In the Line of Fire](/source/In_the_Line_of_Fire) (1993)''
* ''[Unforgiven](/source/Unforgiven) (1992)''
* ''[White Hunter Black Heart](/source/White_Hunter_Black_Heart) (1990)''
* ''[Bird](/source/Bird_(1988_film)) (1988)''

=== Co-Executive Producer ===

* ''[Gardens of Stone](/source/Gardens_of_Stone) (1987)''

=== Associate Producer ===

* ''[Ratboy](/source/Ratboy) (1986)''

* ''[Pale Rider](/source/Pale_Rider) (1985)''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|883603}}
*https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/david-valdes-producer

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, David}}
Category:1950 births
Category:Living people
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:American people of Portuguese descent

Category:Producers
Category:Film producers from Los Angeles
Category:Film producers from California
Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Category:American people of Mexican descent

{{US-film-producer-1950s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [David Valdes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Valdes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Valdes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.