Nicholas Simon
Birth date21 March 1969 (age 57)
Birth placeRockford, Illinois, U.S.
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1995 - present
Spouse
  • Shawn Simon (m. 2005; div. 2022)

Nicholas Andrew Simon, (born 21 March 1969) known professionally as Nicholas Simon, is a Hungarian-American film producer born in Rockford, Illinois, now currently residing in Bangkok, Thailand.[1] He has been producing feature films, TV series, and commercials in Southeast Asia for two and a half decades. For his work on City of Ghosts, A Prayer Before Dawn, Kong: Skull Island, Avengers: Infinity War, Simon has gained the title of “Hollywood’s man in Southeast Asia.”[2]

Simon is known for being the founder and managing partner of two production companies, Indochina Productions and Studio Muso.

Early life and education

An American-Hungarian dual national,[1] Simon was born in Rockford, Illinois, and lived on a farm before moving with his family to Beloit, Wisconsin, at the age of three.[2] He attended high school at Phillips Academy, graduating in 1987, before obtaining a B.A. at Columbia University in 1992, specializing in Asia.[3][4]

Simon was also an active cycler, participating in the 1985 USCF Junior National Championships, the Phillips Academy Varsity Team from 1986 to 1987, and the Columbia University Team from 1991 to 1993.[5]

In 2020, he acquired the certificate of completion for Stanford University's “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” program.

Career

Simon arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, via New York City in 1993 with the intent of becoming a journalist. However, he quickly realized he didn't enjoy writing and sought out other jobs.[2] Simon eventually met the producers of Trần Anh Hùng’s Cyclo and helped out on the film in an informal capacity. In the following year, he founded Sud-Est Productions, a production company based in Vietnam. During his time, he serviced production for and co-produced numerous films, the most notable being Matt Dillon’s City of Ghosts. He sold Sud-Est Productions in 2003, and it is now a fully Vietnamese company.[2][3]

While working as an independent industry consultant, Simon moved to Bangkok with his wife and daughter in 2009.[1] In 2010, he founded Indochina Productions, which provides production services for projects in Southeast Asia. The company initially provided support for Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, but now provides production services in 14 territories throughout Asia.[2][6] It has since been dubbed by the NYFA as “the only company in Southeast Asia to produce and service big-budget Hollywood studio films and Fortune 500 advertising commercial needs.”[7]

Simon has been the line producer for Indochina Productions on several major feature films, such as Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods and Sam Hargrave’s Extraction, and the executive producer for Indochina Productions on Hong Khaou’s Monsoon and Daniel Roby’s Target Number One.[8] He is also known for his work as a line producer on Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame as well as on Kong: Skull Island.[9][10][11] Upcoming projects include adapting Jon Swain’s River of Time with Lawrence Osborne as the screenplay writer for a feature film,[12] as well as Lawrence Osborne’s own Hunters in the Dark for the big screen.[13][14][15]

Simon has been on the board of Luang Prabang Film Festival since 2012 and a member of the Producers Guild of America and the Production Guild UK since 2015.[1][16][17]

In 2020, Simon also founded another production company, Studio Muso.[18]

He has been a jurist and panelist at several industry events since 2003.[19][20] He has also written op-eds for the Thai Enquirer.[21][22]

Filmography

YearFilmDirectorRole
1995CycloTrần Anh HùngPost-Production Producer/Special Thanks
1997Distant SkiesThierry ChabertLine Producer, Vietnam
2000The Vertical Ray of the SunTrần Anh HùngLine Producer
2003City of GhostsMatt DillonAssociate Producer
2003Step into LiquidDana BrownLine Producer, Vietnam
2003What Alice FoundA. Dean BellExecutive Producer (uncredited)[23]
2004The Beautiful CountryHans Petter MolandLine Producer, Vietnam
2005RxAriel VromenProducer
2010Ultrasuede: In Search of HalstonWhitney Sudler-SmithProducer
2010The Best and the BrightestJosh ShelovProducer
2011Transformers 3: Dark of the MoonMichael BayLine Producer, Cambodia
2012Act of ValorMike McCoy and Scott WaughLine Producer, Cambodia
2015PanJoe WrightLine Producer, Vietnam VFX Unit
2015KenzheErmek TursunovLine Producer, Thailand
2015Avengers: Age of UltronJoss Whedon/Scott Mahaffie (Second unit)Line Producer, Bangladesh
2017LimaNeill BlomkampLine Producer, Thailand
2017Kong: Skull IslandJordan Vogt-RobertsLine Producer, Vietnam
2017A Prayer Before DawnJean-Stephane SauvaireProducer
2017/ON HOLD[24]Hue 1968Michael Mann[25]Co-Producer, Thailand and Vietnam
2018Avengers: Infinity WarRusso brothersLine Producer and Aerial Unit, The Philippines
2018Les Confins Du MondeGuillaume NiclouxCo-Producer and Line Producer
2019BuoyancyRodd RathjenProduction Consultant, Cambodia
2019Avengers: EndgameRusso brothersLine Producer and Aerial Unit, the Philippines
2019MonsoonHong KhaouExecutive for Indochina Productions, Vietnam
2020ExtractionSam HargraveLine Producer for Indochina Productions, Thailand and Bangladesh
2020Da 5 BloodsSpike LeeLine Producer for Indochina Productions, Vietnam
2020Target Number OneDaniel RobyExecutive for Indochina Productions, Thailand
2020Penguin BloomGlendyn IvinExecutive for Indochina Productions
2021Finding 'OhanaJude WengLine Producer for Indochina Productions, Thailand
2021Hunters in the DarkSimon EvanCo-Producer
2021River of TimeTBATBA
2023 (upcoming)The SymphatizerPark Chan-WookCo-Producer
2023The CreatorGareth EdwardsCo-Producer
2023Deane's DynastyPatrick CarrProducer, Co-Creator
2023Meg 2Ben WheatleyLine Producer
2023MandalorianJon FavreauLine Producer, Vietnam - Plate Unit

References

  1. ^ "Nicholas Simon". Thailand Tatler. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (18 May 2015). "Cannes: IndoChina Head Talks 'A Prayer Before Dawn' and Shooting in Southeast Asia". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  3. ^ Fox, Peter (Spring 2021). "A Time Like No Other: Nicholas Simon’s Indochina Productions Quietly Yet Boldly Leads The Industry Through Its Most Challenging Period". Venü Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  4. ^ "Nicholas Simon". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  5. ^ Leddin, Adam (2012). "VIGO CYCLES CX 002". The Spoken. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  6. ^ "Home". Indochina Productions. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  7. ^ "NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY (NYFA) WELCOMES CEO OF INDOCHINA PRODUCTIONS AND PRODUCER NICHOLAS SIMON FOR LIZ HINLEIN’S ‘THE 20/20 SERIES’". NYFA. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  8. ^ "Our Work". Indochina Productions. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  9. ^ Vu Van Viet (4 April 2016). "Kong: Skull Island: the art of filming to a Vietnamese backdrop". VN Express. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  10. ^ "PH’s Banaue Rice Terraces featured in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’". Coconuts Manila. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  11. ^ Uy, Jerald (26 April 2018). "Spoiler warning: 'Avengers: Infinity War' features a PH tourist spot". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  12. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (24 June 2020). "Novelist Lawrence Osborne to Script Film Adaptation of Cult War Memoir 'River of Time'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  13. ^ Flynn, Gerald (8 November 2019). "Film adaptation of Hunters in the Dark to start shooting in Cambodia next year". Capital Cambodia. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  14. ^ Ritman, Alex (9 November 2019). "AFM: Alex Pettyfer to Lead 'Hunters in the Dark' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  15. ^ Brzeski, Patrick (21 February 2020). "Berlin: Lawrence Osborne Thriller 'Hunters in the Dark' Fills Out Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  16. ^ "About". Luang Prabang Film Festival. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  17. ^ "The Team". Indochina Productions. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  18. ^ "Our Team". Studio Muso. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  19. ^ "SIP Judges". Greater Philadelphia Film Office. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  20. ^ "BKK DOC International Jury". BKK DOC. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  21. ^ Simon, Nicholas (3 July 2020). "Opinion: Destroying Scala is destroying past hopes and future dreams". Thai Enquirer. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  22. ^ Simon, Nicholas (9 December 2020). "Thailand must take steps to attract foreign film productions or lose them to regional rivals". Thai Enquirer. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  23. ^ "Nicholas Simon". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  24. ^ "Author Mark Bowden Revisits the True Story of ‘Black Hawk Down’". Military.com. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  25. ^ Fleming, Mike (6 July 2017). "FX To Turn Mark Bowden Tet Offensive Chronicle ‘Hue 1968’ Into Limited Series; Michael Mann & Michael De Luca Producing". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-03-30.