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René Besson

René Besson

Producer, also editor

Originally from Miami, René Besson has been the Producer on Director Simon West's "The Mechanic", starring Jason Statham as well as "Stolen," starring Nicolas Cage. He also was Executive Producer on "Iceman" Starring Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, and James Franco as well as "Stone," starring Robert De Niro and Edward Norton, "Trespass" with Nicole Kidman, "Straight A's," starring Luke Wilson and Anna Paquin, "Drive Angry" with Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard, "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D", "Homefront" starring Jason Statham, Kate Bosworth, and James Franco, "Stonehearst Asylum" Directed by Brad Anderson, starring Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, and Michael Caine, "The Taking of Deborah Logan" which he Produced with Bryan Singer, "The Free World", starring Elisabeth Moss and Octavia Spencer, "The Tale" Starring Laura Dern, "Beast of Burden" starring Daniel Radcliffe, "Speed Kills" starring John Travolta, "Driven" Starring Jason Sudeikis and Lee Pace, "Ordinary Love" starring Liam Neeson and Leslie Manville, "Military Wives" Starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan and "The Estate" starring Anna Faris and Toni Collette. Using an empathetic, filmmaking-centric approach that supports creativity, he has developed an expertise in maintaining studio-quality on-screen within independent budgets. Besson has overseen production on the box office hits, "The Expendables," starring and directed by Sylvester Stallone, "Righteous Kill," starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, as well as "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call," starring Nicolas Cage, "Trust," starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener "Leaves of Grass," starring Edward Norton, and "Solitary Man," starring Michael Douglas. An avid street and BTS photographer, he has also worked as a Producer and Director on national promotion and branding campaigns for clients such as Sony Pictures Television, Telemundo, NBC, Bank of America, Subaru, uni-ball, Coca-Cola, Visa, Best Buy, Subaru, Budweiser, Sprint, Ready Pac, Kraft, TIAA CREF and the Olympic Games. He is a member of the Producer's Guild of America and the Director's Guild of America.

Read more

Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Producer, also editor
Titles
31 on MovieCove · 37 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 2% in 30 days

What are René Besson's films like?

Across their 30 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Drama8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Action7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 20th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Comedy6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 39th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Crime4 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 25th percentile
: browse their Crime movies
Biography3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 73rd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Biography movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
25%
Morality
25%
Survival
18%
Self
18%
Power
6%
Ideas
5%
Society
3%
Family bonds9 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival6 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love4 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception5 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth4 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 29 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 9 · Serious 7 · Dark 13

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 24 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 14 · Intense 11

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 8 · Shifting 19 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 20 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 12 · Even-paced 13 · Relentless 4

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 15 · Full focus 4

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 11 · Heavy 13

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 21 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
22
Melancholic
13
Dread
8
Hopeful
6
Absurd
4
Other
28

How their films linger

Bittersweet13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 9 with a twist

  • Happy9
  • Bittersweet13
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous7

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch René Besson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 26 of their 31 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (13).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for René Besson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

37 credits, 31 with a MovieCove page.

  • Love on Tap(2026)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Upgraded(2024)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • The Estate(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Gigi & Nate(2022)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Paradise Highway(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Good Mourning(2022)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Boundless(2022)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows

  • Military Wives(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Ordinary Love(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films

  • Driven(2018)

    Producer · Second Unit Director

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Spare Room(2018)

    Editor

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • Speed Kills(2018)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films

  • Beast of Burden(2018)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • The Tale(2018)

    Line Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • Gun Shy(2017)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films

  • Destined(2016)

    Editor

    Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films

  • The Free World(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films

  • Stonehearst Asylum(2014)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • The Taking of Deborah Logan(2014)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films

  • Homefront(2013)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Straight A's(2013)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films

  • Texas Chainsaw(2013)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Stolen(2012)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • The Iceman(2012)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Trespass(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • Drive Angry(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • The Mechanic(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Stone(2010)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 19th percentile of all films

  • Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans(2009)

    Executive In Charge Of Production

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Until Death(2007)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • Circadian Rhythm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • Imaginary Heroes(2004)

    Associate Producer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films

  • Boxes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Director · Editor · Producer

  • Messidor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)

    Actor

  • Die Fernfahrer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)

    Show 1 episode · as Schweizer Zollbeamter #2

  • Peaking (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

  • The Night Driver (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 30 titles, 28 of them dated from 1963 to 2026.

Biggest box office

The Mechanic (2011)

$76M worldwide

Highest rated

The Tale (2018)

Midcredits 90th

Most popular right now

Stonehearst Asylum (2014)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 30: 2 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting2 of 30: 1 only directing, 1 with another roleProducing25 of 30: 23 only producing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score51stEditing2 of 30: 1 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew2 of 30: 1 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

1960s1 · acting1970s1 · acting2000s4 · crew2010s16 · crew2020s6 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do René Besson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 42nd percentile, the median of all 30; across their 29 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 42nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Approval · how many liked their films

38thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Reach · how many have seen their films

87thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 29

Midcredits score across 31 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th11
  • 25th to 49th6
  • Below 25th12

Shape of the crowd

12 of their 31 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Panned2
  • Loved with Detractors1
  • Divisive2
  • Crowd Pleaser12
  • Broadly Agreed6
  • Mixed8

Most divisive · producer

Good Mourning (2022)

96th percentile spread · 61% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

The Tale (2018)

Midcredits 90th · 76% liked

Reviewers score the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 27 reviewed titles; fans 55, detractors 29. The element that speaks to their work as an editor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is René Besson's work okay for kids?

Across up to 22 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore15 titles7–93 · median 70 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity22 titles22–71 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity18 titles37–84 · median 77 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs16 titles32–67 · median 48 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense14 titles15–81 · median 60 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does René Besson work with?

People who share at least 2 of René Besson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Avi Lerner shares the most, 11.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles