Derek
Gibson.

Derek Gibson is a British-born international film producer and executive whose career spans more than six decades and the emergence of modern independent cinema.

Gibson began his career in 1962 with Associated British Cinemas in Liverpool. Two years later, he moved to London and joined Pearl & Dean, the international cinema advertising company, before moving into documentary filmmaking and motion-picture production.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1975, Gibson became part of a fundamental change in the film business as filmmakers sought greater independence from the traditional studio system. Drawing on relationships with producers in Canada, the UK, and Europe, he structured co-productions using bank financing that was later replaced, before distribution, by non-refundable tax-based funds.

In 1981, Gibson joined Hemdale Film Corporation as Vice President and Head of Production, later becoming President. Working with John Daly, he helped build Hemdale into one of the leading independent production and distribution companies of the 1980s and 1990s. During his tenure, the company financed or produced more than eighty films, often backing projects outside conventional studio financing.

At Hemdale, Gibson used his experience in international finance and co-production to bring independent projects to the screen. The company worked with directors and actors at formative points in their careers, including James Cameron, Oliver Stone, Ken Loach, Robert Altman, Dan O'Bannon, Sean Penn, Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington, and Julia Roberts.

Films produced or financed during Gibson's years at Hemdale received twenty-one Academy Award nominations and thirteen wins. Platoon and The Last Emperor won the Academy Award for Best Picture in consecutive years, in 1986 and 1987.