Tired of waiting for his big break, this former struggling actor-dancer segued into producing, making an auspicious theatrical debut with Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" (1992). Bender began his producing career after appearing in bit parts and working on production crews for three years, beginning with student projects at the American Film Institute. He entered commercial features as a grip on low-budget genre fare. His first producing credits were on the direct-to-video horror tale "The Intruder" and the little-seen improvisational drama "A Tale of Two Sisters" (both 1989).

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