Bob Yari

Biography

Bob Yari (born Babar Yaghoubzadeh, 30 May 1961, Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-born American film producer and director who immigrated to the U.S. around 1979. He studied at UCSB and the Brooks Institute. He is best known as the primary financier of Crash (2004), which won the Best Picture Oscar despite him being denied official producer credit by the Producers Guild. He co-founded Stratus Film with Mark Gordon and has produced over 40 features including The Illusionist (2006), Street Kings (2008), and Employee of the Month (2006). As a television executive producer he is a key figure behind the Yellowstone franchise (1883, 1923), Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingstown, and Landman. He directed Mind Games (1989) and Papa: Hemingway in Cuba (2015). In 2024 he founded Magenta Light Studios. He has also published two books and won a BAFTA and an Independent Spirit Award.