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Lawrence Kasanoff

Lawrence Kasanoff

Producer, also director and writer · Born June 1, 1959 (67) · Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Lawrence Alan "Larry" Kasanoff (born June 1, 1959) is an American filmmaker who founded the Vestron Pictures genre subsidiary Lightning Pictures in 1986, Lightstorm Entertainment with James Cameron in 1990 and Threshold Entertainment in 1993. He is known for films such as the Mortal Kombat movie franchise including the 1995 Mortal Kombat, its sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and its spin-off series Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm and Mortal Kombat: Conquest. He also served as executive producer of the 2021 reboot. Some other films he has produced include Blood Diner, Blue Steel, True Lies, and Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers and directing the infamous animated box-office bomb, Foodfight!. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lawrence Kasanoff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
June 1, 1959 (67)
From
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Works as
Producer, also director and writer
Titles
29 on MovieCove · 37 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 128% in 30 days

What are Lawrence Kasanoff's films like?

Across their 25 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Action8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 41st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies
Comedy7 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 9th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Animation6 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 18th percentile
: browse their Animation 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
Self
25%
Bonds
23%
Morality
20%
Survival
18%
Society
7%
Power
5%
Ideas
2%
Survival7 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds5 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeSacrifice3 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 25 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 15 · Serious 7 · Dark 3

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

Grounded 6 · Stylized 11 · Heightened 8

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

A split, not a type: Gentle 12 · Charged 4 · Intense 9

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

A split, not a type: Steady 12 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 4

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 10

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

Slow burn 7 · Even-paced 11 · Relentless 7

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

Casual 20 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

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

Resolved 25 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
12
Absurd
11
Thrilling
10
Joyful
8
Warm
5
Other
14

How their films linger

Fun16 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Happy14
  • Bittersweet8
  • Ambiguous3

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 Lawrence Kasanoff's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 21 of their 29 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (10).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Lawrence Kasanoff'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, 29 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Mortal Kombat II(2026)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Rotten: Behind the Foodfight (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    as Archival Footage

  • My Home Unknown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Executive Producer

  • Mortal Kombat(2021)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films

  • Bobbleheads: The Movie(2020)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Mindfulness: Be Happy Now(2015)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out(2012)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Foodfight!(2012)

    Director · Producer · Story · Writer · as Cheasel T. Weasel (voice)

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • LEGO Hero Factory (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 17 episodes · Producer

  • Lego: The Adventures of Clutch Powers(2010)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films

  • Bionicle: The Legend Reborn(2009)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • クリスタナ・ローケン T-X (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Executive Producer

  • Beowulf(1999)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat: Conquest(1998)

    Show 22 episodes · Producer

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • Mortal Kombat: Annihilation(1997)

    Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Show 13 episodes · Executive Producer

  • Strange Days(1995)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins(1995)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • Mortal Kombat(1995)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • True Lies(1994)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films

  • The Making of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    Executive Producer

  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day(1991)

    Production Manager

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • A Gnome Named Gnorm(1990)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Ghoulies Go to College(1991)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Class of 1999(1990)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Blue Steel(1990)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Far from Home(1989)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud(1989)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films

  • Dream a Little Dream(1989)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Dangerous Curves(1988)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 3rd percentile of all films

  • The Underachievers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Executive Producer

  • You Can't Hurry Love(1988)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • The Beat(1988)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Dirty Dancing(1987)

    Production Manager

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • Blood Diner(1987)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Party Camp(1987)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • X Factor in the Jungle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer

Career shape

A full career of 36 titles, 35 of them dated from 1987 to 2026.

Biggest box office

True Lies (1994)

$379M worldwide

Highest rated

True Lies (1994)

Midcredits 89th

Most popular right now

Mortal Kombat II (2026)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 36: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting2 of 36: 1 only directing, 1 with another roleWriting2 of 36: 0 only writing, 2 with another roleProducing32 of 36: 30 only producing, 2 with another role · typical Midcredits score27thOther crew2 of 36: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1980s9 · crew1990s14 · crew2000s2 · crew2010s5 · 1 acting · 5 crew2020s5 · 1 acting · 4 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 Lawrence Kasanoff's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 32nd percentile, the median of all 28; across their 25 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 28th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

28thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 25

Approval · how many liked their films

26thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 25

Reach · how many have seen their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 25

Midcredits score across 29 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th10
  • Below 25th11

Shape of the crowd

17 of their 29 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned2
  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed17

Most divisive · actor, director, writer, producer

Foodfight! (2012)

99th percentile spread · 69% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · producer

True Lies (1994)

Midcredits 89th · 78% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 47/100 and the pacing 38/100 in their films, across 22 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

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 Lawrence Kasanoff's work okay for kids?

Across up to 15 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore13 titles43–89 · median 69 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity15 titles17–68 · median 37 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity13 titles26–84 · median 63 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs11 titles17–56 · median 31 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense11 titles43–78 · median 58 · 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 Lawrence Kasanoff work with?

People who share at least 2 of Lawrence Kasanoff's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ellen Steloff shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles