Bob Yari

Bob Yari (born Babar Yaghoubzadeh) is an Iranian-born film producer best known for his work on the Academy Award-winning drama "Crash." Yari, the son of Iranian immigrants, grew up in New York City and trained in cinematography at the University of Santa Barbara. After making his film debut as director of the 1989 horror feature "Mind Games," Yari quit the film business and made his fortune as a real estate tycoon. Still peripherally involved in film as a financier of everything from big-budget Hollywood films to small independent features, Yari used his financial clout to help bring A-list talent to films with tighter budgets. In 2004, he served as the primary financial backer of the critically acclaimed ensemble drama "Crash," a role that generated some controversy when Yari sued the Producers Guild of America for denying him a full producer credit on the Oscar-winning film, which meant that he did not receive an Oscar when the film unexpectedly won the Best Picture award. (He did receive honors from other award organizations, including the U.K.'s BAFTA Awards.) Yari also took out full-page ads in the movie industry trade papers calling for an end to the arbitration panels that denied him a credit.