Vajna on 1956

“When Andy gives you his word, you know it’s good. And no matter how tough the going gets, you can count on him. He’s got nerves of steel.”

Joe Roth, chairman, Walt Disney Motion Picture Group

“I decided to learn something that I could do no matter where I lived – I became a hairdresser. I chose hairdressing because it is a useful skill and one that I could always go back to. Knowing this gave me great security and the freedom to explore other avenues.”

Andrew G. Vajna

“We’re glad to be a part of your lifetime.”

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore to Andy when he received NATO/ShoWest Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995

“Andy Vajna was a great friend and collaborator. He believed in me on one of my toughest shoots, Terminator 2. I will miss him, his humor, class and style, but especially the motorcycle rides.”

James Cameron

“The profession is never boring. I have found the interesting things in everything I have ever done. So none of my occupations ever seemed like work.”

Andrew G. Vajna

“He’s one of the few people around with the balls to play with his own money. His word carries a lot of weight. He’s personally out on the line. It’s always given me a lot of respect for him. Andy is always involved. He’s your partner or your boss, but he offers guidance as opposed to instructions… He approaches business in a sort of family style. He keeps the same friends for 30 years, and that’s kind of remarkable.”

John McTiernan, director of Medicine Man and Die Hard With a Vengeance

“When you work with Andy, the buck stops with him. I don’t deal with anybody else. It becomes very much Andy’s movie, one singer, one song.”

Danny Cannon, director of Judge Dread

“He’s got great respect for the director and courage to do projects that aren’t so easy… He won’t let you down; you can trust him.”

Paul Verhoeven, director of Total Recall

“Andy doesn’t compare to anybody else in this business. Andy is unique, he’s independent; he’s a rare blend of entrepreneur and film maker. He puts his money on the line time and time again, and he’s won as big as anyone in this town. You’ve got to admire somebody like that.”

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Dream Works SKG Partner

“Andy Vajna was a dear friend and a revolutionary force in Hollywood. He proved that you don’t need studios to make huge movies like Terminator 2 or Total Recall. He had a huge heart, and he was one of the most generous guys around. I’ll miss him.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Working with Andy was the best experience of my career and he makes the world’s greatest bouillabaisse.”

Steven de Souza, screenwriter Judge Dredd

“Vajna defined what would become known as the ‘big action picture’. He really has a wide range of talent and ability.”

Tim Warner, general chairman of film company NATO / ShoWest

“A very very sad day ... Producer ANDY VAJNA, the man that Made Rambo happened, died today… LOVED this man’s courage - a pioneer. Believed In making FIRST BLOOD when no one else did.…This truly breaks my heart. Rip”

Sylvester Stallone

“You can’t make an actor act. You have got to create an atmosphere he wants to perform. It can be hell.”

Andrew G. Vajna

“I fell in love in love with Andy the moment I met him, because for once I’d met a Hungarian in Hollywood who was not only more successful than I was, but also crazier.”

Joe Eszterhas

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Vajna on 1956

On May 3rd, Andrew G. Vajna, government commissioner for the Hungarian film industry, and Maria Schmidt, director of the House of Terror Museum and government commissioner in charge of the 2016 memorial year, have signed an agreement on the occasion of the 1956 Memorial Day.

As part of the cooperation, the government commissioners support the creation of scripts that focus on the 1956 revolution and organize a two-day long film festival for productions that work around this topic.

The objective of the agreement is to commemorate the revolution of 1956, to create myths around one of the most dermeninant era of the Hungarian history, and to make a connection to the heroes of the revolution.

As Vajna commented when signing the agreement: “It is our primary goal to address youngsters and make them remember. If outcome only happens to be just one quality film, the copperation was still certainly worthwhile. The revolution of 1956 has always been my heart-throb.”

Though Vajna emigrated to the United States with his family following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, he has never forgotten his Hungarian roots. It has never been a secret that Hungarian filmmaking and history is very important to him.

In 2005 Andy Vajna was – together with Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu – the executive producer of a feature length documentary called 'Freedom’s Fury' created by Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons. Freedom's Fury is a documentary film about the Melbourne, Australia 1956 Summer Olympics semifinal water polo match between Hungary and the USSR, and the events that led up to the violent battle, the match that what would later be known as the 'Blood in the Water match.'

Vajna was also the producer of The Children of Glory, Hungary’s most successful movie in 2006 with more than half million viewers. Children of Glory was directed by Krisztina Goda and commemorates Hungary's Revolution of 1956 and the 'Blood in the Water' match. While telling the story of 1956 in part through fictional lead characters, the film-makers simultaneously recreated many of the key public events of the Revolution, including the huge demonstrations and the fighting in the streets of Budapest.

December 2016