Walter F. Parkes was born on April 15, 1951, in Bakersfield, California. He attended Yale University, graduating cum laude in 1973. His first film project was The California Reich, released in 1975.
Parkes met Laurie MacDonald in 1982 and wrote the screenplay for WarGames in 1983 with Lawrence Lasker, receiving a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. The success led to a deal with Paramount Pictures, but no films were released. He produced Volunteers in 1985 with Richard Shepherd and reunited with Lasker on Project X in 1987.
The duo continued their success with True Believer, Awakenings, and Sneakers. They tried to sign a deal with Columbia Pictures when their deal with Paramount ended, producing the TV show Eddie Dodd with Clyde Phillips.
In 1991, Parkes and Lasker parted ways, with Parkes partnering with MacDonald to establish Aerial Pictures. The company had a two-year deal at Columbia Pictures and was briefly transferred to 20th Century Fox in 1993. Aerial's only product was the TV show Birdland.
In 1993, Parkes and MacDonald were approached by Steven Spielberg to run Amblin Entertainment, shuttering Aerial Pictures. He oversaw production of Little Giants, Twister, and Men in Black.
In 1994, Parkes and MacDonald were approached to start the DreamWorks studio, serving as co-heads of film production. He oversaw production of The Peacemaker, Deep Impact, Gladiator, The Ring, and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
In 2005, Parkes and MacDonald started Parkes/MacDonald Productions with a deal at DreamWorks, producing leftover projects like The Lookout and The Kite Runner, as well as Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd.
In 2009, Parkes and MacDonald partnered with Image Nation and signed a television deal with NBCUniversal. They produced Men in Black³, Men in Black: International, Rings, and original projects like Flight and Keeping Up with the Joneses.
In 2016, he became a founding partner and chairman of the virtual reality studio Dreamscape Immersive. Parkes and MacDonald are currently working on future projects like "Gladiator 2" and "Barbie".
