Bob Weinstein
Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Lantern Entertainment, Miramax Films, and The Weinstein Company, all of which he co-founded with his brother, Harvey. He has focused on making commercially successful action and horror films.[4]
Bob Weinstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Weinstein October 18, 1954 Flushing, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Film producer, director, writer, businessman |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Clayton
( m. 2000; div . 2012) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Harvey Weinstein (brother) |
| Notes | |
Early life
Weinstein was born in Flushing, New York. He was raised in an Ashkenazi Jewish family.[5][6] His parents were Max Weinstein, a diamond cutter,[7] and Miriam (née Postel).[7][8] He grew up with his older brother, Harvey Weinstein, in a housing co-op named Electchester in New York City.[9] and attended John Bowne High School like his older brother.[10]
Career
Bob, his brother Harvey Weinstein, and Corky Burger independently produced rock concerts as Harvey & Corky Productions in Buffalo through most of the 1970s.[9][11] Both Weinstein brothers had grown up with a passion for movies, and they nurtured a desire to enter the film industry.
In the late 1970s, using profits from their concert promotion business, the brothers created a small independent film distribution company called Miramax, named after their parents – Miriam and Max. The company's first releases were primarily music-oriented concert films, such as Paul McCartney's Rockshow. In the early 1980s, Miramax acquired the rights to two British films of benefit shows filmed for the human rights organization Amnesty International. Working closely with Martin Lewis, the producer of the original films, the Weinstein brothers edited the two films into one movie tailored for the American market. The resulting film, released as The Secret Policeman's Other Ball in May 1982, became Miramax's first hit. The movie raised considerable sums for Amnesty International and was credited by Amnesty with having helped to raise its profile in the US.
The Weinsteins slowly built upon this success throughout the 1980s with arthouse films that achieved critical attention and modest commercial success. Harvey Weinstein and Miramax gained wider attention in 1988 with the release of Errol Morris' documentary The Thin Blue Line, which detailed the struggle of Randall Adams, a wrongfully convicted inmate sentenced to death row. The publicity that soon surrounded the case resulted in Adams' release and nationwide publicity for Miramax. The following year, their successful launch release of Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape propelled Miramax to become the most successful independent studio in America.
Miramax continued to grow its library of films and directors until, in 1993, Disney offered Harvey and Bob $80 million for ownership of Miramax. Agreeing to the deal that would cement their Hollywood clout and ensure that they would remain at the head of their company, Miramax followed the next year with their first blockbuster, Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.
1996 brought Miramax's first Academy Award for Best Picture with the victory of The English Patient. This would start a string of critical successes that would include Shakespeare in Love and Good Will Hunting.
On March 29, 2005, it was announced that the Weinstein brothers would leave Miramax on September 30 and would form their own production company, The Weinstein Company.[12] Five years later, in 2010, Disney sold Miramax to the Qatari group Filmyard Holdings, who in turn sold it to another Qatari entity, the beIN Media Group, in 2016.
On December 4, 2017, Bob Weinstein filed a trademark application for Watch This Entertainment.[13] Almost two years later, Weinstein announced his new production company to the world, with a focus on "family films, comedies and upscale adult thrillers," and a first project of an animated feature titled Endangered, with Téa Leoni serving as co-producer and voicing a lead character.[14]
Personal life
Weinstein has been married twice. He has two daughters, Sara and Nicole, from his first marriage. Weinstein married Anne Clayton, a former book editor, in 2000. They have two children, Lucy and Jacob. and lived in a large apartment in The Beresford at 7 West 81st Street on the Upper West Side.
Anne filed for divorce in April 2012, and sought a protective order because she feared "bodily harm".[4] Weinstein issued a statement from Don Sloane, a Washington-based interventionist who denied that Weinstein was a danger to his wife, and who said that Anne was reacting to a family intervention conducted to address her alcoholism.[4] Anne's lawyers denied that their client suffered from any addiction, and said that Sloane's statement was from Weinstein's paid agent, who had never met Anne Weinstein.[4]
In October 2017, he talked about his estranged brother Harvey Weinstein and the allegations of sexual harassment, abuse, and rape against him and called his brother "wicked and depraved." In the interview, Bob denied knowing about any of the allegations against his brother, but acknowledged that Harvey had a history of extramarital affairs and verbal abuse towards family members.[15]
Selected filmography
Executive producer
Producer
- Playing for Keeps (1986)
- Restoration (1995) co-producer
- Mimic (1997)
- Reindeer Games (2000)
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) co-producer (uncredited)
- Bad Santa (2003)
Director
- Playing for Keeps (1986)
Writer
- The Burning (1981)
Broadway credits
Note: In all productions Weinstein has functioned as a co-producer with other producers.
- The Real Thing (2000 revival) – play – produced by Miramax Films – Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play
- The Producers (2001) – musical – Tony Award for Best Musical, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Musical
- Sweet Smell of Success (2002) – musical – Tony Nomination for Best Musical, Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding New Musical
- La bohème (2003 revival) – opera – Tony Nomination for Best Revival of a Musical, Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Musical
- All Shook Up (2005) – musical – produced by Bob Weinstein & Miramax Films
- The Color Purple (2005) – musical
References
- "Bob Weinstein profile". cityfile.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011.
- "Bob Weinstein Biography". fandango.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016.
- Weniger, Kay. Das große Personenlexikon des Films. ISBN 3-89602-340-3.
- Ross, Barbara (April 6, 2012). "Film producer Robert Weinstein's wife files for divorce, seeks order of protection". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- Lurie, Rod. "Harvey Weinstein Gets My Criticism of "The Reader" Wrong" The Wrap. February 21, 2009
- Renee, Ghert-Zand (March 6, 2012). "Weinstein Awarded French Legion of Honor". The Jewish Daily Forward.
- Gates, Anita (November 3, 2016). "Miriam Weinstein, Mother and Backbone of Original Miramax, Dies at 90". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
- Weinstein, Bob (February 7, 2011). "All Thanks to Max". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- Biskind, Peter (2004). Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film. Simon & Schuster. pp. 463–464. ISBN 0-684-86259-X.
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/young-harvey-weinstein-signed-a-high-school-yearbook-new-york-state-prison-1089208
- Mason, Ian Garrick (October 11, 2004). "When Harvey met Mickey". New Statesman. Retrieved January 11, 2007.
- Indiewire; Indiewire (March 30, 2005). "Weinstein's Leaving Miramax, Will Form New Company; Brothers Taking Dimension Label, Leaving All Fil".
- "WATCH THIS ENTERTAINMENT - Trademark Details". JUSTIA Trademarks. Justia. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- Sperling, Nicole (October 12, 2019). "Bob Weinstein, Brother of Disgraced Mogul, Starts New Production Company". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bob-weinstein-gets-emotional-depraved-harvey-saving-company-his-waking-nightmare-1048905
External links
Authority control  |
|
|---|