Irwin Winkler

Last updated

Irwin Winkler
Born
New York City, U.S.
EducationB.A. New York University
Occupation(s)Film director, producer
Years active1967-present
Spouse
​
​
(after 1959)​
Children Charles Winkler
David Winkler
Adam Winkler
Parent(s)Sol Winkler
Anna Winkler
Website winklerfilms.com

Irwin Winkler is an American film producer and director. He is the producer or director of over 58 motion pictures, dating back to 1967's Double Trouble , starring Elvis Presley. The fourth film he produced, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), starring Jane Fonda, was nominated for nine Academy Awards. He won an Oscar for Best Picture for 1976's Rocky . As a producer, he has been nominated for Best Picture for four films: Rocky (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Right Stuff (1983), and Goodfellas (1990).

Contents

Early life and education

Winkler was born to a Jewish family [1] [2] in New York City, to Sol and Anna Winkler. Growing up in Coney Island, one of his first jobs was on a bumper ride on the boardwalk. [3] Winkler graduated early from high school and got into New York University, but felt out of place among the older and more mature students, many of whom were former World War II soldiers that had entered university under the G.I. Bill. At the outbreak of the Korean War, he volunteered to join the Army and was stationed in Louisiana for two years. [3] After completing his service, Winkler returned to New York University and went on to receive a degree in American Literature in 1955. [4]

Early career

Winkler's first job after graduating university was at the William Morris Agency (WMA). Among his first clients as an agent were comedians Sammy Shore and Jackie Vernon, though Winkler says of himself he was a "mediocre" agent. [5]

After meeting Robert Chartoff, who managed several comedians, including Jackie Mason, the two set up their own talent management company. [6] One of the "unsuccessful clients" [3] the William Morris Agency allowed him to take with him at the time that he had options on, was the actress Julie Christie, whose screentest for Doctor Zhivago they arranged. [7] Through another of their clients, Winkler and Chartoff brokered the John Schlesinger film Darling to film producer Joseph E. Levine. This deal led them from talent management to film production. [5]

Career as film producer and director

Forming the production company Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Winkler began producing films with his partner Robert Chartoff in the late 1960s. Their first effort (along with Judd Bernard), was Double Trouble (1967) starring Elvis Presley . Their next film was John Boorman's thriller Point Blank (1967) starring Lee Marvin, which is now regarded as a classic. Adding Sydney Pollack to their production team for one project, they garnered critical acclaim for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969). Their next film, The Strawberry Statement (1970), won the Jury Prize at Cannes. Chartoff and Winkler achieved their greatest success yet with Rocky (1976), which earned the Academy Award as Best Picture. Subsequently, the producing duo picked up Best Picture Oscar nominations for Raging Bull (1980) and The Right Stuff (1983), their last project together before Chartoff-Winkler Productions dissolved in 1985. [7]

Winkler produced such noteworthy features as The Right Stuff (1983) which received eight Academy Award nominations with four wins, Round Midnight (1986) which garnered two Academy Award nominations. He then produced back-to-back Costa-Gavras films, Betrayed (1988) and Music Box (1989), which was nominated and won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, before receiving another Best Picture Oscar nomination for Goodfellas (1990). He also produced Rocky II (1978), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985) and Rocky V (1990).

Winkler moved into the director's chair, debuting with Guilty by Suspicion (1991), a drama (which he also scripted) about the Hollywood blacklist that starred Robert De Niro, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. His second feature, a remake of Night and the City , also starred De Niro and was chosen as the closing feature for the 1992 New York Film Festival. Winkler fared excellently at the box office as the writer-director of the Sandra Bullock vehicle The Net (1995), which spawned a series of the same name debuting on the USA Network in 1998.

Life as a House (2001) made its world debut at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival [8] and told the tale of a depressed dying man (Kevin Kline) who funnels his energies into rebuilding the dilapidated beach shack he inherited from his abusive father and, in the process, building bridges between himself and his disaffected son (Hayden Christensen). After this film received critical praise, Winkler re-teamed with Kline for the follow-up De-Lovely (2004), casting the actor as the lead in his biographical film about American composer Cole Porter, which centered on his unique relationship with his wife and muse (Ashley Judd) and was chosen as the closing night film at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. [9]

While his directorial career would last through 2006, Winkler continued to produce his share of films, including The Shipping News (2001), Enough (2002), the 2014 remake of The Gambler —he'd also produced James Toback's 1974 original—and his further return to the Rocky franchise with Rocky Balboa (2006) and the spin-offs Creed (2015), which was nominated for multiple awards including 6 NAACP Image Awards, winning 4, [10] and Creed II (2018). His work with Scorsese continued on with The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Silence (2016), and The Irishman (2019) which was Winkler's first collaboration with Netflix. [3]

In 2019, Winkler published his autobiography, A Life In Movies: Stories from 50 years in Hollywood. [11] The New York Times wrote: "Winkler looks back fondly on a career producing some of the most successful films of the 20th century."[ citation needed ]

Personal life

Winkler married his wife Margo Winkler in 1959 while still working at WMA in New York. They moved to Los Angeles in 1966. Margo was originally from California and her parents, Irma and Charlie Melson, were former Vaudeville performers. [3] The couple have three sons, Charles Winkler, David Winkler, and Adam Winkler. Winkler's youngest son Adam is a professor of constitutional law at the UCLA School of Law and a published author.

Filmography

Director

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter
1991 Guilty by Suspicion YesNoYes
1992 Night and the City YesYesNo
1995 The Net YesYesNo
1999 At First Sight YesYesNo
2001 Life as a House YesYesNo
2004 De-Lovely YesYesNo
2006 Home of the Brave YesYesYes

Producer

Executive producer

As an actor
YearFilmRole
1998 Welcome to Hollywood Himself
Thanks
YearFilmRole
1998 Welcome to Hollywood Special thanks

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryFilmResultRef.
1976 Academy Awards Best Picture Rocky Won [12]
1980 Raging Bull Nominated [13]
1983 The Right Stuff Nominated [14]
1990 Goodfellas Nominated [15]
2003 American Society of Cinematographers Awards Board of Governors Award—Won [16]
2001 Aspen Filmfest Audience Favorite Feature Award Life as a House Won
2016Awards Circuit Community AwardsBest Motion Picture Silence Nominated
2015 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Film Creed Won [17]
1990 British Academy Film Awards Best Film GoodfellasWon [18]
1991 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Guilty by Suspicion Nominated [19]
2019Chicago Indie Critics AwardsBest Studio Film The Irishman Nominated [20]
1989 Chicago International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award—Won
2015 Christopher Awards Best Feature FilmCreedWon
1995 Deauville American Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award—Won
2016 Gold Derby Awards Best Motion PictureSilenceNominated [21]
1976 Golden Globe Awards Best Motion Picture – Drama RockyWon [22]
1980 Raging BullNominated
1983 The Right StuffNominated
1990 GoodfellasNominated
1985 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Picture Revolution Nominated [23]
Rocky IV Nominated
1990 Rocky V Nominated [24]
1999 Hollywood Film Awards Outstanding Achievement in Producing—Won
2008 Israel Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award—Won
1999 Joseph Plateau Awards Joseph Plateau Honorary Award—Won [25]
2006 National Board of Review Awards Career Achievement Award in Producing—Won [26]
2019Online Film & Television Association AwardsBest PictureThe IrishmanNominated [27]
2002 Palm Springs International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award—Won
2016 Producers Guild of America Awards David O. Selznick Achievement Award —Won [28]
1985 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Worst PictureRevolutionWon [29]
2003Swiss Film FundHelvetian Award for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement—Won

Honors

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Winkler has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard. He was also the recipient of the 2017 Producers Guild of America's David O. Selznick Achievement Award for his work in motion pictures and was awarded the Commandeur des Arts et Lettres by France.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Scorsese</span> American filmmaker (born 1942)

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American filmmaker. He emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. He has been honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1997, the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1998, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2010, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2012. Four of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

<i>Raging Bull</i> 1980 film directed by Martin Scorsese

Raging Bull is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Cathy Moriarty, Theresa Saldana, Frank Vincent, and Nicholas Colasanto in his final film role. The film is an adaptation of former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. It follows the career of LaMotta, played by De Niro, his rise and fall in the boxing scene, and his turbulent personal life beset by rage and jealousy.

<i>Rocky</i> 1976 film by John G. Avildsen

Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky franchise and also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), a poor small-time club fighter and loanshark debt collector from Philadelphia, gets an unlikely shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed (Weathers).

<i>They Shoot Horses, Dont They?</i> (film) 1969 film by Sydney Pollack

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a 1969 American psychological drama film directed by Sydney Pollack, from a screenplay written by Robert E. Thompson and James Poe, based on Horace McCoy's 1935 novel. It stars Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young, Bonnie Bedelia, and Red Buttons. It focuses on a disparate group of individuals desperate to win a Depression-era dance marathon and an opportunistic emcee who urges them on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Pesci</span> American actor (born 1943)

Joseph Frank Pesci is an American actor. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Irishman (2019). He has received several awards including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award with nominations for three Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Schrader</span> American film director (born 1946)

Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first became known for writing the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). He later continued his collaboration with Scorsese, writing or co-writing Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Bringing Out the Dead (1999). Schrader is more prolific as a director: his 23 films include Blue Collar (1978), Hardcore (1979), American Gigolo (1980), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Light Sleeper (1992), Affliction (1997), and First Reformed (2017), with the last of these earning him his first Academy Award nomination. Schrader's work frequently depicts "man in a room" stories which feature isolated, troubled men confronting an existential crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Linklater</span> American film director, producer and screenwriter (born 1960)

Richard Stuart Linklater is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies Slacker (1990) and Dazed and Confused (1993); the Before trilogy of romance films: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013); the music-themed comedy School of Rock (2003); the adult animated films Waking Life (2001), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood (2022); the coming-of-age drama Boyhood (2014); the comedy film Everybody Wants Some!! (2016); and the romantic comedy Hit Man (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro González Iñárritu</span> Mexican filmmaker (b.1963)

Alejandro González Iñárritu is a Mexican filmmaker. He is primarily known for making modern psychological drama films about the human condition. His projects have garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades including five Academy Awards with a Special Achievement Award, three Golden Globe Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Directors Guild of America Awards. His most notable films include Amores perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003), Babel (2006), Biutiful (2010), Birdman (2014), The Revenant (2015), and Bardo (2022).

<i>New York, New York</i> (1977 film) 1977 American musical-drama film directed by Martin Scorsese

New York, New York is a 1977 American romantic musical film directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Earl Mac Rauch and Mardik Martin, based on a story by Rauch. John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote several songs for the film, including "New York, New York" which became a global phenomenon. A tribute to Scorsese's home town of New York City, the film stars Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro as a pair of musicians and lovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Chartoff</span> American producer

Robert Irwin Chartoff was an American film producer and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Schoonmaker</span> American film editor (born 1940)

Thelma Schoonmaker is an American film editor, best known for her collaboration over five decades with director Martin Scorsese. She has received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and four ACE Eddie Awards. She has been honored with the British Film Institute Fellowship in 1997, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2014, and the BAFTA Fellowship in 2019.

Douglas Urbanski is an American film producer and occasional film actor. He is a twice Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe Nominated and BAFTA-winning motion picture producer.

<i>Leo the Last</i> 1970 film

Leo the Last is a 1970 British drama film co-written and directed by John Boorman, based on the play The Prince by George Tabori, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Billie Whitelaw.

Rocky is an American sports drama multimedia franchise created by Sylvester Stallone, based on the life of boxer Rocky Balboa, which began with the eponymous 1976 film and has since become a cultural phenomenon.

Emanuele Crialese is an Italian screenwriter and film director. He is a native of Rome and studied filmmaking in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert De Niro</span> American actor (born 1943)

Robert Anthony De Niro is an American actor and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.

<i>Believe in Me</i> (1971 film) 1971 American film directed by Stuart Hagmann

Believe in Me is a 1971 American romantic drama film directed by Stuart Hagmann and written by Israel Horovitz. The film was produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Coogler</span> American filmmaker (born 1986)

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an American filmmaker. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards and four Black Reel Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Grammy Award.

<i>Creed III</i> 2023 film by Michael B. Jordan

Creed III is a 2023 American sports drama film starring and directed by Michael B. Jordan in his directional debut, and produced by Jordan, Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Elizabeth Raposo, Jonathan Glickman and Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to Creed II (2018), the third installment in the Creed film series, and the ninth overall in the Rocky film series. The film was written by Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin from a story they co-wrote with Ryan Coogler. The film sees the accomplished and recently retired boxer Adonis Creed come face-to-face with his childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson. Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Mila Davis-Kent, Florian Munteanu and Phylicia Rashad also star.

References

  1. ↑ Erens, Patricia (1998). The Jew in American Cinema . Indiana University Press. p.  392. ISBN   978-0-253-20493-6.
  2. ↑ J Weekly: "Celebrity Jews" by Nate Bloom. May 28, 2004
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "WTF with Marc Maron, Episode 1015: Irwin Winkler". wtfpod.com. May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  4. ↑ King, Susan (July 7, 2010). "Hollywood Star Walk: Irwin Winkler". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  5. 1 2 Champlin, Charles (January 11, 1986). "Irwin Winkler's 'Rocky' Road to Glory". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  6. ↑ Chawkins, Steve (June 11, 2015). "Robert Chartoff dies at 81; Producer of 'Rocky,' 'Raging Bull'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Barnes, Mike (June 10, 2015). "Robert Chartoff, Producer of 'Rocky' and 'Raging Bull,' Dies at 81". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  8. ↑ Leger 2001-08-08T21:12:00+01:00, Louise. "Life As A House to premiere at Toronto Festival". Screen. Retrieved February 18, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ reporters2004-03-10T00:00:00+00:00, Staff. "De-lovely wraps up Cannes". Screen. Retrieved February 18, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "'Creed,' 'Empire,' 'Black-ish' win big at NAACP Image Awards". EW.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  11. ↑ Winkler, Irwin (2019). A Life in Movies: Stories from Fifty Years in Hollywood (1st ed.). New York: Abrams Press. ISBN   978-1-4197-3452-6 – via Google Books.
  12. ↑ "The 49th Academy Awards (1977) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2011.
  13. ↑ "The 53rd Academy Awards (1981) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  14. ↑ "The 56th Academy Awards (1984) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  15. ↑ "The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  16. ↑ "The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on August 2, 2011.
  17. ↑ "Black Reel Awards – Winners". Black Reel Awards . Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  18. ↑ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1991". BAFTA . 1991. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Official Selection 1991: All the Selection". festival-cannes.fr. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "2019 Awards – Chicago Indie Critics". Chicago Indie Critics Awards. December 29, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Gold Derby Film Awards 2017: 'La La Land' sweeps with 9 wins including Best Picture". Gold Derby . February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Irwin Winkler – Golden Globes". HFPA . Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  23. ↑ "6th Annual RAZZIE Awards – 1985 Archive". March 23, 1986. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2002.
  24. ↑ "11th Annual RAZZIE Awards – 1990 Archive". March 24, 1991. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  25. ↑ "The Joseph Plateau Honorary Award". Joseph Plateau Award . Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  26. ↑ "2006 Award Winners". National Board of Review . Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  27. ↑ "24th Annual Film Awards (2019)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  28. ↑ "PGA Awards: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter . January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Awards". Archived from the original on August 16, 2007.

Sources

  • Winkler, Irwin. A Life in Movies: Stories from 50 years in Hollywood. New York, Abrams Press, 2019
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.