Robert Shaye

Robert Shaye
Born	Robert Kenneth Shaye (1939-03-04) March 4, 1939 (age 85) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Michigan Columbia Law School
Occupation(s)	Film producer, film director, writer, actor
Years active	1963–present
Known for	Founder of New Line Cinema
Notable work	The Lord of the Rings
Spouse	Eva G. Lindstern ​ (m. 1970)​ [1]
Children	2
Relatives	Lin Shaye (sister)

Robert Kenneth Shaye (born March 4, 1939) is an American businessman, film producer, actor, director, and writer. Shaye is the founder of New Line Cinema, a film production studio that was most successful for distributing The Lord of the Rings film series, based on the classic fantasy novel of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien and directed by New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson. He stepped down from New Line in 2008 after the studio was restructured as a unit of Warner Bros. Pictures. ^[2]

Biography

Early life

Shaye was born to a Jewish ^{[3] [4]} family in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Dorothy and Max Mendle Shaye, a supermarket owner and artist. ^[1] His mother was an immigrant from Russia. ^[3] He is the brother of actress Lin Shaye. ^[3]

Shaye graduated from Detroit's Mumford High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School. He also graduated from the University of Stockholm as a Fulbright scholar. Shaye is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and he has served on the board of trustees for the Neurosciences Institute, the Legal Aid Society, the American Film Institute, and the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation. ^[2]

New Line Cinema

In 1967, Shaye formed New Line Cinema. The company started with a package of feature films and shorts rented to colleges. From there, New Line expanded to re-releases such as Reefer Madness and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films such as Get Out Your Handkerchiefs . In the 1980s and early 1990s, New Line released blockbuster films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . In 1994, New Line was acquired by the Turner Broadcasting System for $500 million, with Shaye earning more than $100 million. ^{[5] [6]} In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System became part of Time Warner.

In 1998, when New Zealand director Peter Jackson brought his 36-minute pitch reel for a big screen adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy classic The Lord of the Rings to New Line, hoping to turn the three volumes into two films, Shaye suggested that Jackson should make three films instead. Shaye subsequently greenlit a simultaneous production for all three installments. ^[2] At the box office, the three films are among New Line's highest-grossing and most popular films, earning a combined total of nearly $3 billion worldwide. They were nominated for a total of thirty Academy Awards, winning seventeen, including eleven for The Return of the King at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony.

Investing career

Independently and through his family office Lemoko Management Company ^[7] he is an active investor in companies like Brat TV. ^[8]

Unique Features

In February 2008, Shaye and New Line co-chairman Michael Lynne were dismissed from the company as part of a significant restructuring ordered by then-Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes. ^[2] That June, Shaye and Lynne formed a new independent film company called Unique Features. The company's projects include The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Sony/Constantin), the TV series Shadowhunters (Freeform Television), When the Bough Breaks (Screen Gems), and Ambition, directed by Shaye. ^[9]

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Credit
1977	Stunts	Executive producer
1981	Polyester
1982	Alone in the Dark
	Xtro	Executive producer
1983	The First Time
1984	A Nightmare on Elm Street
1985	A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge
1986	Critters	Executive producer
	Quiet Cool
1987	A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
	My Demon Lover
	The Hidden
	Stranded	Executive producer
1988	Hairspray
	Critters 2: The Main Course
	The Prince of Pennsylvania
	A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
1989	A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
1990	Heart Condition	Associate producer
1991	Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare
1993	Blink	Executive producer
1994	Wes Craven's New Nightmare
2000	Frequency
2001	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2003	Freddy vs. Jason
	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2007	The Last Mimzy
	Hairspray
	The Golden Compass
2010	A Nightmare on Elm Street
2013	The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
2016	When the Bough Breaks
2018	Haunting on Fraternity Row	Executive producer
2019	Ambition
2026	High in the Clouds

As an actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1984	A Nightmare on Elm Street	Newsreader / KRGR Radio Announcer	Voice role Uncredited
1985	A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge	Bartender	Uncredited
1986	Quiet Cool	Franklin
1987	The Hidden	Man in Silver Mercedes Picking Up a Gorgeous Girl	Uncredited
1988	A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master	Lecturer
1991	Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare	Ticket Seller
1993	Loaded Weapon 1	Interrogation Room Person	Uncredited
	Man's Best Friend	Mobile Mechanic
1994	Wes Craven's New Nightmare	Himself
2001	Festival in Cannes	Bert Shuster
2003	Freddy vs. Jason	Principal Shaye
2004	Cellular	Detective Looking Guy

As director

Year	Film	Notes
1963	Image	Short film
1965	On Fighting Witches	Short film
1973	The Best of the New York Erotic Film Festival
1990	Book of Love
2007	The Last Mimzy
2019	Ambition

As writer

Year	Film
1977	Stunts
1982	Alone in the Dark

As cinematographer

Year	Film	Notes
1965	On Fighting Witches	Short film

Second unit director or assistant director

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1984	A Nightmare on Elm Street	Director: melting staircase sequence	Uncredited

Thanks

Year	Film	Role
1997	Spawn	Thanks
	Boogie Nights	Special thanks
1998	Dark City	Thanks
1999	Magnolia	Special thanks
2006	Kill Your Darlings	Thanks
2007	Run Fatboy Run
2008	The Women	Special appreciation
2019	Girl Blood Sport	Special thanks
	Motherless Brooklyn	The director wishes to thank

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1988	The Freddy Krueger Special		Television special
1988−90	Freddy's Nightmares	Executive producer
2016−19	Shadowhunters	Executive producer

As an actor

Year	Title	Role
1988	Freddy's Nightmares	The Minister

Production manager

Year	Title	Role
2011	SpongeBob SquarePants	Executive in charge of production

See also

• New Line Cinema

References

1. "Robert Shaye Biography". Filmreference.com.
2. DiGiacomo, Frank (February 4, 2009). "The Lost Tycoons". Vanity Fair .
3. Sheridan, Patricia (June 1, 2015). "Patricia Sheridan's Breakfast With ... Lin Shaye". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette .
4. "Celebrity Jews". J. J. The Jewish News of Northern California. March 23, 2007. "Last Mimzy" is from a sci-fi story that was a childhood favorite of director Robert Shaye. The screenplay is by seasoned Jewish writers Toby Emmerich and Bruce Joel Rubin (who won an Oscar for his script for "Ghost'). Shaye told the Detroit Jewish News that he met Emmerich when they were kids attending a Conservative synagogue in suburban Detroit
5. "New Line to Join Ted Turner Empire Today : Film: With more money, the company is likely to add a few big movies to its annual production schedule". Los Angeles Times . January 28, 1994. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
6. "Robert Shaye". Daily Variety (61st anniversary ed.). January 12, 1995. p. 28.
7. "LEMOKO MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC. In West Hollywood, CA | Company Info".
8. "Bob Shaye Joins Brat TV as Strategic Investor". Variety. September 22, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
9. Busch, Anita (March 16, 2016). "Robert Shaye And Michael Lynne Pair For New Film 'Gifted'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 9, 2017.

External links

• Robert Shaye at IMDb
• Interview (along with Michael Lynne) on Charlie Rose