Bob Weinstein

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Weinstein (born 1954) is an American film and theatre producer, the former head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films, and current head, with his brother Harvey Weinstein, of The Weinstein Co.

1 Career
2 Selected filmography
- 2.1 Producer
- 2.2 Director
3 Broadway credits
4 External links

[edit] Career

Born to Jewish parents in 1954 in Flushing, Queens in New York City, New York, Weinstein grew up in Buffalo, NY.

Raised with an interest in film and production, Bob, along with his brother Harvey Weinstein, independently produced concerts in the late 1970's, until they began producing films with 1979's The Secret Policeman's Ball which they acquired at the Cannes Film Festival. From the profit of that film, they started Miramax, named for their parents, Max and Miriam.

Bob Weinstein and Miramax first broke onto the cultural landscape with the release of Errol Morris's documentary The Thin Blue Line in 1988, which detailed the struggle of a wrongfully convicted inmate stuck on death row, Randall Adams. The publicity that soon surrounded the case resulted in the release of Adams and nationwide publicity for Miramax. The following year, the release of Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape made Miramax 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 dollars 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 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 Co. with several other media executives and reportedly, Paul Newman and Robert Redford.