Robert Newmyer

Robert Newmyer
Born (1956-05-30)May 30, 1956
Washington, D.C.
Died December 12, 2005(2005-12-12) (aged 49)
Toronto, Ontario

Robert F. Newmyer (May 30, 1956 – December 12, 2005) was a producer of numerous films, both commercial and independent.

Biography

Robert Frederick Newmyer (Bobby) was born on May 30, 1956 in Washington, DC to James and Virginia Newmyer. He graduated from Sidwell Friends School in 1974, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from Swarthmore in 1978 and afterward worked as a real estate developer in Telluride, Colorado. In 1982 he received a master's degree in business administration from Harvard Business School in 1982.[1]

According to long-time friend, documentary filmmaker Eames Yates, "Just before he graduated, he saw Spielberg's E.T.' and he came out and said, 'That's what I want to do'."[2] Newmyer went on to hold a variety of positions at Columbia Pictures, before becoming a vice president of production and acquisitions.

Newmyer and Jeffrey Silver formed "Outlaw Productions", the name derived from Newmyer's favorite Clint Eastwood character, the outlaw Josey Wales. The production company had, for a time, a long-term deal with Warner Brothers. Chairwoman of Sony Motion Pictures Group, Amy Pascal said,"Bobby was a true maverick and a true risk-taker.[2]

Personal life

Newmyer was married to wife Deborah Jelin Newmyer for nineteen years. They have four children, Sofi, Teddy, James and Billi, all of Los Angeles; his parents, and his two sisters, Elsa Newmyer of the District of Columbia and Lory Newmyer of Hull, Massachusetts.[1]

Paramount producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who worked with Newmyer at Warner Bros., recalled Newmyer's love of whitewater rafting, "Bobby looked at movies as he looked at life: with a great sense of passion and a great sense of risk-taking."[2]

Death

On December 12, 2005, Newmyer died at the age of 49 in Toronto, Ontario. Newmyer, a lifelong asthma sufferer, had a heart attack triggered by asthma, while working out in a health club. He was on location working on the film Breach.[1]

In addition to the film Breach, at the time of his death, Newmyer had Santa Clause 3 in production, and Phat Girlz in postproduction. To finance the romantic comedy Phat Girlz,"he put up nearly $3 million of his own money, liquidating assets and mortgaging his homes.[1] In June 2014, Newmyer told The New York Times, "I do find it terrifying and I would say, in waves, I am feeling, experiencing phenomenal stress for the past five or six months. I will clearly stay on this track until we finish this movie, exhibit it and it's sold to a distributor."[2]

Legacy

He also had in development of a movie about the young boys forced to flee war-torn and famine-ridden Sudan, an idea that arose from a segment on 60 Minutes. Newmyer became an advocate for the young Sudanese immigrants, providing temporary accommodations for some of them in his home.[1] Some of "the Lost Boys" gave the eulogy at his funeral.[3] The Lost Boys of Sudan was in development for Paramount Pictures. (It was eventually released in 2014 by Warner Bros. as The Good Lie).[4]

The Bobby Newmyer Memorial Fund was established to further his work with Sudanese refugees.[2]

Awards

Outlaw Productions

"Outlaw Productions" is an American film production company[5] founded in 1987 by the late Robert Newmyer and Jeffrey Silver. They have produced independent films as well as major studio features. In 2015, the President was Newmyer's widow, Deb Newmyer, an independent movie and television producer in her own right, who worked at Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, for 12 years.[6]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fox, Margalit. "Robert Newmyer, 49, a Producer of 'sex, lies and videotape,' Dies", The New York Times, December 14, 2005
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gold, Matea. "Robert Newmyer, 49; Independent Producer Made Two Dozen Films", Los Angeles Times, December 13, 2005
  3. ↑ Da7e. "Reese Witherspoon, Corey Stoll and 'The Good Lie' Cast Talk Making 2014's Most Worthwhile Film", Latino-Review, October 13, 2014
  4. ↑ Zeitchik, Steven. "'The Good Lie's' improbable Hollywood journey", Los Angeles Times, September 22, 2014
  5. ↑ Filmmakers
  6. ↑ "The Team", Outlaw Productions
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