Robert Shaye
Encyclopedia
Robert Kenneth Shaye often referred to as Bob Shaye, is an American
businessman
, film producer
, director
and actor
.
, the son of Dorothy and Max Mendel Shaye, a supermarket
owner and artist. Robert Shaye is the brother of actress Lin Shaye
.
He is a graduate of Detroit's Mumford High School
, the University of Michigan
and Columbia Law School
.
It was while working at the Museum of Modern Art that Shaye first began to explore the world of distribution. In 1967, he formed New Line Cinema in his Greenwich Village apartment. Starting with a package of feature films and shorts rented to colleges and building on early re-releases such as Reefer Madness and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films, New Line broke out commercially with such popular franchises as the Street Fighter series, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, and A Nightmare on Elm Street series. Those successful franchises set the stage for a string of New Line hits including Rush Hour, Austin Powers, Mask, Dumb & Dumber, The Wedding Singer, Seven, Boogie Nights, and Blade.
In 1998, when writer/director Peter Jackson brought his 25-minute pitch reel for a big screen epic of J. R. R. Tolkien
’s classic The Lord of the Rings to New Line, hoping to turn the three volumes into two films. Shaye suggested Jackson make three films and greenlit an unprecedented simultaneous production for all three installments. Combined, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was nominated for 30 Oscars, winning 17, including a clean sweep of 11 awards for The Return of the King, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. At the box office, all three films are among the top 10 grossing films of all time, earning a combined total of nearly $3 billion worldwide. This capped a very long list of films over many years including, Elf, Freddy vs. Jason, Final Destination series, Wedding Crashers, Monster-in-Law, The Notebook, Hairspray; Oscar-nominated A History of Violence. In total, Shaye to date, has overseen the production or distribution of more than 500 feature films.
Shaye has produced and directed two feature films: 1991’s Book of Love based on the novel “Jack in the Box” by William Kotzwinkle, and the sci-fi adventure The Last Mimzy, in 2007, based on Lewis Padgett’s short story “Mimzy Were the Borogroves”.
In June 2008, Shaye and his longtime partner at New Line, Michael Lynne, formed a new independent film company, Unique Features. He currently has in development with Lynne 15 feature film projects. Among them: PlayStation 3 game Heavy Rain; “The Mortal Instruments," trilogy based on the supernatural New York Times bestselling young-adult fantasy series by Cassandra Clare; film adaption of the Maggie Stiefvater novel “Shiver”; as well as Paul McCartney’s “High in the Clouds,” with original music by McCartney; an untitled feature film about the inspirational story of famed NFL linebacker Bart Scott; a thriller script Cradle Will Fall by Jack Olsen at Screen Gems and the action-adventure Arabian Knights at Warners Bros.
Shaye earned his degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and his J.D. degree from Columbia University Law School. He is a Fulbright Scholar, a member of the New York State Bar, and he has served on the Board of Trustees for the Neuroscience Institute, Motion Picture Pioneers, the American Film Institute and the Legal Aid Society.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Early life
Shaye was born in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the son of Dorothy and Max Mendel Shaye, a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
owner and artist. Robert Shaye is the brother of actress Lin Shaye
Lin Shaye
Linda "Lin" Shaye is an American film, theatre and television actress.-Early life:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Shaye is the daughter of Dorothy , a homemaker, and Max Mendle Shaye, a painter and supermarket owner. Her brother is film executive Robert Shaye...
.
He is a graduate of Detroit's Mumford High School
Mumford High School (Michigan)
Located on Detroit's near-northwest side, Samuel C. Mumford High School is operated by the Detroit Board of Education; the school's namesake served twenty-two years on the Board and was a former president of the organization...
, the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
.
Movie career
Robert Shaye founded New Line Cinema in 1967 and guided the company's growth from a privately held distributor of art films into the entertainment industry’s top independent motion picture production and distribution company.It was while working at the Museum of Modern Art that Shaye first began to explore the world of distribution. In 1967, he formed New Line Cinema in his Greenwich Village apartment. Starting with a package of feature films and shorts rented to colleges and building on early re-releases such as Reefer Madness and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films, New Line broke out commercially with such popular franchises as the Street Fighter series, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, and A Nightmare on Elm Street series. Those successful franchises set the stage for a string of New Line hits including Rush Hour, Austin Powers, Mask, Dumb & Dumber, The Wedding Singer, Seven, Boogie Nights, and Blade.
In 1998, when writer/director Peter Jackson brought his 25-minute pitch reel for a big screen epic of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
’s classic The Lord of the Rings to New Line, hoping to turn the three volumes into two films. Shaye suggested Jackson make three films and greenlit an unprecedented simultaneous production for all three installments. Combined, The Lord of the Rings trilogy was nominated for 30 Oscars, winning 17, including a clean sweep of 11 awards for The Return of the King, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. At the box office, all three films are among the top 10 grossing films of all time, earning a combined total of nearly $3 billion worldwide. This capped a very long list of films over many years including, Elf, Freddy vs. Jason, Final Destination series, Wedding Crashers, Monster-in-Law, The Notebook, Hairspray; Oscar-nominated A History of Violence. In total, Shaye to date, has overseen the production or distribution of more than 500 feature films.
Shaye has produced and directed two feature films: 1991’s Book of Love based on the novel “Jack in the Box” by William Kotzwinkle, and the sci-fi adventure The Last Mimzy, in 2007, based on Lewis Padgett’s short story “Mimzy Were the Borogroves”.
In June 2008, Shaye and his longtime partner at New Line, Michael Lynne, formed a new independent film company, Unique Features. He currently has in development with Lynne 15 feature film projects. Among them: PlayStation 3 game Heavy Rain; “The Mortal Instruments," trilogy based on the supernatural New York Times bestselling young-adult fantasy series by Cassandra Clare; film adaption of the Maggie Stiefvater novel “Shiver”; as well as Paul McCartney’s “High in the Clouds,” with original music by McCartney; an untitled feature film about the inspirational story of famed NFL linebacker Bart Scott; a thriller script Cradle Will Fall by Jack Olsen at Screen Gems and the action-adventure Arabian Knights at Warners Bros.
Shaye earned his degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and his J.D. degree from Columbia University Law School. He is a Fulbright Scholar, a member of the New York State Bar, and he has served on the Board of Trustees for the Neuroscience Institute, Motion Picture Pioneers, the American Film Institute and the Legal Aid Society.