Richard P. Rubinstein
- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Richard P. Rubinstein is an established and broadly diversified
producer of Feature Films, Event Miniseries, TV movies and anthology
formatted television series. Rubinstein is also known for his
willingness to take a chance on directors, writers and actors early in
their careers.
In 1979, Rubinstein took Laurel Entertainment, the production
company that he had founded with director George A. Romero, public. The
objective was to raise sufficient capital to allow the company to
internally finance development in order to retain a higher degree of
creative control and financial participation in the feature film and TV
programming that the company created. In 1984, Romero resigned from
the company to pursue his creative interests without public company
responsibilities. In 1988, with respective shareholder approval, Rubinstein and Aaron Spelling agreed to merge Laurel and Spelling
Television as subsidiaries of a new American Stock Exchange listed
company, The Spelling Entertainment Group. Under Rubinstein's
continued management as CEO, Laurel became the NYC based East Coast
development and production arm of the new public company. As part of
the same merger, Spelling also acquired Worldvision, a television
distributor with a large library of programming.
In 1992, Spelling and its subsidiaries, including Laurel, were acquired
by Blockbuster Entertainment and in 1994, Viacom acquired Blockbuster
and Laurel became an operating unit of Viacom. In 1995, seeking a
small-company working environment, Rubinstein resigned from
Laurel/Viacom and founded another NYC based production company, New
Amsterdam Entertainment, Inc. More recently in 2008 New Amsterdam
announced that the company would develop a new feature film version of
Frank Herbert's science fiction classic "Dune" for Paramount Pictures
with Peter Berg attached to direct and Rubinstein and Kevin Misher
attached to produce.
In 2004, New Amsterdam provided the services of Rubinstein as
producer for a remake of the Rubinstein produced 1979 horror film
classic, "George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead". The 2004 "Dawn of the
Dead" remake was directed by first-time feature director Zack Snyder
and starred Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames and Mekhi Phifer. Distributed by
Universal, the remake has grossed in excess of $110M worldwide and was
critically honored as an "Official Selection" of the 2004 Cannes Film
Festival.
Rubinstein's feature film producer credits also include his 1989
production of Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" (Paramount), based on the
novel and screenplay by Stephen King, and directed by second-time
feature director Mary Lambert. The $10 million film earned $57 million
in domestic box office gross and earned over $120 million worldwide.
Other Stephen King based features produced by Rubinstein include
"The Night Flier" (New Line, 1998), "Thinner" (Paramount, 1997), and
"Creepshow" (Warner Bros., 1982), with a cast that included Leslie
Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G. Marshall and Ted Danson (before he went on
to star in "Cheers"). In 1990, Rubinstein produced "Tales from the
Darkside: The Movie" (Paramount) directed by John Harrison in his first
feature film assignment. The ensemble cast included Julianne Moore in
her first feature film appearance, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater and
Debby Harry. Rubinstein was a producer of several other George A.
Romero directed films including "Martin" (Libra Films, 1977) and
"Knightriders" (United Artists, 1981), which starred Ed Harris in his
first feature leading role.
Under the New Amsterdam banner, Rubinstein's Executive Producer
credits for television include the highly rated and critically
acclaimed miniseries "Frank Herbert's Dune". Produced in association
with Disney the six-hour Emmy-award winning miniseries premiered on the
Sci Fi Channel in December 2000 with first-time miniseries
writer/director John Harrison choreographing an ensemble cast led by
William Hurt and photographed by three-time Academy Award winning
Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. Emmy-winning "Frank Herbert's
Children of Dune" directed by Greg Yaitanes and scripted by John
Harrison followed soon after. Adapted from the 2nd and 3rd novels in
Frank Herbert's saga and produced in association with Disney and
Hallmark, the six-hour TV event was the first high profile major
miniseries to be shot with "24P" High Definition digital cameras. The
mini premiered in March 2003 on the Sci Fi Channel with Susan Sarandon
leading an ensemble cast which included the now well known James
McAvoy. ("The Last King of Scotland" and "The Chronicles of Narnia")
Rubinstein's Executive Producer credits for television include
Stephen King's "The Stand" (1994) an eight-hour miniseries for ABC
(20.3 rating, 30 share) starring Gary Sinise (before "Forest Gump" and
"Apollo 13" best supporting actor nominations) and Stephen King's "The
Langoliers" (1995) a four-hour ABC miniseries starring Patricia Wettig,
Dean Stockwell, Bronson Pinchot and David Morse (19.4 rating/30 share).
Both miniseries were the highest rated long form movies on any network
in their respective broadcast years. "The Stand" also garnered Mr.
Rubinstein and Mr. King nominations for Best Miniseries. Earlier in the
90s Rubinstein Executive Produced "Stephen King's Golden Years,"
an eight-hour miniseries for CBS which co-starred Felicity Huffman
("Desperate Housewives") in her first leading role on television.
Rubinstein Executive Produced, (with Aaron Spelling and David
Brown), the hit CBS Miniseries "A Season in Purgatory" (1996), starring
Patrick Dempsey and Brian Dennehy based on the Dominick Dunne best
seller; "Kiss & Tell" (1996), a two-hour movie for ABC starring Cheryl
Ladd; and "Precious Victims" (1993), a two-hour CBS TV movie based on a
true crime novel. Rubinstein also Executive Produced (with Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar) "The Vernon Johns Story," a 1994 two-hour TV movie
starring James Earl Jones, which received four Monte Carlo TV Festival
Awards and a Christopher Award for "A TV Program Affirming the Highest
Values of the Human Spirit." Rubinstein has also served as Executive
Producer on two very successful syndicated anthology TV series
distributed by Tribune Entertainment, "Tales From The Darkside" (90
episodes) and "Monsters" (72 episodes), with many well known actors in
the lead role including Jerry Orbach and Jerry Stiller as well as then
up-and-coming talent like Chris Noth ("Law & Order"), Lisa Bonet and
Marcia Cross ("Desperate Housewives").
Born in Brooklyn, NYC, Rubinstein received his undergraduate BS.
degree from The American University in Washington, D.C. and received
his M.B.A. from Columbia University in NYC. He began his film career as
a production assistant for a producer of TV commercials, and he
received his first credit as Associate Producer of "A Night with Nicol
Williamson," a made-for-pay-cable one-hour special produced by Dore
Schary. In 1974, Rubinstein independently produced and licensed to the
ABC Network a one-hour special profiling O. J. Simpson at the height of
his football career. He then produced "The Winners," a syndicated TV
series of twelve one-hour biographical profiles of other well-known
sports heroes including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mario Andretti, Reggie
Jackson, and Franco Harris.
Rubinstein is a member of the Producers Branch of the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences. He is also a Benefactor of the Film Society of Lincoln
Center, a former twenty-year member of the National Advisory Board of
the Sundance Film Festival and a member of the "Third Decade Council"
of the American Film Institute. In addition, he served for six years on
the Board of Directors of the New York founding chapter of The
Independent Feature Project. Rubinstein is also on the Board of
Directors of Chashama, a non-profit, that matches up emerging artists
in need of studio and exhibition space with commercial landlords who
have short term vacancies to donate. Rubinstein regularly guest
lectures about his experience in the entertainment industry. He also
developed and co-taught a course in Entrepreneurial Producing for two
semesters at the NYU/Stern Graduate School of Business. In September of
2007, Rubinstein became a trustee of The Town Hall, one of New York
City's preeminent performance venues.
producer of Feature Films, Event Miniseries, TV movies and anthology
formatted television series. Rubinstein is also known for his
willingness to take a chance on directors, writers and actors early in
their careers.
In 1979, Rubinstein took Laurel Entertainment, the production
company that he had founded with director George A. Romero, public. The
objective was to raise sufficient capital to allow the company to
internally finance development in order to retain a higher degree of
creative control and financial participation in the feature film and TV
programming that the company created. In 1984, Romero resigned from
the company to pursue his creative interests without public company
responsibilities. In 1988, with respective shareholder approval, Rubinstein and Aaron Spelling agreed to merge Laurel and Spelling
Television as subsidiaries of a new American Stock Exchange listed
company, The Spelling Entertainment Group. Under Rubinstein's
continued management as CEO, Laurel became the NYC based East Coast
development and production arm of the new public company. As part of
the same merger, Spelling also acquired Worldvision, a television
distributor with a large library of programming.
In 1992, Spelling and its subsidiaries, including Laurel, were acquired
by Blockbuster Entertainment and in 1994, Viacom acquired Blockbuster
and Laurel became an operating unit of Viacom. In 1995, seeking a
small-company working environment, Rubinstein resigned from
Laurel/Viacom and founded another NYC based production company, New
Amsterdam Entertainment, Inc. More recently in 2008 New Amsterdam
announced that the company would develop a new feature film version of
Frank Herbert's science fiction classic "Dune" for Paramount Pictures
with Peter Berg attached to direct and Rubinstein and Kevin Misher
attached to produce.
In 2004, New Amsterdam provided the services of Rubinstein as
producer for a remake of the Rubinstein produced 1979 horror film
classic, "George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead". The 2004 "Dawn of the
Dead" remake was directed by first-time feature director Zack Snyder
and starred Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames and Mekhi Phifer. Distributed by
Universal, the remake has grossed in excess of $110M worldwide and was
critically honored as an "Official Selection" of the 2004 Cannes Film
Festival.
Rubinstein's feature film producer credits also include his 1989
production of Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" (Paramount), based on the
novel and screenplay by Stephen King, and directed by second-time
feature director Mary Lambert. The $10 million film earned $57 million
in domestic box office gross and earned over $120 million worldwide.
Other Stephen King based features produced by Rubinstein include
"The Night Flier" (New Line, 1998), "Thinner" (Paramount, 1997), and
"Creepshow" (Warner Bros., 1982), with a cast that included Leslie
Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G. Marshall and Ted Danson (before he went on
to star in "Cheers"). In 1990, Rubinstein produced "Tales from the
Darkside: The Movie" (Paramount) directed by John Harrison in his first
feature film assignment. The ensemble cast included Julianne Moore in
her first feature film appearance, Steve Buscemi, Christian Slater and
Debby Harry. Rubinstein was a producer of several other George A.
Romero directed films including "Martin" (Libra Films, 1977) and
"Knightriders" (United Artists, 1981), which starred Ed Harris in his
first feature leading role.
Under the New Amsterdam banner, Rubinstein's Executive Producer
credits for television include the highly rated and critically
acclaimed miniseries "Frank Herbert's Dune". Produced in association
with Disney the six-hour Emmy-award winning miniseries premiered on the
Sci Fi Channel in December 2000 with first-time miniseries
writer/director John Harrison choreographing an ensemble cast led by
William Hurt and photographed by three-time Academy Award winning
Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. Emmy-winning "Frank Herbert's
Children of Dune" directed by Greg Yaitanes and scripted by John
Harrison followed soon after. Adapted from the 2nd and 3rd novels in
Frank Herbert's saga and produced in association with Disney and
Hallmark, the six-hour TV event was the first high profile major
miniseries to be shot with "24P" High Definition digital cameras. The
mini premiered in March 2003 on the Sci Fi Channel with Susan Sarandon
leading an ensemble cast which included the now well known James
McAvoy. ("The Last King of Scotland" and "The Chronicles of Narnia")
Rubinstein's Executive Producer credits for television include
Stephen King's "The Stand" (1994) an eight-hour miniseries for ABC
(20.3 rating, 30 share) starring Gary Sinise (before "Forest Gump" and
"Apollo 13" best supporting actor nominations) and Stephen King's "The
Langoliers" (1995) a four-hour ABC miniseries starring Patricia Wettig,
Dean Stockwell, Bronson Pinchot and David Morse (19.4 rating/30 share).
Both miniseries were the highest rated long form movies on any network
in their respective broadcast years. "The Stand" also garnered Mr.
Rubinstein and Mr. King nominations for Best Miniseries. Earlier in the
90s Rubinstein Executive Produced "Stephen King's Golden Years,"
an eight-hour miniseries for CBS which co-starred Felicity Huffman
("Desperate Housewives") in her first leading role on television.
Rubinstein Executive Produced, (with Aaron Spelling and David
Brown), the hit CBS Miniseries "A Season in Purgatory" (1996), starring
Patrick Dempsey and Brian Dennehy based on the Dominick Dunne best
seller; "Kiss & Tell" (1996), a two-hour movie for ABC starring Cheryl
Ladd; and "Precious Victims" (1993), a two-hour CBS TV movie based on a
true crime novel. Rubinstein also Executive Produced (with Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar) "The Vernon Johns Story," a 1994 two-hour TV movie
starring James Earl Jones, which received four Monte Carlo TV Festival
Awards and a Christopher Award for "A TV Program Affirming the Highest
Values of the Human Spirit." Rubinstein has also served as Executive
Producer on two very successful syndicated anthology TV series
distributed by Tribune Entertainment, "Tales From The Darkside" (90
episodes) and "Monsters" (72 episodes), with many well known actors in
the lead role including Jerry Orbach and Jerry Stiller as well as then
up-and-coming talent like Chris Noth ("Law & Order"), Lisa Bonet and
Marcia Cross ("Desperate Housewives").
Born in Brooklyn, NYC, Rubinstein received his undergraduate BS.
degree from The American University in Washington, D.C. and received
his M.B.A. from Columbia University in NYC. He began his film career as
a production assistant for a producer of TV commercials, and he
received his first credit as Associate Producer of "A Night with Nicol
Williamson," a made-for-pay-cable one-hour special produced by Dore
Schary. In 1974, Rubinstein independently produced and licensed to the
ABC Network a one-hour special profiling O. J. Simpson at the height of
his football career. He then produced "The Winners," a syndicated TV
series of twelve one-hour biographical profiles of other well-known
sports heroes including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mario Andretti, Reggie
Jackson, and Franco Harris.
Rubinstein is a member of the Producers Branch of the Academy of
Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts &
Sciences. He is also a Benefactor of the Film Society of Lincoln
Center, a former twenty-year member of the National Advisory Board of
the Sundance Film Festival and a member of the "Third Decade Council"
of the American Film Institute. In addition, he served for six years on
the Board of Directors of the New York founding chapter of The
Independent Feature Project. Rubinstein is also on the Board of
Directors of Chashama, a non-profit, that matches up emerging artists
in need of studio and exhibition space with commercial landlords who
have short term vacancies to donate. Rubinstein regularly guest
lectures about his experience in the entertainment industry. He also
developed and co-taught a course in Entrepreneurial Producing for two
semesters at the NYU/Stern Graduate School of Business. In September of
2007, Rubinstein became a trustee of The Town Hall, one of New York
City's preeminent performance venues.