Paul Schiff is an American

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

Early life and education

Schiff was raised in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, one of three sons of Charlotte, a television and publishing executive, and Edward Schiff, a real estate lawyer. He graduated in film studies from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, where his roommate was actor Bradley Whitford.

Career

Schiff began his career as a documentary cameraman in his hometown of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

before moving into directing for

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, where he was on staff for four years during the early days of the fledgling cable channel. His success at the network led to an introduction to film executive Joe Roth, who would go on to become his mentor. Roth hired Schiff as associate producer on the boxing drama, ''

Streets of Gold ''Streets of Gold'' is the third studio album by American electronic music duo 3OH!3. It was released on June 29, 2010 in the United States and July 19, 2010 in the United Kingdom. The album debuted at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200, s ...

'' (1986), which was Roth's directorial debut, as well as his follow up '' Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise'' (1987). Schiff then became a vice president of production under Roth at Morgan Creek Productions, where he developed and supervised numerous projects, and co-produced the westerns '' Young Guns'' (1988) and its sequel, ''

Young Guns II ''Young Guns II'' is a 1990 American Western film and a sequel to '' Young Guns'' (1988). It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Christian Slater, and features William Petersen as Pat Garrett. It was written by Jo ...

'' (1990). He also produced Roth's 1990 drama, ''

Coupe de Ville A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

''. After three years, Schiff secured an independent production deal at

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, where Roth was now Chairman. Schiff spent seven years at the studio in a production deal, where he produced films including ''

My Cousin Vinny ''My Cousin Vinny'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, and written by Dale Launer, who also produced with Paul Schiff. The film stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill, and ...

'', starring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei'', The Vanishing'', the American adaptation of George Sluizer’s Dutch thriller; the ''Animal House''-inspired campus comedy '' PCU''; and the sci-fi thriller '' Ghost in the Machine''. After his stint at Fox, Schiff reteamed with Roth at Disney in a production deal, where he produced Wes Anderson's critically acclaimed film, '' Rushmore''. The film won two

Film Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...

—Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Murray. Schiff continued his long-standing affiliation with Roth at the executive’s new production firm, Revolution Studios, where he produced '' Maid in Manhattan'', the hit romantic comedy starring

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

and Ralph Fiennes, and Mike Newell’s drama '' Mona Lisa Smile'', starring Julia Roberts,

Julia Styles Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...

and Kirsten Dunst. Schiff's producing credits also include ''

The Air I Breathe ''The Air I Breathe'' is a 2007 crime drama film and the directorial debut of Korean-American filmmaker Jieho Lee, who co-wrote the script with Bob DeRosa. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gella ...

'', '' Numb'', ''

Green Street Hooligans ''Green Street'' (also known as ''Green Street Hooligans'' and ''Hooligans'') is a 2005 crime drama film about football hooliganism in the United Kingdom. The film was directed by Lexi Alexander and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. Two s ...

'', the 2004 remake of the 1970s classic actioner, '' Walking Tall'', '' Solitary Man'', ''The Truth About Emmanuel'', the ensemble comedy ''Spin'', and the Alaskan-set thriller, '' Into the Grizzly Maze''. In 2015, Schiff completed '' My All American'', an inspirational sports drama starring Aaron Eckhart and

Robin Tunney Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. Tunney made her film debut in the comedy ''Encino Man'' (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films ''Empire Records'' (1995) and '' The Craft'' (1996). Her perform ...

Personal life

Schiff's brother is actor Richard Schiff. Schiff and his family are

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

.״Infidel actor Richard discovered drama in his family's history"
''The Jewish Telegraph.'' www.jewishtelegraph.com Published 2010. Accessed February 12, 2016.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;Second unit director or assistant director ;As an actor ;Soundtrack

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schiff, Paul American film producers American Jews American people of Jewish descent Living people People from Bethesda, Maryland Wesleyan University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)