Robert Shapiro is an American film producer who was the president of theatrical film production at
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
Shapiro started working in the mailroom of the
William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...
. Advancing through the firm's ranks, he served as head of the television talent department and vice president of its motion picture department. He was named as managing director of the firm's London office at age 28. Back in the United States, William Morris named him in 1974 as head of the international motion picture department, where he advised directors and writers on the steps they needed to take to get their ideas produced as films by the studios.
[Mika, Shelley]
"Producer Robert Shapiro to give talks at Sheldon"
''Daily Nebraskan
''The Daily Nebraskan'', established in 1871 as the ''Monthly Hesperian Student'', is the student newspaper of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Although many journalism students are on staff, the ''Daily Nebraskan'' is independent of the uni ...
'', November 11, 1999. Accessed December 10, 2008.
He left William Morris to start his own production company and was hired by Warner Bros.
[ In December 1980, Shapiro was promoted from vice president of worldwide production to president of theatrical film production.
Shapiro resigned abruptly from Warner Bros. in July 1983, announcing that he had become an independent producer at the studio, based on his understanding of his agreement with the studio that he could become an independent producer "whenever the timing seemed appropriate and beneficial to all concerned". The studio's operating income had dropped $6 million from the previous year, only one of 1982's top ten box office hits – '']Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell ...
'' – was a Warner Bros. release, and the studio was tied for last with Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
in domestic film rentals. He was very promptly replaced by Mark Rosenberg, a 35-year-old who had been with the studio for five years. Shapiro's departure was attributed in industry sources cited by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' as due to poor financial results for the studio's films in the previous 18 months.[Harmetz, Aljean]
"WARNERS NAMED FILM PRODUCTION PRESIDENT "
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', July 28, 1983. Accessed December 10, 2008.
Since leaving Warner Bros., Robert Shapiro Productions has produced films including ''Empire of the Sun
''Empire of the Sun'' is a 1984 novel by English writer J. G. Ballard; it was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story "The Dead Time" (published in the anthology ...
'', ''My Favorite Martian
''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...
'' and '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure''.[
]
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
;As an actor
;Second unit director or assistant director
Television
;As director
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Robert
Place of birth missing (living people)
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American film producers