Robert Kenneth Shaye (born March 4, 1939) is an American businessman, film producer, actor, director, and writer. He is the founder of New Line Cinema, a film production studio that distributed films such as ''

A Nightmare on Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenka ...

'', ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'', and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

''. In 2008, he left New Line after it merged with

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

Biography

Early life

Shaye was born to a

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 ...

family in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Dorothy and Max Mendle Shaye, a supermarket owner and artist. His mother was an immigrant from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. He is the brother of actress

Lin Shaye Linda Shaye (born October 12, 1943) is an American film, television, and theater actress. In a career spanning over forty years, she has appeared in more than a hundred feature films. She is perhaps best known for her starring role as Elise Rain ...

. Shaye graduated from Detroit's Mumford High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and a J.D. degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. He also graduated from the

University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, soci ...

as a Fulbright scholar. Shaye is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and he has served on the board of trustees for the Neurosciences Institute, the

Legal Aid Society The Legal Aid Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal aid provider based in New York City. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest and largest provider of legal aid in the United States. Its attorneys provide representation on criminal and civil mat ...

, the American Film Institute, and the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation.

Founding of New Line Cinema and acquisition by Turner and Time Warner

In 1967, Shaye formed New Line Cinema. The company started with a package of feature films and shorts rented to colleges. From there, New Line expanded to re-releases such as ''

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...

'' and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films such as '' Get Out Your Handkerchiefs''. New Line famously released blockbuster films such as ''

'' and ''

''. On January 28, 1994, New Line Cinema was acquired by the

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

for $500 million, with Shaye earning more than $100 million. Later, in 1996, Turner Broadcasting System became part of Time Warner (which is currently known as

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

), a merger between

Time Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...

and Warner Communications. In 1998, when New Zealand director Peter Jackson brought his 25-minute pitch reel for a big screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic ''

'' to New Line, hoping to turn the three volumes into two films, Shaye suggested Jackson make three films instead. He subsequently greenlit a simultaneous production for all three installments. ''The Lord of the Rings'' was nominated a total of thirty

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, winning 17, including 11 awards for ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...

''. At the box office, all three films are among New Line's highest-grossing films, earning a combined total of nearly $3 billion worldwide.

Investing Career

He is an active investor in companies like Brat TV.

Unique Features

In June 2008, Shaye and company co-chairman Michael Lynne departed New Line and formed an independent film company, Unique Features. The company's recent projects include '' The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones'' (

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

/ Constantin), the TV series ''

Shadowhunters ''Shadowhunters'', also known as ''Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments'', is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Ed Decter, based on the book series ''The Mortal Instruments'' written by Cassandra Clare. It premiered ...

'' ( Freeform Television), '' When the Bough Breaks'' ( Screen Gems), and ''Ambition'', directed by Shaye.

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;As an actor ;As director ;As writer ;As cinematographer ;Second unit director or assistant director ;Thanks

Television

;As an actor ;Production manager

References

External links

*
Interview (along with Michael Lynne) on Charlie Rose
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaye, Robert 1939 births Film directors from Michigan Male actors from Michigan American male film actors Film producers from Michigan Columbia Law School alumni Living people American film studio executives American film production company founders American people of Russian-Jewish descent American independent film production company founders Businesspeople from Detroit Ross School of Business alumni 20th-century American Jews Mumford High School alumni 21st-century American Jews Turner Broadcasting System people Warner Bros. people Fulbright alumni