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Stanley R. Jaffe

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Stanley R. Jaffe
Born
Stanley Richard Jaffe

(1940-07-31) July 31, 1940 (age 84)
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania
Occupations
  • Film producer
  • director
Known for
Spouses
  • Joan Ellen Goodman (divorced)
  • Melinda Jill Marciano (September 27, 1986 - present)
Children4

Stanley Richard Jaffe (born July 31, 1940) is an American film producer, responsible for movies such as Fatal Attraction, The Accused, and Kramer vs. Kramer.[1]

Background

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Jaffe was born to a Jewish family[2] in New Rochelle, New York. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1962.[3] He is the son of Leo Jaffe, film executive and "Hollywood Deal Maker."[4] Leo Jaffe was a close friend of independent producer Sam Spiegel; Stanley Jaffe described how he would find his father and Spiegel at his father's office at Columbia Pictures: "The lights were turned low and there they were, at the end of the table, playing gin."[5]

Career

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In 1962, Jaffe joined Seven Arts Associates, and, in 1964, was named executive assistant to the president of Seven Arts.[3] After Warner Brothers purchased Seven Arts in 1967, Jaffe left to join CBS for two years.[6]

After producing Goodbye Columbus, he was appointed executive vice president and chief operations officer of Paramount Pictures in 1970,[7] and within three months was named president of Paramount Pictures, which post he resigned in 1971 to form an independent production company, Jaffilms,[3][6][8] which was "associated" with Columbia Pictures.[4] Jaffilms produced Bad Company (1972) and The Bad News Bears (1976). In 1977, he became executive vice president of worldwide production at Columbia Pictures.[citation needed]

Jaffe returned to independent production with Kramer vs. Kramer in 1979.[3] In 1983, in collaboration with Sherry Lansing (then president of 20th Century-Fox), he started the production company Jaffe-Lansing.[9][10][11] In 1991, he was named president and chief operating officer of Paramount Communications,[12] and dissolved his partnership with Lansing.[3] In 1992 he was named successor to Brandon Tartikoff as president of Paramount.[13]

When Viacom purchased Paramount in 1994, Jaffe was forced out and filed a lawsuit against Paramount for $20 million in a stock option dispute.[14] The case was dismissed by the court in 1995, and in 1995 Jaffe's company Jaffilms entered into a production agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment.[3]

Jaffe had earned the ire of fans of the Star Trek franchise for his role in making a last minute stop to a project that would have built an interactive entertainment facility in the likeness of a full scale Starship Enterprise in Las Vegas. Jaffe was the only person on the planning committee who opposed the idea, and as CEO of Paramount had the authority to terminate the project. Instead, Star Trek: The Experience was built in the Las Vegas Hilton. The Fremont Street Experience was built in the place originally planned for the Enterprise project.

Veto of the USS Enterprise complex in Las Vegas

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In or around 1992, a consortium of developers put a proposal together with government officials from Las Vegas to build a replica of the USS Enterprise in Las Vegas. The giant scale model of the ship would include restaurants and tours but no hotel or casino. The proposal was also approved by the then-president of Paramount and only needed the approval of CEO of Paramount Studios Stanley Jaffe. After listening to the proposal from all sponsors, Jaffe in the meeting reportedly curtly rejected the proposal on the basis that if unsuccessful, the building would, unlike a movie, be a permanent reminder of failure in the franchise.[15]

Awards and nominations

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Filmography

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He was producer for all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

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Year Film Credit Notes
1969 I Start Counting
Goodbye, Columbus
1972 Bad Company
1976 The Bad News Bears
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer
1981 Taps
1983 Without a Trace
1984 Racing with the Moon
Uncredited
Firstborn Executive producer
1987 Fatal Attraction
1988 The Accused
1989 Black Rain
1992 School Ties
1998 Madeline Executive producer
2000 I Dreamed of Africa
2002 The Four Feathers
As director
Year Film
1983 Without a Trace

Filmography (as himself)

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References

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  1. ^ Mitgang, Herbert (2012). "Stanley R. Jaffe". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  2. ^ Erens, Patricia. The Jew in American Cinema. ISBN 9780253204936 | ISBN 0253204933 | Publisher: Indiana University Press | Publish Date: August 1988. Page 392.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Stanley R. Jaffe biography". Yahoo. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  4. ^ a b James Sterngold (August 21, 1997). "Leo Jaffe, Hollywood Deal Maker, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
  5. ^ Fraser-Cavassoni, Natasha (2003). Sam Spiegel. Simon and Schuster. pp. 158–59. ISBN 978-0-684-83619-5. Stanley R. Jaffe
  6. ^ a b Dick, Bernard F. (2001). Engulfed: the death of Paramount Pictures and the birth of corporate Hollywood. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 114–124. ISBN 9780813122021.
  7. ^ Sloane, Leonard (July 29, 1970). "Paramount Officer Is Named President". New York Times. p. 69. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  8. ^ Sloane, Leonard (April 2, 1971). "Paramount Chief is Set to Resign; 30-Year-Old President Plans Own Production Company". New York Times. p. 53. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  9. ^ Farber, Stephen (May 23, 1987). "Republic is Back in the Movie Business". New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  10. ^ Blandford, Linda (December 3, 1989). "A Prince of Hollywood". New York Times. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  11. ^ "People". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 5, 1983. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  12. ^ Cieply, Michael (March 19, 1991). "Stanley Jaffe Named Paramount President Entertainment: The veteran producer may help boost the firm's sagging film operation". Los Angeles Times. p. D-2. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  13. ^ Dick, Bernard F. (1997). City of dreams: the making and remaking of Universal Pictures. University Press of Kentucky. p. 4. ISBN 9780813120164. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  14. ^ "Jaffe, Forced Out of Paramount, Sues". Los Angeles Times. April 15, 1994. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  15. ^ Trumbore, Dave (April 8, 2012). "Las Vegas Almost Built a Full Scale USS Enterprise From STAR TREK". Collider. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015.
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