Laura Ziskin

Laura Ziskin
Laura Ziskin
	Ziskin c. 1968
Born	Laura Ellen Ziskin; March 3, 1950; San Fernando Valley, California, U.S.
Died	June 12, 2011 (aged 61); Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Education	USC School of Cinematic Arts
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1976–2011
Spouses	; Julian Barry (m. 1978, divorced) ; Alvin Sargent (m. 2010)
Children	1

Laura Ellen Ziskin^[1] (March 3, 1950 – June 12, 2011)^[2] was an American film producer. She was the executive producer of Pretty Woman (1990) and producer of Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012; posthumous credit).

She was the first woman to produce the Academy Awards telecast alone, producing the 74th Academy Awards (2002) and the 79th Academy Awards (2007).

Early life and education

Ziskin was born and raised in a Russian-Jewish family^[3]^[4] in the San Fernando Valley, California, the daughter of Jay Ziskin and Elaine Edelman.^[5] Her father was a psychologist and lawyer who died of prostate cancer, aged 77, on June 14, 1997.^[6]

After graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1973,^[5] Ziskin began by writing material for game shows, then became the personal assistant of Jon Peters. Ziskin quickly became a development executive, moving into feature films with Jon Peters' production company where she worked on the remake of A Star Is Born (1976), starring Barbra Streisand. She was the associate producer of The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978).

Career

Fogwood Films and as an independent producer

Ziskin formed Fogwood Films with partner Sally Field in 1984, and produced Murphy's Romance (1985).^[7] As an independent producer, Ziskin produced the thriller No Way Out (1987) for Orion Pictures.^[8] Ziskin and partner Ian Sander produced two films featuring Dennis Quaid, the 1988 remake of D.O.A.^[9] and Taylor Hackford's Everybody's All-American (also 1988).^[10]

Touchstone Pictures

Ziskin's largest success came with the release of the comedy Pretty Woman (1990), starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, on which Ziskin served as executive producer for Touchstone Pictures.^[11] Ziskin's next project, What About Bob? (1991), proved stressful. She and star Bill Murray had spirited disagreements during production which involved Murray pushing her into a lake and breaking her sunglasses.^[12]

Neither that film nor The Doctor (also 1991)^[13] were anywhere near as strong at the box-office as Pretty Woman.^[14] A switch to Columbia resulted in Stephen Frears' Hero (1992), a loose remake of Meet John Doe (1941), for which Ziskin both produced and supplied the story.^[15] Ziskin directed her first short film Oh, What a Day! 1914, which was released in 1994,^[16] and produced the Nicole Kidman tour-de-force To Die For (1995), under the banner of Laura Ziskin Productions.^[17]

Fox 2000

By the time that last film was in release, Ziskin had been appointed president of Fox 2000, one of several offshoots 20th Century Fox developed to speed up their production and distribution.^{[citation needed]}

Among the films released were Edward Zwick's Gulf War drama Courage Under Fire (1996) and the romantic comedy One Fine Day (also 1996) and Pat O'Connor's Inventing the Abbotts (1997) and the big-budget disaster film Volcano (also 1997). Ziskin and Tom Rothman helped develop the script for The English Patient (1996) before studio head Bill Mechanic returned the rights to director Anthony Minghella, who then got it produced and distributed through Miramax.^[18]

Ziskin executive produced As Good as It Gets (1997). The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Its stars, Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, received the leading role Oscars in the acting categories.^[19]

Columbia Pictures

After nearly five years in the same job, Ziskin resigned from Fox 2000 in November 1999 and within a month had a production deal at Columbia Pictures.

After serving as the first solo female producer of an Academy Awards telecast in 2002, Ziskin returned to the big screen with the feature version of Spider-Man (2002). The film was released in early May to widespread acclaim from critics and became the highest-grossing film of its year. The success of the film led to two sequels, Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).

In 2002, Ziskin was awarded the Crystal Award by Women in Film for her efforts at expanding the role of women in the entertainment industry.^[20]

Breast cancer activism

In February 2004, Ziskin was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, a disease doctors had repeatedly missed previously because of the diffuse type of cancer she had.^[21]

On May 28, 2008, Ziskin, along with Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the Noreen Fraser Foundation and Ellen Ziffren, created the charitable organization Stand Up to Cancer.

Death

Ziskin died of breast cancer at her home in Santa Monica, California, on June 12, 2011, aged 61.^[2]^[22] Her final films were the franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Butler (2013). She died a few weeks after principal filming ended on The Amazing Spider-Man but three weeks before filming began on The Butler.^[23]

In 2012, the Athena Film Festival created an award to be given in her honor: The Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually to a woman in the film industry whose leadership demonstrates vision and courage and sets a standard for other women to emulate.^[24]

Personal life

When she was about 27, Ziskin married writer Julian Barry, relocating to Connecticut to help him raise his three children from a previous marriage. The couple later had a daughter, Julia Barry.^[5]^[25] Ziskin was married to writer Alvin Sargent from 2010 until her death in 2011 from complications of breast cancer.^[5]

Filmography as producer and executive producer

She was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1978	Eyes of Laura Mars	Associate producer
1985	Murphy's Romance
1987	No Way Out
1988	D.O.A.
	The Rescue
	Everybody's All-American
1990	Pretty Woman	Executive producer
1991	What About Bob?
1991	The Doctor
1992	Hero
1995	To Die For
1997	As Good as It Gets	Executive producer
2002	Spider-Man
2004	Spider-Man 2
2005	Stealth
2007	Spider-Man 3
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man		Posthumous credit
2013	The Butler		Posthumous credit

As writer

Year	Film
1991	What About Bob?
1992	Hero

Miscellaneous crew

Year	Film	Role
1976	A Star Is Born	Assistant: Jon Peters

Thanks

Year	Film	Role
2008	Killshot	Thanks
2012	Lay the Favorite	For
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man	In memory of
2013	The Butler	In memory of
2016	Creedmoria	Special thanks

Television

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
1983	One Cooks, the Other Doesn't		Television film
2000	Fail Safe		Television film
2001	Dinner with Friends	Executive producer	Television film
2001	How I Learned to Drive		Television film
2002	74th Academy Awards	Executive producer	Television special
2003	Tarzan	Executive producer
2007	79th Academy Awards	Executive producer	Television special
2008−10	Stand Up to Cancer	Executive producer	Television special
2015	Cancer	Executive producer	Documentary

As writer

Year	Title	Notes
2008	Stand Up to Cancer	Television special

Miscellaneous crew

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Minstrel Man	Assistant to the producers	Television film

References

^ Gale Research Company (2002). Contemporary theatre, film, and television, p. 388. Gale Research Co., ISBN 978-0-7876-5112-1
^ ^a ^b Aljean Harmetz (June 13, 2011). "Laura Ziskin, Producer of 'Spider-Man' and 'Pretty Woman,' Dies at 61". The New York Times.
^ Hyman, Paula; Moore, Deborah Dash (1997). Volume 1 of Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, p. 448. American Jewish Historical Society/Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-415-91934-0
^ Jewish Journal: "Goodbye to Laura Ziskin: ‘A mother in a man’s world’" BY DANIELLE BERRIN June 29, 2011
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Zeitchik, Steven; Nicole Sperling (June 14, 2011). "Laura Ziskin dies at 61; 'Spider-Man' producer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
^ Staff report (June 21, 1997). "Jay H. Ziskin; Psychologist and Lawyer". Los Angeles Times. June 21, 1997.
^ Miller, Gabriel (2000). The films of Martin Ritt: fanfare for the common man. Univ. Press of Mississippi, ISBN 978-1-57806-277-5
^ Canby, Vincent (August 14, 1987). Film: 'No Way Out,' Washington Drama. New York Times
^ James, Caryn (March 18, 1988). Film; 'D.O.A.,' Racing Death. The New York Times
^ Maslin, Janet (November 4, 1988). Film; The Glory Fades in 'Everybody's All-American.' The New York Times
^ Benson, Sheila (March 23, 1990). 'Pretty Woman': Roberts' Legs, a Cold Heart. Los Angeles Times
^ Brownfield, Paul (February 29, 2004). THE ICONOCLAST; What about Bill?; Murray doesn't play the game – which might be how he keeps his craft fresh. Los Angeles Times
^ Maslin, Janet (July 24, 1991). Film; William Hurt as Doctor Whose Spirit Heals When He Falls Ill. New York Times
^ Fox, David J. (September 4, 1991). [The Long, Not-So-Hot Summer Industry Hopes Year-End Films Revive Sagging Box Office.] Los Angeles Times
^ Turan, Kenneth (October 2, 1992). A Reluctant 'Hero.' Los Angeles Times
^ Schick, Elizabeth A. (1997). Current Biography Yearbook, 1997. HW Wilson Co, ISBN 978-0-8242-0938-4
^ Quigley, Eileen S. (2006). International Television & Video Almanac. Quigley Pub. Co., ISBN 978-0-900610-78-3
^ Waxman, Sharon (2005). Rebels on the backlot: six maverick directors and how they conquered the Hollywood studio system, p. 257. HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-06-054017-3
^ "The 70th Academy Awards | 1998 - Winners & Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
^ McDonald, Kathy A. (September 20, 2002). Laura Ziskin: self-starting 'Spider-Man' producer stays real, seeks perfection. Variety
^ Waxman, Sharon (January 7, 2007). She's Producing as Fast as She Can. The New York Times
^ Littleton, Cynthia (June 12, 2011). "Producer Laura Ziskin dies at 61". Variety.
^ Finke, Nikki (August 18, 2013). "Oprah's PR Blitz Helps 'The Butler' Open #1 With $25M: Soft Box Office As 'Kick Ass 2' Falls, 'Jobs' Biopic Dies, 'Paranoia' Bombs".
^ The Laura Siskin Lifetime Achievement Award – Athena Film Festival "The 2013 Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award | Athena Film Festival". Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^ Schick, Elizabeth A. (1997). Current Biography Yearbook. HW Wilson Co., ISBN 978-0-8242-0938-4

External links

Laura Ziskin at IMDb
Laura Ziskin at AllMovie
Laura Ziskin at the TCM Movie Database
Laura Ziskin profile via Stand Up to Cancer
Lukeford.net Biography

[gale2002-1] Gale Research Company (2002). Contemporary theatre, film, and television, p. 388. Gale Research Co., ISBN 978-0-7876-5112-1

[NYT_Obit-2] Aljean Harmetz (June 13, 2011). "Laura Ziskin, Producer of 'Spider-Man' and 'Pretty Woman,' Dies at 61". The New York Times.

[moore-3] Hyman, Paula; Moore, Deborah Dash (1997). Volume 1 of Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, p. 448. American Jewish Historical Society/Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-415-91934-0

[4] Jewish Journal: "Goodbye to Laura Ziskin: ‘A mother in a man’s world’" BY DANIELLE BERRIN June 29, 2011

[LAT_obit-5] Zeitchik, Steven; Nicole Sperling (June 14, 2011). "Laura Ziskin dies at 61; 'Spider-Man' producer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2011.

[jayziskinobit-6] Staff report (June 21, 1997). "Jay H. Ziskin; Psychologist and Lawyer". Los Angeles Times. June 21, 1997.

[miller2000-7] Miller, Gabriel (2000). The films of Martin Ritt: fanfare for the common man. Univ. Press of Mississippi, ISBN 978-1-57806-277-5

[canby-8] Canby, Vincent (August 14, 1987). Film: 'No Way Out,' Washington Drama. New York Times

[james-9] James, Caryn (March 18, 1988). Film; 'D.O.A.,' Racing Death. The New York Times

[maslin-10] Maslin, Janet (November 4, 1988). Film; The Glory Fades in 'Everybody's All-American.' The New York Times

[benson-11] Benson, Sheila (March 23, 1990). 'Pretty Woman': Roberts' Legs, a Cold Heart. Los Angeles Times

[12] Brownfield, Paul (February 29, 2004). THE ICONOCLAST; What about Bill?; Murray doesn't play the game – which might be how he keeps his craft fresh. Los Angeles Times

[maslin1991-13] Maslin, Janet (July 24, 1991). Film; William Hurt as Doctor Whose Spirit Heals When He Falls Ill. New York Times

[fox-14] Fox, David J. (September 4, 1991). [The Long, Not-So-Hot Summer Industry Hopes Year-End Films Revive Sagging Box Office.] Los Angeles Times

[turan-15] Turan, Kenneth (October 2, 1992). A Reluctant 'Hero.' Los Angeles Times

[Schick-16] Schick, Elizabeth A. (1997). Current Biography Yearbook, 1997. HW Wilson Co, ISBN 978-0-8242-0938-4

[Quigley-17] Quigley, Eileen S. (2006). International Television & Video Almanac. Quigley Pub. Co., ISBN 978-0-900610-78-3

[waxman2005-18] Waxman, Sharon (2005). Rebels on the backlot: six maverick directors and how they conquered the Hollywood studio system, p. 257. HarperCollins, ISBN 978-0-06-054017-3

[Oscars1998-19] "The 70th Academy Awards | 1998 - Winners & Nominees". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2024.

[20] McDonald, Kathy A. (September 20, 2002). Laura Ziskin: self-starting 'Spider-Man' producer stays real, seeks perfection. Variety

[waxman2007-21] Waxman, Sharon (January 7, 2007). She's Producing as Fast as She Can. The New York Times

[varietyobit-22] Littleton, Cynthia (June 12, 2011). "Producer Laura Ziskin dies at 61". Variety.

[23] Finke, Nikki (August 18, 2013). "Oprah's PR Blitz Helps 'The Butler' Open #1 With $25M: Soft Box Office As 'Kick Ass 2' Falls, 'Jobs' Biopic Dies, 'Paranoia' Bombs".

[24] The Laura Siskin Lifetime Achievement Award – Athena Film Festival "The 2013 Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award | Athena Film Festival". Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2017.

[schick-25] Schick, Elizabeth A. (1997). Current Biography Yearbook. HW Wilson Co., ISBN 978-0-8242-0938-4

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Laura Ziskin

Early life and education

Career

Fogwood Films and as an independent producer

Touchstone Pictures

Fox 2000

Columbia Pictures

Breast cancer activism

Death

Personal life

Filmography as producer and executive producer

Film

Television

References

External links

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