Lynda Obst to Produce Feature Films for Paramount Pictures and Lakeshore Entertainment

Business Wire, Jan 13, 1999

HOLLYWOOD--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan 13, 1999--Paramount Pictures Wednesday announced that it has reached an exclusive three-year motion picture production agreement with Lynda Obst in conjunction with Lakeshore Entertainment.

Under terms of the agreement, Obst will develop feature films for Paramount Pictures and Lakeshore Entertainment through her Lynda Obst Productions company, which will be based on the Paramount Pictures studio lot.

Lakeshore Entertainment Corp. is a major supplier of motion pictures for Paramount Pictures. Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc.

The joint agreement involves distribution of all of Obst's productions through Paramount Pictures as well as producing motion pictures with and for Lakeshore Entertainment.

The goal is to produce films on two scales: movie star-driven studio-type films developed by Lynda Obst Productions and more independent productions in her relationship with Lakeshore. Additionally, Lakeshore will be her co-financier on any Paramount- driven co-productions.

Sherry Lansing, chairman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group, said: "Lynda has been a friend and colleague for many years. She's a smart, literate producer with a great eye for a variety of films. I have the greatest respect and admiration for her, and I am very excited that we will have the benefit of her wonderful talent."

Tom Rosenberg, co-chairman and chief executive officer of Lakeshore Entertainment, said: "I am thrilled to be working with Lynda, who is a producer with tremendous experience, range and talent. I'm very much looking forward to collaborating with her on a wide range of films that will appeal to audiences worldwide."

Obst said: "I am delighted to be returning to Paramount where I began my producing career. I've known Sherry, John (Goldwyn) and their team for years and couldn't imagine a more talented group to make pictures with. And I am particularly excited about my immediate collaboration with Lakeshore and Tom Rosenberg.

"Under his auspices, I will be able to make smaller, script- driven movies I love as well as star-driven vehicles. His acumen, autonomy and great taste will allow me to substantially expand my output, range and interests."

John Goldwyn, president of Paramount Motion Pictures, said: "We are all very excited by this new venture with Lynda Obst. She has impeccable taste and vision, and we look forward to the diverse projects she will be developing and producing."

Obst began her film and journalism career as the editor/author of "The Rolling Stone History of the Sixties," a compendium of the era's people, politics and popular cultures.

As an editor at The New York Times Magazine, she covered such diverse topics as science and publishing before being recruited in 1979 by Peter Guber, then chairman of Casablanca/Polygram, where she developed "Flashdance" and "Clue" as well as the adaptation of Carl Sagan's novel "Contact."

In 1982, Obst joined the David Geffen Co., where she worked on the development and production of a number of films. In 1985, she became partners with Debra Hill and formed Hill/Obst Productions at Paramount. Among their films later made at Disney were Chris Columbus' directing debut, "Adventures in Babysitting," as well as "Heartbreak Hotel," which Columbus wrote and directed.

In 1989, Obst started her own production company and moved to Columbia Pictures, where she produced "The Fisher King" (with Debra Hill) and Nora Ephron's directing debut, "This Is My Life," and executive produced Ephron's second film, "Sleepless in Seattle."

As part of an extensive multipicture deal, Obst produced four films for Fox, including the current release "The Siege," starring Denzel Washington; "Bad Girls"; "One Fine Day," starring Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney; and "Hope Floats," starring Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr.

In addition to her projects at Fox, Obst executive produced Warner Bros.' 1997 summer blockbuster "Contact," starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Her current project, "The Sixties," for NBC, will be aired during the February sweeps period as a two-part miniseries.

Obst's best-selling nonfiction book, "Hello, He Lied: And Other Truths From the Hollywood Trenches," was published in paperback in 1997, once again making the best-seller list.