| With his films
grossing over one billion dollars worldwide, MACE NEUFELD (Producer)
is one of the most prolific and successful producers in Hollywood.
His keen eye for talent and ability to turn published works into box-office
hits have helped launch the careers of such mega-stars as Kevin Costner,
Alec Baldwin and directors Richard Donner, Roger Donaldson, Phillip
Noyce and John McTiernan.
Neufeld recently produced Paramounts
crime thriller, The Generals Daughter. The film
grossed over $100 million domestically -- Neufelds fifth film
to do so -- and helped earn him the honor of being named Producer
of the Summer by Daily Variety in 1999.
When Neufeld optioned the rights to Tom Clancys best-selling
book, The Hunt for Red October, in 1984, he began producing what
would become the first hit in one of the most successful film franchises
in history. Released in 1990, the film featured Sean Connery and
Alec Baldwin (in his first major role) and also marked the second
significant directorial hit (after Die Hard) for John
McTiernan.
With the success of The Hunt for Red October, Neufeld
eventually went on to produce two additional Tom Clancy novels,
Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. In filming Patriot
Games, Neufeld teamed with Harrison Ford, who took over the
role of Jack Ryan, and Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce, who was
directing his first big-budget American film. Neufeld and Noyce
joined forces with Ford again for Clear and Present Danger,
which was the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1994.
Among Neufelds other film credits are the critically acclaimed
No Way Out, The Frisco Kid, The Saint
and Lost in Space.
In 1976, Neufeld produced his first feature film, The Omen.
The supernatural thriller, directed by Richard Donner, became an
international blockbuster and helped launch Neufelds career
as a film producer.
In 1989, Neufeld teamed with former New World Entertainment head
Robert G. Rehme to form Neufeld/Rehme Productions. The company had
a successful string of hit films, all for Paramount, which included
Flight of the Intruder, Beverly Hills Cop III
and Necessary Roughness. In 1993, Neufeld and Rehme
were voted ShoWest Producers of the Year, and in 1994, Showmen of
the Year by the Publicists Guild.
Neufeld began his career as a manager, discovering some of the most
important performing and production talent in the entertainment
industry. He was responsible for guiding the careers of Don Adams
(Get Smart), Don Knotts (The Andy Griffith Show),
Jay Ward (Bullwinkle and His Friends), Gabe Kaplan (Welcome
Back Kotter) and many others. In the music field, he did the
same for numerous artists, including Jim Croce, Randy Newman, The
Carpenters and Neil Diamond.
With a successful managing career already in force, Neufeld expanded
his entertainment horizons in 1958 when he produced the first program
for NBC starring Dick Van Dyke and the young comedy team of Elaine
May and Mike Nichols. Neufelds other television productions
include such distinguished television films as the 1981 eight-hour
miniseries based on John Steinbecks prize-winning novel, East
of Eden, which became the seventh-highest-rated miniseries ever,
and won a Golden Globe. He also presented the pilot for Cagney
and Lacey, which was one of the highest-rated television films
of 1981, and subsequently produced 125 episodes of the show, which
became one of the most watched television series in the 80s.
Neufeld also served as executive producer on the Writers Guild of
America Award-winning miniseries Death in California.
In 1994, Neufeld/Rehme presented the miniseries Gettysburg,
which was successfully released as a theatrical feature before it
aired on television and became the highest-rated basic cable miniseries
of all time. Neufeld also collaborated with director Ernest Dickerson
and writer Frank Military on the Showtime drama, Blind Faith,
a story about racism and homophobia set in New York in 1950. The
film premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, and was nominated
for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Independent Spirit Awards
and two Writers Guild Awards.
As an award-winning still photographer, Neufeld received national
recognition, including the Grand Prize Award in Eastman Kodaks
first National Salon of Photography. His photograph, Sammys
Home, was voted Picture of the Year by The New York World
Telegram-Sun.
Born and raised in New York City, Neufeld graduated from Yale University.
He has an outstanding collection of primitive art, and holds a multi-engine
instrument-rating pilots license. He is a member of the Board
of Trustees of the American Film Institute, ASCAP and the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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