Jerry Weintraub Movies
One of the first independent producers to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Jerry Weintraub, the son of a gem salesman, began his career as a talent agent for MCA in the 1950s. He was to represent such clients as Jack Paar and singer Jane Morgan who became his second wife.He formed Management III in 1965, and from a quite modest beginning (two partners, three clients, a small backing), became a leading concert promoter. With the founding of Concerts West, he was to handle such clients as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and the Beach Boys.
Robert Altman's groundbreaking Nashville (1975) was Weintraub's first production venture. This was soon followed with the successful comedy Oh, God! starring the legendary George Burns and 9/30/55 (aka 24 Hours of the Rebel [1977]), the controversial Cruising (1980), and All Night Long (1981).
In 1982, he produced Barry Levinson's Diner, which premiered a new generation of actors including Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Mickey Rourke, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin, and Steve Guttenberg. In 1984, he became involved with the first film in the Karate Kid series (1984, 1986, 1989, 1994).
In 1984, Weintraub helped deliver the Olympic Gala and the ABC telecast preceding the opening of the Los Angeles Olympic Games. There are over 100 television specials, such as Sinatra: The Main Event and An Evening With John Denver, with which Weintraub has been involved.
In 1986, Weintraub was named Producer of the Year by the National Association of Theater Owners, and in March 1991, President George Bush appointed Weintraub to the Board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In 1987, Weintraub produced Happy New Year and in 1992 Pure Country. He made his first acting foray as the character Sonny Capps in Sydney Pollack's The Firm released in 1993. 1994 saw the creation of The Specialist, a thriller vehicle for Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone, released in Spanish as El Especialista.
Weintraub again appeared in a bit part as Jilly in National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation (1997) which he also produced. After establishing Jerry Weintraub Productions, he generated a film remake of the modish British TV series The Avengers (1998), a sci-fi-thriller with Kurt Russell entitled Soldier (1998), The Independent (2000), Ocean's Eleven (2001), in which Weintraub acted the part of High Roller, and Dino (2002). Weintraub has also appeared as the character of Jerry for Full Frontal (2002), and as Larry Goldberg in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002).
Weintraub's many philanthropic activities include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Music Center, and the Children's Museum. In 1988, the esteemed Scopus Award from the American Friends of the Hebrew University was given to Weintraub and his wife in gratitude for their continuous support. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
Gene Hackman plays a disgruntled suburbanite who manages the Ultra-Sav, an all-night drugstore. He hates his job, hates his debts and responsibilities, and isn't overly fond of his wife (Diane Ladd) and son (Dennis Quaid). Partly as a form of protest, Hackman enters into an affair with Barbra Streisand, one of his wife's distant relatives (don't ask how she's related - it takes Hackman about thirty seconds to explain it to another character). Streisand doesn't belong in this picture at all, but she can be forgiven her acting excesses because she wasn't the first choice for the role anyway (Lisa Eichhorn dropped out just before shooting began). The best moments in All Night Long involve the steady stream of oddballs and losers who trickle into Hackman's establishment. There is also a cute Apocalypse Now parody involving a battery-operated toy helicopter. The principal attraction of All Night Long is Gene Hackman playing an endearingly recognizable modern type. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Barbra Streisand, (more)
New York City detective Steve Burns Al Pacino receives orders from Captain Edelson Paul Sorvino to solve a series of brutal murders in the gay community. Steve scours the gay bars that caters to same-sex sadomasochism in a desperate attempt to solve the crime. As he infiltrates the scene, he slowly comes loose from the moorings of his own reality, and an innocent victim is tortured by the cops in an effort to exact a confession. The story is based on actual murders that took place between 1962 and 1979. The film gained considerable publicity because of the controversial subject matter while censor argued between an X and R rating for the feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, (more)
Adapted by Larry Gelbart from the novel by Avery Corman, the film stars John Denver as Jerry Landers, the assistant manager of a grocery store who is chosen by God (George Burns) to spread the Word to the rest of the world. Not surprisingly, Jerry is soon labelled a basket case: even his loving wife Bobbie (Teri Garr) doubts her husband's sanity. But there's enough evidence on Jerry's side for a panel of prominent clerics to demand that the hapless fellow prove in court that he's the agent of God. Donald Pleasence was supposed to have an extended supporting role in the film, but the first cut ran too long, and Pleasence's dialogue was eliminated -- but not Pleasence himself, who retains his prominent billing and is seen doing precisely nothing in several scenes. Netting $30 million on its first run, Oh God was followed by two lesser sequels, both featuring Burns. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, John Denver, (more)
- 1977
This film, aired on television as 24 Hours of the Rebel, delves into the hero-worship aura that surrounded James Dean following his tragic death. This stars The Waltons' Richard Thomas (getting a break from his usual "goody-goody" roles), who, as character "Jimmy J," is stunned by Dean's death and gathers his friends in a drinking foray where the stupor comes more from their turbulent emotions than from the suds. Quite respected for its real-life glimpses, this film is the debut of Dennis Quaid. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Thomas, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
Following 24 characters through 5 days in the country music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal (and critique) of American obsessions with celebrity and power. Among the various stars, aspirants, hangers-on, observers, and media folk are politically ambitious country icon Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) and his fragile star protegée Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley); Tom (Keith Carradine), a self-absorbed rock star who woos lonely married gospel singer Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin); Sueleen Gay (Gwen Welles), a talentless waitress painfully humiliated at her first singing gig; Albuquerque (Barbara Harris), a runaway wife with dreams of stardom; nightclub owner Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley), who reminisces about "those Kennedy boys"; single-minded groupie L.A. Joan (Shelley Duvall); vapid BBC commentator Opal (Geraldine Chaplin); and campaign guru John Triplette (Michael Murphy), who is trying to organize a concert rally for the unseen but always heard populist presidential candidate-cum-demagogue Hal Phillip Walker. Everything comes to a head during a climactic concert at Nashville's replica of the Parthenon temple, as the entertainment-hungry audience is momentarily woken out of its stupor by unexpected violence, only to be lulled into a restorative sing-along to "It Don't Worry Me." ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Gibson, Barbara Baxley, (more)
