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Stanley Richard Jaffe (born July 31, 1940) is an American film producer, responsible for movies such as ''
Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, the film cent ...
'', ''
The Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...
'', and ''
Kramer vs. Kramer ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry. It tells the stor ...
''.


Background

Jaffe was born to a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...
. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from
The Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...
,
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
, in 1962. He is the son of
Leo Jaffe Leo Jaffe (April 23, 1909 in New York City, New York – August 20, 1997 in New York City, New York) was an American film executive. He was chairman of the board of Columbia Pictures from 1973 until his retirement in 1981. He is the father of fil ...
, film executive and "Hollywood Deal Maker." Leo Jaffe was a close friend of independent producer
Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer born in the Galician area of Austria-Hungary. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th centur ...
; Stanley Jaffe described how he would find his father and Spiegel at his father's office at
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
: "The lights were turned low and there they were, at the end of the table, playing gin."


Career

In 1962, Jaffe joined Seven Arts Associates, and, in 1964, was named executive assistant to the president of Seven Arts. After
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
purchased Seven Arts in 1967, Jaffe left to join
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
for two years. After producing '' Goodbye Columbus'', he was appointed executive vice president and chief operations officer of
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
in 1970, and within three months was named president of
Paramount Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its name ...
, which post he resigned in 1971 to form an independent production company, Jaffilms, which was "associated" with
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. Jaffilms produced ''
Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, a ...
'' (1972) and ''
The Bad News Bears ''The Bad News Bears'' is a 1976 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Bill Lancaster. It stars Walter Matthau as an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who becomes a coach for a youth baseball team known as the Bears. ...
'' (1976). In 1977, he became executive vice president of worldwide production at Columbia Pictures. Jaffe returned to independent production with ''
Kramer vs. Kramer ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry. It tells the stor ...
'' in 1979. In 1983, in collaboration with Sherry Lansing (then president of
20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
), he started the production company Jaffe-Lansing. In 1991, he was named president and chief operating officer of
Paramount Communications Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...
, and dissolved his partnership with Lansing. In 1992 he was named successor to
Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was the president of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as ''Hill Stre ...
as president of Paramount. When Viacom purchased Paramount in 1994, Jaffe was forced out and filed a lawsuit against Paramount for $20 million in a stock option dispute. 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 Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
. Jaffe had earned the ire of fans of the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' 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 The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some ...
'' was built in the place originally planned for the Enterprise project.


Veto of the USS ''Enterprise'' complex in Las Vegas

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.


Awards and nominations

*1988,
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, nominated for
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
for Best Picture, ''
Fatal Attraction ''Fatal Attraction'' is a 1987 American psychological thriller film directed by Adrian Lyne from a screenplay by James Dearden, based on his 1980 short film '' Diversion''. Starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer, the film cent ...
'' (1987) *1981,
British Academy Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
, won
BAFTA Film Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
for Best Film, ''
Kramer vs. Kramer ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' is a 1979 American legal drama film written and directed by Robert Benton, based on Avery Corman's 1977 novel of the same name. The film stars Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, and Justin Henry. It tells the stor ...
'' (1979) *1980,
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, won
Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
for Best Picture, ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979) *1980,
David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). The ...
, won
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
for Best Foreign Film ( Miglior Film Straniero), ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979)


Filmography

''He was producer for all films unless otherwise noted.''


Film

;As director


Filmography (as himself)

*'' Black Rain: Making the Film - Part 2'' (2006) (V) *'' Black Rain: The Script, the Cast'' (2006) (V) *'' Black Rain: Post-Production'' (2006) (V) *'' Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood'' (2003) *'' Bravo Profiles'' (1 episode, 2002) *'' Finding the Truth: The Making of 'Kramer vs. Kramer''' (2001) (V) *'' HBO First Look'' (1 episode, 2000) TV episode *'' The 52nd Annual Academy Awards'' (1980) (TV)


References


External links

* *
Find Out How Las Vegas Almost Saw A Full Scale USS Enterprise Attraction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffe, Stanley R. 1940 births American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Film producers from New York (state) Living people Businesspeople from New Rochelle, New York Golden Globe Award-winning producers Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award American film studio executives American film producers 20th-century American Jews Paramount Pictures executives 20th Century Studios people New York Rangers executives Stanley Cup champions 21st-century American Jews