Richard P. Rubinstein is an American film and television producer, who has worked mainly in the science fiction and

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

genres. In the 1970s and 1980s he collaborated frequently with horror director George A. Romero, including on the seminal

zombie films A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror g ...

'' Dawn of the Dead'' (1978) and ''

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

'' (1985). He also produced 1984–1988 anthology horror television series ''

Tales from the Darkside ''Tales from the Darkside'' is an American horror anthology television series created by George A. Romero. A pilot episode was first broadcast on October 29, 1983. The series was picked up for syndication, and the first season premiered on S ...

''. In the 1980s and 1990s Rubinstein produced a substantial number of projects based on the writings of horror novelist

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

Early life

Rubinstein was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. His younger brother, born in 1952, is

Donald Rubinstein Donald Rubinstein is a film composer, singer-songwriter, and multi-media artist who is best known for his collaborations with George A. Romero and Avant-garde jazz/rock collaborations with such musicians as Bill Frisell, Emil Richards and Wayne Ho ...

, a composer who wrote the music for some of the films and series Rubinstein produced. Rubinstein received an undergraduate degree from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

, and an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Career

Rubinstein began his production career as a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

for television commercials. He got his first associate producer credit in the early 1970s for the one-hour TV special ''A Night with

Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a British actor. He was once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" an ...

'', produced by

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed one feature film, ''Act One (film), Act One'', th ...

. In 1973 Rubinstein produced ''The Winners'', a series of one-hour profiles about various American sports heroes, and in 1974 he independently produced a similar one-hour television special profiling

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

Laurel Entertainment

In the mid-1970s, Rubinstein and horror director George A. Romero co-founded the production company Laurel Entertainment. In 1979, Rubinstein took the company

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, to raise more money. In 1984, Romero left Laurel Entertainment to pursue his own projects, although the two would continue to collaborate. In 1986, Laurel teamed up with New World Pictures in order to co-produce the film ''

Creepshow 2 ''Creepshow 2'' is a 1987 American comedy horror anthology film directed by Michael Gornick, and the sequel to '' Creepshow''. Gornick was previously the cinematographer of the first film, and the screenplay was written by George A. Romero who w ...

''. In 1988, Rubinstein and

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the television series ''Family'' (1976–1980), ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977� ...

merged Laurel Entertainment and Spelling's own production company, Aaron Spelling Productions as subsidiaries of a new public company, Spelling Entertainment Inc. The merger was completed on March 1, 1989. Rubinstein remained head of the Laurel Entertainment division. On October 5, 1993,

Blockbuster Entertainment Blockbuster or Blockbuster Video is an American multimedia brand which was founded by David Cook in 1985 as a single home video rental shop, but later became a public store chain featuring video game rentals, DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on de ...

acquired a controlling stake in Spelling Entertainment Group., and in 1994 it in turn was bought by

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

. In 1995, Rubinstein, who was still head of the Laurel division, left to found his own, smaller production company, New Amsterdam Entertainment in New York City. Laurel Entertainment was folded into Spelling Television the same year.

Association with George Romero

Through Laurel Entertainment, Rubinstein co-produced or executive produced a number of Romero's films, most notably ''Dawn of the Dead'' but also ''

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

'' (1978), ''

Knightriders ''Knightriders'' is a 1981 American action drama film written and directed by George A. Romero and starring Ed Harris, Gary Lahti, Tom Savini, Amy Ingersoll, Patricia Tallman, and Christine Forrest. It was filmed entirely on location in the ...

'' (1981), ''

Creepshow ''Creepshow'' is a 1982 American horror comedy anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King, making this film his screenwriting debut. The film's ensemble cast includes Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Fritz Weaver, ...

'' (1982) and ''

'' (1985). Rubinstein also executive produced Romero's 1984–1988 anthology horror series ''

'', which was based on the success of ''Creepshow''. After ''Tales from the Darkside'' ended, Rubinstein executive produced the similar anthology show ''

Monsters A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'', which ran from 1988 to 1991, this one without involvement from Romero. Rubinstein also co-produced the 2004 remake of Romero's ''Dawn of the Dead'', again without involvement from Romero (Romero was critical of the remake, saying it was more like a "video game").

Association with Stephen King

Rubinstein's first known professional collaboration with Stephen King was the 1982

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

'', which Rubinstein co-produced and which had a screenplay written by King, based on a combination of some of King's published short stories as well as new plots. In 1987, via Laurel Entertainment, Rubinstein executive-produced its sequel, ''

'', this time based on King's stories but written by Romero. In the 1980s, two anthology horror series that Rubinstein executive-produced, ''Tales from the Darkside'' and ''Monsters'', included episodes based on short stories by King. The 1990 anthology horror film '' Tales from the Darkside: The Movie'' also included a chapter based on a short story by King. Rubinstein co-produced the 1991 miniseries '' Golden Years'', which was written by King, based on an original concept. Rubinstein also produced a string of film and television adaptations of other written works by Stephen King, including the 1989 film ''

Pet Sematary ''Pet Sematary'' is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019. Background In 1979, King was wr ...

'', the 1994 miniseries ''

The Stand ''The Stand'' is an epic post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which some of ...

'', the 1995 miniseries '' The Langoliers'', the 1996 film '' Thinner'' and the 1997 film '' The Night Flier''. These were often co-produced with

Mitchell Galin Mitchell Galin is an American film and television producer. He is best known for his work on ''The Stand (1994 miniseries), Stephen King's The Stand'' for American Broadcasting Company, ABC and ''Frank Herbert's Dune'' for Syfy. He currently ru ...

''Dune'' series

Rubinstein held the film and television rights to the ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

'' series of books by

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune (novel), ''Dune'' and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, ...

since 1996. With

, Rubinstein produced the 2000 miniseries ''

Frank Herbert's Dune ''Frank Herbert's Dune'' is a 2000 science fiction television miniseries, based on the 1965 novel of the same title by Frank Herbert. It is written for the screen and directed by John Harrison, and stars Alec Newman as Paul Atreides, William ...

'' and its 2003 follow-up, ''

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune ''Frank Herbert's Children of Dune'' is a three-part science fiction television miniseries written by John Harrison and directed by Greg Yaitanes, based on Frank Herbert's novels '' Dune Messiah'' (1969) and '' Children of Dune'' (1976). Firs ...

''. In 2008, Rubinstein attempted to produce a film adaptation of ''Dune'' with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, but Paramount dropped the effort in 2011.

Legendary Pictures Legendary Entertainment, LLC (also known as Legendary Pictures or simply Legendary) is an American mass media and film production company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull. The company has often collaborated with the major stu ...

and

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

later acquired the rights from Rubinstein for a new two-film adaption of ''Dune'' to be directed by

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...

with the first part to be released in December 2020; Rubinstein served as executive producer for the films.

Awards and accolades

* Rubinstein received a

Monte Carlo TV Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, introdu ...

award and a

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

for ''The Vernon Johns Story'', a 1994 TV movie starring

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

References

External links

Richard P. Rubinstein biography
at New Amsterdam Entertainment * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubinstein, Richard P. Filmmakers from Brooklyn Film producers from New York (state) American University alumni Columbia Business School alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)