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 centers ...
'', ''
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 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 of ...
. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from
The Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania, in 1962.
He is the son of
Leo Jaffe, film executive and "Hollywood Deal Maker."
Leo Jaffe was a close friend of independent producer
Sam Spiegel; Stanley Jaffe described how he would find his father and Spiegel at his father's office at
Columbia Pictures: "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 purchased Seven Arts in 1967, Jaffe left to join
CBS 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.
Jaffilms produced ''
Bad Company'' (1972) and ''
The Bad News 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 Disn ...
), he started the production company Jaffe-Lansing. In 1991, he was named president and chief operating officer of
Paramount Communications, and dissolved his partnership with Lansing.
In 1992 he was named successor to
Brandon Tartikoff 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 that produces, ac ...
.
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
Hilton or Hylton may refer to:
Companies
* Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc., a global hospitality company based in the United States that owns several hotel chains and subsidiary companies containing the Hilton name
** Hilton Hotels & Resorts, fla ...
. The ''
Fremont Street Experience'' 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, nominated for
Oscar 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 centers ...
'' (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 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, won
Oscar for Best Picture, ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979)
*1980,
David di Donatello Awards
The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''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). There are 26 award cat ...
, won
David 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