Robert Shaye

Lore & Background

Shaye formed New Line Cinema in 1967, starting with a package of feature films and shorts rented to colleges. The company expanded to re-releases such as Reefer Madness and first-run domestic distribution of foreign films such as Get Out Your Handkerchiefs. In the 1980s and early 1990s, New Line released blockbuster films such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In 1994, New Line was acquired by the Turner Broadcasting System for $500 million, with Shaye earning more than $100 million. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System became part of Time Warner.

Reader's Guide

In February 2008, Shaye and New Line co-chairman Michael Lynne were dismissed from the company as part of a significant restructuring ordered by then-Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes. That June, Shaye and Lynne formed a new independent film company called Unique Features. The company's projects include The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (Sony/Constantin), the TV series Shadowhunters (Freeform Television), When the Bough Breaks (Screen Gems), Ambition, directed by Shaye, The Liberator, their first animated project (Netflix), Night Teeth (Netflix), Space Oddity (Samuel Goldwyn Films), Reunion (Republic Pictures/Lionsgate Films), although Shaye never produced the film, and their upcoming film High in the Clouds (Gaumont).

Did You Know?

• Robert Shaye is the brother of actress Lin Shaye.
• Shaye earned a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School and is a member of the New York State Bar Association.
• He graduated from Stockholm University as a Fulbright scholar.
• Shaye suggested Peter Jackson make three Lord of the Rings films instead of two.