Arts & Entertainment

RObert
Rules

New Line Cinema's
Detroit-bred Bob Shaye
directs The Last Mimzy.

Bob Shaye on the set of The Last Mimzy

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

R

obert "Bob" Shaye, growing up in 1950s Detroit,
hung out at the public library near his home on
Fairfield and Pickford, always eager for new sci-
ence-fiction books and magazines.
One of his favorite stories was "Mimsy Were the
Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett, a pseudonym for Henry
Kuttner and his wife, C.L. Moore.
Shaye retained his interest in science fiction but turned
sharply to film, and he built a career as founder and now
co-chairman and co-CEO of New Line Cinema, which
often produces fantasy productions.
The studio's most recent release, The Last Mimzy, is
based on that favorite story, with Shaye, 68, moving from
the business office to the director's chair, an action he has
taken before.
Before the film's national theater release on March
23, the New Line executive personally brings the film to
Michigan, where he nurtured his creative interests, and
discusses his latest project at two screenings. The first is at
7:30 p.m. Friday, March 16, at the Michigan Theater in Ann
Arbor, and the second is at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 17, at
the Detroit Film Theatre in the Detroit Institute of Arts.
"The Last Mimzy has spirit, fantasy and soul, and
those are all good things in a movie-going experience,'
says Shaye, who divides his time between New York and
Los Angeles.
"It's a film presented in the context of reality, and I
believe audiences will buy into it as almost being real, par-
ticularly with the acting so real."
The Last Mirnzy, starring Timothy Hutton and Joely
Richardson, tells the story of two children who discover a
box that contains strange devices they think are toys. As
the youngsters play with the devices, the two display ever-
increasing intelligence.
When a blackout shuts down the city, the government
traces the problem to the children's home, where the toys
and the story take on new drama.
"This particular movie was brought into our office in
the hands of a producer, Michael Phillips, who worked
on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The

Shaye recalls.
"When I heard that he was pitching to make a feature
film out of that story, I immediately gravitated to the idea.
More particularly, with some vanity, I felt that I probably
would be the best guy to handle the direction because of
my passion for what the story covered."
Bruce Joel Rubin, who won an Academy Award for
his screenplay Ghost and worked on the Mimzy script
with Toby Emmerich, also is from Detroit and was
known to Shaye as their two families were affiliated with
Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
"I ended up knowing Bruce better after New Line was
formed and several years into the growth of the company,"
Shaye says. "We hired Bruce to do some screenwriting for
us. I was interested in some early scripts that he had writ-
ten, but our friendship coalesced when he took on the task
of doing Mimzy."
Shaye, who went to Mumford High School and graduat-
ed from the University of Michigan with a business degree,
started making films as a teen and even did a training
movie for carryout boys working for Big Bear Markets,
owned by his late father, Max Shaye.
"I've always had movie-making in my blood and shifted
over to movie distribution and production mostly because
I fell into it out of a series of coincidental events',' says
Shaye, who earned a law degree from Columbia University.
He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the
University of Stockholm, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.
"Since my dad was in the grocery distribution business, I
understood distribution.
"One of my life interests has been to be an actor, and
when I was a kid, I acted on radio in Detroit and in a lot of
plays at U-M. When I was going to college and really had
an idea of possibly becoming an actor, it gave me great
insight into the profession!"
New Line Cinema, celebrating its 40th anniversary,
began with re-releases of cult films and moved on to pop-
ular franchises, such as the Street Fighter series, Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles and A Nightmare on Elm
Street. Later hits included Rush Hour, Austin Powers,
Dumb and Dumber (co-starring Shaye's sister, character
actress Lin Shaye) and The Wedding Singer.
After winning 17 Oscars for The Lord of the Rings tril-

ogy, which earned nearly $3 billion worldwide, New Line
went on to release Wedding Crashers, Monster-in-Law
and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
A major project for the anniversary year is Hairspray
with John Travolta and Queen Latifah.
"The universal element for me is to find films that will
entertain:' says Shaye. "That is what I really believe movie
making is all about" He has treated himself to small acting
parts in some of his films
"A film has to be stimulating and essentially worth
people's time. Sometimes, I get it wrong and my colleagues
in the company get it wrong, but it's not for lack of trying."
Shaye, who met his wife Eva while he was attending the
University of Stockholm, has two daughters, Katja and
Juno, both in their 30s. Although he seldom returns to
Michigan, he has remained involved in educational proj-
ects.
Shaye and his Four Friends Foundation donated $1
million to the Department of Screen Arts & Cultures
(formerly the Program in Film & Video Studies) at the
University of Michigan, providing seed funding to start the
SAC Library and the James Gindin Visiting Artist Series.
He also helped found and support Inside Out, an orga-
nization in the Detroit Public Schools fostering literary
magazines edited by high-school students.
"The Last Mimzy is a little unique to New Line
because it's a PG movie says Shaye. "While it wasn't my
initial intention, the film led me in the direction of making
it for families.
"The most fun I've had in the screenings so far has been
seeing audiences filled up with kids, parents and other
relatives enjoying the film together."

The Last Mimzy will be shown and discussed by
Bob Shaye in a free program at 7:30 p.m. Friday,
March 16, at the Michigan Theatre, 603 E. Liberty,
in Ann Arbor. (734) 668-8397. It also will be
shown and discussed by Shaye at 3 p.m. Saturday,
March 17, at the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit
Institute of Arts; $10 adults and $5 for children,
with a pizza reception. (313) 833-4005. The Last
Mimzy opens nationwide in theaters on Friday,
March 23. Check your local movie listings.

March 15 2007

41