Rachael Horovitz
Encyclopedia
Rachael Horovitz is an American film producer.
Horovitz is the daughter of playwright Israel Horovitz
and the late painter Doris Keefe as well as a sister of musician Adam Horovitz. She is the partner of British television executive Michael Jackson with whom she has twin sons and lives in New York City.
Raised in Greenwich Village, Horovitz graduated from Phillips Academy Andover, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
. After college, she lived in Paris where, at the suggestion of family friend playwright Samuel Beckett, she went to work at Shakespeare and Co. bookstore on the Left Bank. Following her return to New York, she worked in Mayor Edward I. Koch’s administration as an assistant to Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern.
Horovitz began working in film in 1985 when she was hired to work at Dino De Laurentiis Productions in publicity. While at the company, she worked on campaigns for David Lynch
’s Blue Velvet, Michael Cimino
’s The Sicilian
and Roman Polanski
’s Pirates, among other films.
In 1988 she began producing short works by young playwrights such as Kenneth Lonergan and Jon Robin Baitz at NY’s Naked Angels
theatre company, and also produced the Rushmore Festival, known for its commissions of new American translations of classical plays. During her tenure, Rushmore commissioned and produced the award-winning Paul Schmidt
translation of The Cherry Orchard
which had its premiere at the festival. Horovitz’s film projects at that time included developing screenplays with emerging writer/directors Lonergan, Noah Baumbach, and Brad Anderson. In 1990, Horovitz produced her first feature, Larry Fessenden’s No Telling. She also developed and co-produced Anderson’s Next Stop Wonderland
.
Horovitz joined New Line Cinema
as Vice President of Fine Line Features where she developed Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson’s Rushmore
screenplay and acquired dozens of films including works by Woody Allen
, Bernardo Bertolucci
and Michel Gondry. She was also responsible for bringing into the company and supervising David Mamet’s award-winning comedy State and Main
, which she co-produced, as well as Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor’s script for About Schmidt
, directed by Payne, which she executive produced. The film won Golden Globe Awards for Nicholson and the screenplay, and was nominated for two Academy Awards
. In 2001, Horovitz left New Line for Revolution Studios to work as a senior executive in the company’s New York office. While there, she worked closely with Julia Roberts' production company on such projects as Mike Newell’s Mona Lisa Smile
, Maid In Manhattan
, and Samantha: An American Girl Holiday
, the first American Girl
film, which she executive-produced.
Horovitz formed Specialty Films in 2003. Her productions include HBO’s Grey Gardens for which she received an Emmy, a Golden Globe, Best Film from the Broadcast and Television Critics Awards and the 2010 David Wolper Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild. The film stars Drew Barrymore
and Jessica Lange
and won major awards for both actresses.
The first big-screen project she put into development via Specialty Films was Michael Lewis
’ best-selling book Moneyball which she set up at Sony Pictures in 2004. The film was directed by Bennett Miller
in 2010 and was released in September 2011 starring Brad Pitt
.
Active in New York City and its causes throughout her working life, Horovitz has served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Ghetto Film School, through which she helped found in 2009 The Cinema School, the country’s first public high school specializing in film.
Horovitz is the daughter of playwright Israel Horovitz
Israel Horovitz
Israel Horovitz is an American playwright and screenwriter.-Theatre career:An American dramatist, Horovitz has written more than 70 produced plays, many of which have been translated and performed in more than 30 languages worldwide . The 70/70 Horovitz Project was created by NYC Barefoot Theatre...
and the late painter Doris Keefe as well as a sister of musician Adam Horovitz. She is the partner of British television executive Michael Jackson with whom she has twin sons and lives in New York City.
Raised in Greenwich Village, Horovitz graduated from Phillips Academy Andover, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. After college, she lived in Paris where, at the suggestion of family friend playwright Samuel Beckett, she went to work at Shakespeare and Co. bookstore on the Left Bank. Following her return to New York, she worked in Mayor Edward I. Koch’s administration as an assistant to Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern.
Horovitz began working in film in 1985 when she was hired to work at Dino De Laurentiis Productions in publicity. While at the company, she worked on campaigns for David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
’s Blue Velvet, Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino
Michael Cimino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and author. He is best known for writing and directing Academy Award-winning The Deer Hunter and the infamous Heaven's Gate. His films are characterized by their striking visual style and controversial subject...
’s The Sicilian
The Sicilian (film)
The Sicilian is a 1987 action film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo. It was directed by Michael Cimino and stars Christopher Lambert, Joss Ackland and Terence Stamp.-Plot:...
and Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
’s Pirates, among other films.
In 1988 she began producing short works by young playwrights such as Kenneth Lonergan and Jon Robin Baitz at NY’s Naked Angels
Naked Angels (theater company)
Naked Angels is an American theater company founded in 1986 and based in New York City. It was named after John Tytell’s book about the Beat Generation, Naked Angels...
theatre company, and also produced the Rushmore Festival, known for its commissions of new American translations of classical plays. During her tenure, Rushmore commissioned and produced the award-winning Paul Schmidt
Paul Schmidt (translator)
Paul Schmidt was an American translator, poet, playwright, and essayist.He graduated from Colgate University in 1955, and studied at Harvard University.He studied mime with Marcel Marceau and acting with Jacques Charon....
translation of The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
which had its premiere at the festival. Horovitz’s film projects at that time included developing screenplays with emerging writer/directors Lonergan, Noah Baumbach, and Brad Anderson. In 1990, Horovitz produced her first feature, Larry Fessenden’s No Telling. She also developed and co-produced Anderson’s Next Stop Wonderland
Next Stop Wonderland
Next Stop Wonderland is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by Brad Anderson and written by Anderson and Lyn Vaus. * This film was an audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998 and set off a bidding war among studio distributors, with Miramax Films paying $6 million for the $1 million...
.
Horovitz joined New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
as Vice President of Fine Line Features where she developed Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson’s Rushmore
Rushmore
Rushmore may refer to:Places:*Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, in the United States*Rushmore, Minnesota, a small city in the United States*Rushmore Cave, southeast of the mountain...
screenplay and acquired dozens of films including works by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
and Michel Gondry. She was also responsible for bringing into the company and supervising David Mamet’s award-winning comedy State and Main
State and Main
State and Main is a 2000 comedy film, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rebecca Pidgeon, about the on-location production in Waterford, Vermont of a film called The Old Mill...
, which she co-produced, as well as Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor’s script for About Schmidt
About Schmidt
About Schmidt is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, starring Jack Nicholson in the title role. It is loosely based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Louis Begley. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, especially in Omaha, Nebraska and Denver, Colorado...
, directed by Payne, which she executive produced. The film won Golden Globe Awards for Nicholson and the screenplay, and was nominated for two Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. In 2001, Horovitz left New Line for Revolution Studios to work as a senior executive in the company’s New York office. While there, she worked closely with Julia Roberts' production company on such projects as Mike Newell’s Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 romantic drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles...
, Maid In Manhattan
Maid in Manhattan
Maid in Manhattan is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Wayne Wang about a hotel maid and a high profile politician who fall in love starring Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, and Natasha Richardson. It is based on a story by John Hughes who is credited using a pseudonym. The original music score...
, and Samantha: An American Girl Holiday
Samantha: An American Girl Holiday
An American Girl Holiday is a 2004 television film, based on the American Girl children's books written by Anna Sandor and Valerie Tripp. The film follows young, wealthy Samantha Parkington's adventures with three poor orphan girls. After many trials, the orphans find a permanent home with Samantha...
, the first American Girl
American Girl
American Girl is a line of dolls, books, and accessories.American Girl may also refer to:* American Girl , a magazine published by the American Girl company* American Girl , a 2002 American film...
film, which she executive-produced.
Horovitz formed Specialty Films in 2003. Her productions include HBO’s Grey Gardens for which she received an Emmy, a Golden Globe, Best Film from the Broadcast and Television Critics Awards and the 2010 David Wolper Producer of the Year Award from the Producers Guild. The film stars Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
and Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange
Jessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
and won major awards for both actresses.
The first big-screen project she put into development via Specialty Films was Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis (author)
Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Panic and Home Game: An...
’ best-selling book Moneyball which she set up at Sony Pictures in 2004. The film was directed by Bennett Miller
Bennett Miller
Bennett Miller is an American film director.Miller is the director of the feature Capote , a film for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He also directed the documentary film The Cruise...
in 2010 and was released in September 2011 starring Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
.
Active in New York City and its causes throughout her working life, Horovitz has served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Ghetto Film School, through which she helped found in 2009 The Cinema School, the country’s first public high school specializing in film.
External links
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinehoward/2011/09/23/the-women-behind-moneyball/
- http://womenandhollywood.com/2009/04/17/interview-with-rachael-horovitz-executive-producer-of-grey-garden/
- http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/rachael_horovitz.shtml
- http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/film4-to-develop-bruce-chatwin-feature/5027384.article
- http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/sugar-ray-robinson-in-ring-on-biopic/