MICHAEL RITCHIE (Director) began his feature film directing career
with the 1969 drama Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford, which led to
Ritchie's next film, The Candidate, which, although made over 20 years ago,
is remarkably relevant to present- day politics. Ritchie's lengthy filmography
also includes The Bad News Bears, Semi-Tough, Fletch and Smile.
For HBO, he directed the television film The Positively True Adventures
of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, with Holly Hunter, Beau
Bridges and Swoozie Kurtz, which won a Golden Globe, four Emmy Awards, two
Ace Awards and a Directors Guild of America Award. The film was also named
as the number one Best Television Show of 1993 in Time Magazine.
Ritchie's book, Please Stand By, a chronicle of the history of American
television prior to 1948, was published in November of 1994.
A Wisconsin native, Ritchie earned his B.A. at Harvard University. During
his undergraduate studies, he directed the original production of classmate
Arthur Kopit's Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamas Hung You in the Closet and I 'Feelin'
So Sad. Following graduation, he began his career in television directing
episodes of Profiles in Courage, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Dr. Kildare and
other series, as well as one of the earliest movies-for-television, The
Outsider, for which he received his first Directors Guild of America nomination.
THE BUBBLE FACTORY is a multi-faceted entertainment company formed
in July 1995 by partners Sid, Bill and Jon Sheinberg. Within two years of
its inception, the new company established a 34,000 square foot headquarters
in Beverly Hills, California and produced four motion pictures for Universal
beginning with Flipper starring Elijah Wood and Paul Hogan, and including
McHale's Navy starring Tom Arnold and David Alan Grier and That Old Feeling
directed by Carl Reiner and starring Bette Midler and Dennis Farina. For
Richer or Poorer (working title) starring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley is
currently in production for a contemplated Christmas release by Universal.
As well as establishing a strong motion picture division, the company has
initiated a record label named The Track Factory which has signed the rock
legend Sammy Hagar.
The Bubble Factory owes its extraordinary strength and bargaining power
to the vision and focus of its three founding partners. Sid Sheinberg, a
dean of Hollywood studio executives, and his two sons, Bill and Jon, bring
to the firm an impressive breadth of experience, relationships, energy and
creativity.
In June of 1973, SID SHEINBERG was elected President and Chief Operating
officer of MCA, Inc. At that time, he was 38 years old. During the years
of his tenure, Universal Pictures, a division of MCA, Inc., released the
highest-grossing films of each of the past three decades, beginning with
Jaws in 1975, following with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in 1982 and concluding
with Jurassic Park in 1993. It is no coincidence that Steven Spielberg,
a filmmaker whose career began with Sid's assistance, was the director of
each of these blockbuster hits.
In 1955, Sid Sheinberg completed a four-year program in three years at Columbia
College and subsequently, attended the University of Texas Law School. Although
Sid was second in his class, in 1956 he transferred to Columbia Law School,
where he was both a Harlan Fiske Stone and a James Kent Scholar.
In the summer of 1958, he arrived in California where he accepted a teaching
position at UCLA Law School. In 1959 while awaiting the results of his California
Bar Examination, Sid joined the legal department of Revue Productions, MCA's
former television subsidiary, and began his career in the entertainment
industry.
Sid not only serves on the National Board of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews but is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Pitzer
College (one of the Claremont group of colleges), serves as Vice Chairman
of the Museum of Television and Radio, is a member of the Board of The American
Jewish Committee, the Board of Research To Prevent Blindness and the Board
of Trustees of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Additionally, Sid serves on The National Board of Human Rights Watch and
is co-founder of The Children's Action Network and Hollywood Supports.
He received Columbia Colleges John Jay Award in 1981 for Distinguished Professional
Achievement, the American Jewish Committees Human Relations Award in 1982,
the National Conference of Christians and Jews Humanitarian Award in 1983,
and Pioneer Of The Year Award in 1984 from the Motion Picture Pioneers,
as well as the coveted Chevalier De L'Ordre Des Arts et Des Lettres in 1984
bestowed by the French Government. In 1987, he received the DeWitt Carter
Reddick Award at the University of Texas in Austin, and in 1989 he was named
a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Directors Guild of America, for his decades
of service on the DGA-AMPTP Creative Rights Committee. He received the AIDS
Project Los Angeles Commitment to Life Award in 1991, the Medal of Honor
from the American Academy of Achievement in 1994 and the GLADD Award in
1996.
Along with his wife, Lorraine, Sid Sheinberg received the 1995 Simon Wiesenthal
Centers Humanitarian Award.
BILL SHEINBERG became part of the feature film division of MTM Productions
in 1986 but was soon asked to join that company's core business as VP of
Television Development. In 1990, he was promoted to VP of Creative Affairs
and in 1992 to Senior VP of Programming for MTM Television. Bill employed
his skills as consummate creative businessman while overseeing the development
and subsequent production of all prime time series programming for the broadcast
and cable networks, as well as first run syndication. During this tenure,
MTM enjoyed success with such shows as Evening Shade, Newhart, The Trials
of Rosie O'Neil and The New WKRP in Cincinnati.
Bill left MTM to serve as Senior Vice President at Spelling Television.
While there he supervised the development of all series activity including
such successes as Madman of the People, Kindred: The Embraced, Malibu Shores
and the hit drama Savannah. Under his guidance, Spelling Television was
rewarded with its largest development slate in recent years.
He has received Bachelor degrees in both psychology and sociology from Pitzer
College and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California
Law Center.
JON SHEINBERG, prior to The Bubble Factory, was Vice President in
the motion picture literary department at the William Morris Agency, where
his clients included many prominent writers and directors.
From 1989 to 1992, Jon Sheinberg was Senior VP in charge of production at
Orion Pictures and was directly responsible for the production of such popular
films as Robocop, Platoon, Colors, Silence of the Lambs, Throw Mama From
the Train and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Subsequently, while serving as President
of Lee Rich Productions at Warner Bros. from 1992 to 1995, he produced Hard
to Kill starring Steven Seagal, Passenger 57 starring Wesley Snipes and
Innocent Blood, directed by John Landis.
After studies at Franklin College in Switzerland, Jon began his career in
the entertainment industry at Columbia Pictures as a senior publicist, where
he launched the broadcast promotions department. With his strong leadership
and ingenuity, he was soon appointed manager of broadcast promotions. There
he developed the first electronic press kit, which brought together feature
film clips, documentary "behind-the-scenes footage" and advertising
in a videotape format that has become a standard promotions tool in the
motion picture industry.
Jon then moved to Lorimar Pictures as Director of television movies and
mini-series, where he developed such important projects as Christopher Columbus,
Lace, Why Me? and many more. Leaving Lorimar, he was director of creative
affairs in the motion picture department of 20th Century Fox.
JEFF ROTHBERG (Screenwriter/Co-producer) was most recently producer
on the feature film Bogus, for which he also wrote the original story. His
additional credits include producer/co-writer on Hiding Out and co-writer
on The Amazing Panda Adventure.
MICHAEL GLICK (Co-producer) has served as co-producer and/or line
producer on such films as Geronimo, Trespass, The Doctor, Rocky V, Lock
Up and Off Limits. His credits as unit production manager include The Witches
of Eastwick, Caddyshack and The Godfather, Part II. Glick was United Artists
executive in charge of production for Rocky II, and vice-president of production
for Embassy Pictures in the mid 1980's, where he oversaw production on A
Chorus Line, This Is Spinal Tap and Emerald Forest.
RALF BODE, A.S.C (Director of Photography) was nominated for an Academy
Award® for his work on Coal Miners Daughter. His other feature credits
include such films as Saturday Night Fever, Don Juan Demarco, Gorky Park,
Cousins, Dressed To Kill, The Accused, Made In America, Uncle Buck, Leaving
Normal, Raggedy Man, Bring On The Night, Safe Passage, Bad Girls and The
Nutcracker.
For television, he received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on Gypsy!
starring Bette Midler.
A native of Berlin, Germany, Bode emigrated to the U.S with his parents
in 1954. He initially intended to pursue a career as an actor and, after
graduating as a theater major from the University of Vermont, performed
in several Off-Broadway productions. He was studying directing at the Yale
School of Drama when the U.S. Army recruited him to join the military and
study motion picture photography. Bode subsequently became hooked on the
business of picture making and after two years in the military, moved to
New York City where he began his career working with John G. Avildson on
his early films, among them the smash hit Rocky.
STEPHEN HENDRICKSON (Production Designer) has previously worked with
director Michael Ritchie on the films The Positively True Adventures of
the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom, The Scout, Diggstown and Fletch
Lives. His other credits include Eye For An Eye, Wall Street, Major League
II, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Arthur, Going In Style and Cant Stop The
Music.
Hendrickson's work as a production designer for commercials garnered him
the Clio Award for two consecutive years in 1977 and 1978. In addition,
he was nominated for Music Video, American Music and American Video Music
Academy awards for his video work for Billy Joel and Luther Vandross.
Hendrickson holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
LUKE REICHLE (Costume Designer) has previously collaborated with
director Michael Ritchie on the films The Fantasticks, The Scout, The Positively
True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom and Diggstown.
His other credits as costume designer include such films as The Glimmer
Man, Down Periscope, Lord of Illusions and HBO's Soul of the Game.
After completion of his design training, Reichle enjoyed a ten-year tenure
on Seventh Avenue, designing for the houses of Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein
and Alexander Julian and was stationed in Europe for a time as design director
for BBDG. Upon his transition to costume design, he assisted designers Albert
Wolsky, Ruth Myers and Ann Roth, among others, on such projects as Pontiac
Moon, The Firm, Fatal Instinct, The Mambo Kings, Curley Sue, Regarding Henry
and Mr. Destiny.
New Jersey native WILLIAM SCHARF (Editor) was educated at New York
University. He began his film career in New York, working with filmmakers
such as Dede Allen, Warren Beatty, Sidney Lumet and Arthur Penn.
Scharf edited the films Rising Sun and Henry and June for director Philip
Kaufman; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, for director Frank Oz; A Domestic Dilemma,
directed by Kristi Zea; An Innocent Man, directed by Peter Yates; The Prince
of Pennsylvania, for director Ron Nyswanner; To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday,
directed by Michael Pressman; and the forthcoming film version of the longest-running
musical The Fantasticks, for director Michael Ritchie.
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