Robert B. Weide

A Sketch of Robert B. Weide's Career

After being rejected from USC's film school for the third time, Bob Weide figured he was destined to become a film-maker.

In 1982, at the age of 22, he produced The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell, a documentary tribute to his first love(s) which became one of the highest-rated programs in PBS history.

Two years later, he produced and directed The Great Standups: Sixty Years of Laughter for HBO. In 1986 he received the national prime-time Emmy Award for W. C. Fields Straight Up, honored as the year's Outstanding Informational Special.

In 1989, Weide produced, wrote and directed Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition, which aired on PBS' ''American Masters'' series. From 1990-'94 he served as Vice President of Development for Rollins & Joffe Productions (producers of Woody Allen's films) where he executive-produced Larry Gelbart's critically acclaimed political satire, Mastergate for the Showtime Network and Rick Reynolds' one-man confessional, Only The Truth Is Funny. He has also produced the HBO specials But Seriously, Folks and The Lost Minutes of Billy Crystal.

1996 saw the release of Weide's first feature film as writer/producer, Mother Night, based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut. The film starred Nick Nolte, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Sheryl Lee, and Kirsten Dunst.

In 1998, Weide completed a twelve year labor-of-love, his acclaimed documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth. His efforts were rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Feature Documentary, followed in '99 with an Emmy award for the film's editing and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special.

In 1999, HBO premiered Weide's comedy special, Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partly real, partly embellished ''mock-umentary'' chronicling the return to stand-up by Larry David, co-creator of Seinfeld. For five seasons, Weide served as the Principal Director and Executive Producer of the series based on this special, directing more than half the episodes. The series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, premiered on HBO in the Fall of 2000 to rave reviews and has so far had nine seasons on the cable network. It's currently enjoying syndication and DVD sales all over the world.

In 2001, the AFI named ''Curb'' the Comedy Series of the Year. In 2002, the show received an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Comedy Series, and Weide was nominated as Outstanding Director of a Comedy Series. ''Curb'' also received the Golden Globe Award in 2003 as Best Television Comedy Series. That same year, Weide won the Emmy Award for Comedy Direction for his Curb episode ''Krazee-Eyez Killa.'' The show itself and Weide's direction would be Emmy nominated for four years running. After a two year hiatus from the series, Weide returned to direct Season Eight's ultimate "water cooler" episode, "Palestinian Chicken" which brought him the prestigious DGA Award (Directors Guild of America) for Comedy Direction, and another Emmy Award nomination for the same. To-date, Weide has directed 28 episodes of the series.

In 2008, Weide completed his first feature as director, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, starring Simon Pegg (''Shaun of the Dead,'' ''Hot Fuzz''), Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson, Danny Huston, Megan Fox (''Transformers''), and Max Minghella. Upon the film's release in October, 2008, it became the #1 film in the UK, and remained among the top 10 box office performers for a month.

Weide successfully returned to his documentary roots in 2011 with his critically acclaimed, "Woody Allen: A Documentary," a 2-part, 3.5 hour special on the comic icon. Weide was granted unprecedented access as he filmed the director in his home, on set, in the editing room, at the Cannes Film Festival, and reminiscing through his boyhood neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY. The program premiered in the US on PBS' "American Masters," and is now being broadcast and screened theatrically all over the world. It has also been honored with two Emmy nominations; for Weide's direction, and as Outstanding Informational series (American Masters).

Weide's British comedy/drama series, Mr. Sloane, starring Nick Frost and Olivia Colman, aired in the spring of 2014 on Sky Atlantic (UK). Weide created, wrote, and directed the six-part series which garnered overwhelmingly positive response from viewers and critics. "Hilarious and touching all at once." "The best comedy of the year."

The summer of 2014 saw the release of the feature film "The Giver," for which Weide co-wrote the screenplay. The film, based on Lois Lowry’s Newbery-award winning YA novel stars Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep and Brenton Thwaites.

2020 will finally see the release of Weide's latest documentary, Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time which he commenced filming in 1988. It not only provides a definitive account of the author's life, but also documents Weide's evolving friendship with his subject, and the journey to complete the film after more than three decades.

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