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Robert Greenwald

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Robert Greenwald
File:Robert greenwald.jpg
Born (1943-08-28) August 28, 1943 (age 81)
New York City, U.S.
SpouseHeidi Frey
ChildrenRachel Greenwald, Leah Greenwald, Noah Greenwald, Maya Greenwald
Websiterobertgreenwald.org

Robert Greenwald (born August 28, 1943) is an internationally-known, award-winning television, feature film and documentary filmmaker and political activist. Greenwald is founder and president of Brave New Films (BNF), a "new media company that uses moving images to educate, influence, and empower viewers to take action around issues that matter".[1] He has produced and/or directed more than 55 TV movies and miniseries[2] and films, which include "Steal This Movie" (2000), starring Vincent D'Onofrio as 60's radical Abbie Hoffman, and “Breaking Up” (1997), starring Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek. With BNF, he has made political documentaries such as Outfoxed (2004), Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005), and Koch Brothers Exposed (2012), as well as many short films and internet campaigns. His eighth feature-length documentary, "Unmanned: America's Drone Wars," will be released on October 30, 2013.

His work has earned him 25 Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, the Peabody Award and the Robert Wood Johnson Award. He was awarded the 2002 Producer of the Year Award by the American Film Institute. He has been honored for his activism by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California; the Liberty Hill Foundation; the Los Angeles chapter of the National Lawyers Guild; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Consumer Attorney's Association of Los Angeles; Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy and the Office of the Americas.[1]

Early life

Greenwald was born and raised in New York City. He is the son of psychologists, Ruth and Harold Greenwald,[3] and the nephew of choreographer Michael Kidd. He attended the city's High School of Performing Arts. Greenwald started his directing career in the theater, with The People Vs. Ranchman (1968),[4] A Long Time Coming and A Long Time Gone (1971),[5] Me and Bessie (1975) and I Have a Dream (1976), a play based on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., with Billy Dee Williams playing King.[3][6]

Television and feature film career

Greenwald moved to Los Angeles in 1972, where he continued working as a theatre director at the Mark Taper Forum. He later launched a career as a director for television, establishing Robert Greenwald Productions (RGP), and began creating theatrical films, television movies, miniseries and documentaries with a distinct social and political sensibility. Since its creation, RGP has brought more than 45 films to audiences worldwide.[2] In 1977, he received his first of three Emmy Award nominations for producing the television movie 21 Hours at Munich about the massacre at the 1972 Olympics. His next Emmy nomination came in 1984 for directing The Burning Bed, a production that has been credited as "a turning point in the fight against domestic violence." [7] During this period he produced or directed over 40[quantify] television movies; The New York Times would later characterize this work as "commercially respectable B-list movies...imbue[d] with a left-leaning political sensibility".[8] Later, Greenwald would foray into film directing, including such films as Xanadu (1980),[9][10] Breaking Up (1997) and Steal This Movie! (2000).

Documentary work

Main article: Brave New Films

Inspired by pervasive voter rights abuses during the 2000 presidential election, Greenwald turned to documentary filmmaking in 2002.[11] He executive-produced three political documentaries known as "The Un Trilogy": Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election (2002);[12] Uncovered: The Whole Truth About The Iraq War (2003),[13] which Greenwald also directed; and Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties. He found audiences eager for substantive investigations of social issues, told through personal stories, and chose to bypass the usual gatekeepers by devising creative means of distribution, first through house parties,[14] and ultimately through the internet and social media. He has been called "one of the most prominent and influential voices in new media." [15] The documentaries produced by Brave New Films have been streamed across all 7 continents and have been viewed over 70 million times.

Typically Greenwald's approach has been to adapt the principles of guerrilla filmmaking to political documentaries, using small budgets and short shooting schedules to produce films[8] and then distributing them on DVDs or the Internet in affiliation with politically sympathetic groups such as MoveOn.org.[8] BNF's methods are "rewriting the book on how movies are made and distributed."[16] Greenwald's innovative model is said to be "working magnificently":[17] "Millions of viewers have seen BNF films via grassroots 'house parties' and independent online DVD sales,"[18] as well as in more traditional theater screenings. This approach has "inspired hundreds of thousands of people to take action and forced pressing issues into the mainstream media."[19]

At BNF, Greenwald has produced and directed eight feature-length documentaries, along with many short pieces and campaigns.[1] Greenwald recently released War on Whistleblowers: Free Press and the National Security State (2013)[20] and is currently working on on a documentary about the U.S. government’s drone program, "Unmanned: America's Drone Wars," scheduled for release October 30, 2013.[21]

Awards and honors

Greenwald's films have garnered the following nominations and awards:

  • 25 Emmy Award nominations
  • 4 Cable ACE Award nominations
  • 2 Golden Globe nominations
  • 2 DGA Nominations (1978 and 1985)
  • 8 Awards of Excellence from the Film Advisory Board.
  • Maggie Award from the Planned Parenthood Federation.
  • Directors Guild of America Award, for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials for "The Burning Bed," 1984.
  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for Excellence in Health and Medical Programming, for "Sharing the Secret," 2000.[22]
  • The Peabody Award, for "Sharing the Secret," 2000.[23]
  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Prism Commendation for "Blonde," 2002.
  • Producer of the Year Award by the American Film Institute, 2002.[24]
  • Literacy in Media Award, for "The Book of Ruth," 2004.
  • Laurel Award, for "Outfoxed", 2008.
  • Telly Award, (Bronze), for "This Brave Nation," 2009.
  • Media for a Just Society, Finalist for "Law and Disorder," 2013.

Robert Greenwald has been the recipient of the following awards for his activism:

  • California Nurses Association, "Public Voice for Political Activism."
  • Maggie Award from Planned Parenthood Federation.
  • Office of the Americas Activist in the Trenches[25]
  • The Christopher Award, 1981 (for media that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit")(christophers.org)
  • ACLU of Southern California, Garden Party Award, 2003.
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles, Peacemaker Award, 2003
  • The Los Angeles Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild Honors Robert Greenwald as "A Producer and Director who uses his talent and artistry to promote better understanding between people and advance the cause of peace, justice and freedom." - June 8, 2003;
  • LAANE City of Justice Award, 2005
  • Rage for Justice, Citizen Activist of the Year, 2005.
  • Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)’s City of Justice Award 2005.
  • Liberty Hill's Upton Sinclair Award, 2006.
  • Norman Felton and Denise Aubuchon Humanitarian Award, 2007
  • Courage in Media (California) Award,2008

Politics

Various sources have described Greenwald's political activism as left-wing.[26][27][28][29][30] Greenwald has lectured at Harvard University for the Nieman Foundation for Journalism and speaks frequently across the country about his work.[31] Since May 2005, Greenwald has been a contributing blogger to The Huffington Post.[32]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b c "About Robert Greenwald" http://www.robertgreenwald.org, retrieved July 30, 2013
  2. ^ a b "Robert Greenwald" Imdb.com, retrieved July 30, 2013
  3. ^ a b "Robert Greenwald Biography (1943-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  4. ^ Broadway World. The People Vs. Ranchman. Retrieved August 20, 2013
  5. ^ The Village Voice. "Richard Farina: A Long Time Coming and A Long Time Gone." Published November 11th, 1971. Retrieved August 20th 2013.
  6. ^ "The Theater: A King in Darkness", Time, 1976-10-04, archived from the original on 2011-02-20, retrieved 2013-08-23
  7. ^ Ahern, Louise Knott, (Oct 21, 2009). "The Burning Bed": A turning point in fight against domestic violence." http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/99999999/NEWS01/909270304/-Burning-Bed-turning-point-fight-against-domestic-violence Lansing State Journal
  8. ^ a b c Robert S. Boynton (2004-07-11). "How to Make a Guerrilla Documentary". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  9. ^ "Xanadu". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  10. ^ "Xanadu (1980) – Box office / business". Imdb.com. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  11. ^ "Robert Greenwald Biography" Indiegogo.com. Retrieved Oct 3, 2013.
  12. ^ NED MARTEL. "Attempts to Sort Out and Make Sense of History." New York Times. Published October 1, 2004. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  13. ^ John Anderson. Damning Portrait On War In Iraq. Newsday. Published, September 24, 2004. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  14. ^ Joe Garofoli. "Fox News Critique Goes Directly to Living Rooms". San Francisco Chronicle. July 19, 2004.
  15. ^ "Robert Greenwald to GMDers: Hold Welch to Pledge on War Funding. [Updated]" [1] Green Mountain Daily (June 15, 2009)
  16. ^ Barkin, Joel, "Filmmaker Robert Greenwald"[2], Progressive States Network, retrieved 2013-10-03.
  17. ^ "Robert Greenwald Tackles Wal-Mart: Just How Have Americans Paid for Those Low Prices?" [3] | published by Buzzflash October 27, 2005, retrieved October 3, 2013.
  18. ^ "Arena Profile: Robert Greenwald [4], retrieved 2013-10-03.
  19. ^ "Filmmaker, Activist Robert Greenwald ’66 to Receive Horace Mann Award" [5], retrieved 2013-10-13.
  20. ^ STUART KLAWANS. "Speaking Up, and Paying the Price: ‘The War on Whistleblowers,’ a Documentary". Published: April 18, 2013
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference warcosts.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Peabody/Robert Wood Johnson Award Winner Now Available; 'Behind Sharing the Secret' Distributed Throughout the United States" [6], Retrieved 2013-10-03
  23. ^ "Sharing the Secret". GEORGE FOSTER PEABODY AWARDS. University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
  24. ^ "Awards" http://www.rgpinc.com/awards.php retrieved July 30, 2013
  25. ^ http://www.robertgreenwald.org/
  26. ^ "Robert Greenwald". Charlie Rose.
  27. ^ Harris, Paul (2011-05-15). "Koch brothers under attack by leftwing film-maker". The Guardian. London.
  28. ^ "Robert Greenwald". Yahoo movies.
  29. ^ Waxman, Sharon. "Robert Greenwald Challenges JFK Actors Kinnear, Holmes to Vet Script". Brave New Films.
  30. ^ Flanders, Laura. "GRITtv with Laura Flanders is proud to feature Brave New Films content". GRITtv.
  31. ^ "Robert Greenwald Bio" Accesses Oct 4, 2013
  32. ^ "Robert Greenwald". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2007-11-26.

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