| Paula Wagner | |
|---|---|
| Born | 12 December 1946 Youngstown, Ohio, USA |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Spouse(s) | Rick Nicita |
|
Paula Wagner (born 12 December 1946) is an American film producer and film executive.
Early career
Wagner began her career as an actress, appearing in several Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions. Wagner also performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre.
Wagner became a talent agent at the Creative Artists Agency; her clients included Kevin Bacon, Val Kilmer, Demi Moore, Liam Neeson, Oliver Stone, and Tom Cruise. Wagner paired Stone with Cruise for Born on the Fourth of July, with Kilmer on The Doors, and helped him cast JFK.[1]
Film career
Cruise and Wagner formed Cruise/Wagner Productions in 1993. Their films include the Mission: Impossible series, Vanilla Sky, The Last Samurai, and War of the Worlds. Other projects include Without Limits, The Others, Narc, Ask the Dust, and Elizabethtown.
Wagner and Cruise arrived at United Artists in late 2006 to great fanfare and with plans for resurrecting the historic film company founded in 1919 by Charlie Chaplin and other artists. UA has released two films Lions for Lambs and Valkyrie.
Wagner and Cruise received a minority stake in UA estimated at the time to be around 30%. Under Wagner, the label secured a $500 million film financing deal with Merrill Lynch to make a slate of 15 to 18 films over five years.
In August 2008, Wagner elected to leave UA. A person familiar with the matter attributed her disputes with MGM to be about money and which films to produce.
In a joint statement released, MGM and UA confirmed that Wagner "will transition to the role of a producer" but that "nothing will change in regard to Mr. Cruise's involvement with UA." Wagner confirmed the discussions and her desire to return to producing in her own statement, issued at the time, "As much as I've enjoyed my time as an executive, I have longed to return to my true love, which is making movies, so that's what I've decided to do," she said.
Wagner is expected to look to produce films independently and under the UA label, including projects that she has developed like Guillermo del Toro's film version of the British TV series, "Champions." Wagner's recent projects include the action thriller "Death Race," which Universal released. Wagner and Cruise have retained an ownership interest in United Artists.[2]
Other work
Wagner co-wrote the play Out of Our Father's House. She was a juror at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival.
Personal life
Paula's father (Edmund Jamison Kauffman) was a well known A.K.C judge, and also a World War II prisoner of war.
She has two sisters who are identical twins (Susan, and Sally).
Paula has two sons, Jesse and Zack.
Wagner was born Paula Kauffman in Youngstown, Ohio. She earned her BFA at the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Wagner is married to Rick Nicita, a former agent at Creative Artists Agency who as of 2008 is a co-chairman and co-CEO of Morgan Creek Productions.[3]
References
External links
 |
This biographical article related to cinema of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
