- Bert Schneider
Berton "Bert" Schneider is an American
movie producer , who was behind a number of important and topical films of the late-1960s and early-1970s. The son ofAbraham Schneider , onetime president ofColumbia Pictures , the younger Schneider tended toward the rebellious. He briefly attendedCornell University but was expelled.Because of his radical activities, the army rejected him. In the early Sixties, he went to work for Columbia's television division
Screen Gems . In 1965, Schneider teamed up withBob Rafelson to formRaybert Productions . It was Schneider and Rafelson who brought "The Monkees ", asituation comedy about a fictionalrock band (who became a real group to meet public demand, and their own aspirations), to network television, in 1966.The success of the Monkees allowed Schneider and Rafelson to break into feature films, first with the
counterculture film "Head" in 1968, starring The Monkees and featuring a screenplay cowritten byJack Nicholson . Unfortunately, the movie bombed in its initial release, with Monkees fans disappointed that the disjointed, stream-of-consciousness ring of stories wasn't just an expanded episode, and 'hipper' audiences staying away in droves. A retrospective showing in 1973 helped turn critical opinion around, and today "Head" is largely praised and enjoyed as a Sixtiesperiod piece .They had their first major success with "
Easy Rider " the next year (1969), which ushered in the era ofNew Hollywood , then followed it up with "Five Easy Pieces ", which Rafelson directed, in 1970. Schneider and Rafelson added a partner,Steve Blauner , and Raybert turned intoBBS Productions . They went on to make a series of groundbreaking films, includingPeter Bogdanovich 's "The Last Picture Show " (1971) and Rafelson's "The King of Marvin Gardens " (1972).In 1975, Schneider earned a Best Documentary Oscar for producing "Hearts and Minds" (1974).
Peter Fonda based his character Terry Valentine inThe Limey partly on Schneider, according to Fonda's interview on the DVD.External links
*imdb name|id=0773721|name=Bert Schneider
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