Paula Weinstein, Emmy-Winning Producer of ‘The Perfect Storm’ and Former Tribeca Enterprises Executive, Dies at 78

Pat Saperstein
·3 min read
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Paula Weinstein, the respected producer of films including “The Perfect Storm,” “Analyze This,” “The Fabulous Baker Boys” and “Blood Diamond,” and former chief content officer at Tribeca Enterprises, died Monday in New York. She was 78.

Her daughter, Hannah Rosenberg, said in a statement, “The world is a lesser place without my mother. She was a masterful producer and a force of nature for the things she believed in, including the many projects that spanned her illustrious career, the stories she fought to tell and the social justice causes she championed.

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“She shattered barriers in Hollywood and always lifted other women along with her. And I know my mother would want me to add this: if you’d like to honor her, please stop what you are doing and turn your attention toward reelecting President Biden and making sure Democrats win down the ballot so we can be sure Democracy survives in America and around the world.”

Weinstein was also an executive producer on “Grace and Frankie” and won two primetime Emmys for producing TV movies “Truman” and “Recount.”

At Tribeca, she managed branded entertainment and oversaw the film festival’s programming team. She helped create and publicize the Tribeca Talks series, and helped build Tribeca Studios, working on promoting the work of underrepresented filmmakers.

Tribeca co-founder and CEO Jane Rosenthal remembered Weinstein in a statement, saying, “I am heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, colleague, and mentor Paula Weinstein. Paula was always someone I could Iook up to and served as an inspiration for me and countless other women. She was gorgeous inside and out, smart, politically and socially savvy, with an amazing sense of humor. The industry has lost one of its great and passionate producers and storytellers and Tribeca has lost a family member and a dear friend.”

Weinstein left Tribeca Enterprises in September 2023 to devote her time to political causes.

Through her Spring Creek Prods., which she co-founded with her late husband in 1990, she also produced “Fearless,” “Flesh and Bone,” “This Is Where I Leave You,” “Too Big to Fail,” “The Company Men,” “The Astronaut Farmer” and “Monster-in-Law.”

Her husband, Mark Rosenberg, died on the set of “Flesh and Bone” in 1992. She told the Los Angeles Times at the time, “I’m excited about these movies coming out. I’m very proud of them, of the work that Mark and I did together, and at the same time there is a level of sadness because he’s not here to enjoy them, and see the remarkable work of these two directors and scripts and people he believed in come to fruition.”

Weinstein also served as president of United Artists, executive vice president at Fox and vice president at Warner Bros.

Weinstein’s mother, producer Hannah Weinstein, moved her family to London in the 1950s and produced television projects that gave work to blacklisted Americans, including “The Adventures of Robin Hood.” Her father was a journalist.

Weinstein’s honors include two Crystal Awards from Women in Film, the Hall of Fame Award from Variety, the National Urban League Citizen Award, and the Bill of Rights Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. She was a founding member of the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee which raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates for over 20 years. She also served as a former board member of the ACLU of Southern California.

She is survived by her daughter, Hannah Rosenberg.

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