Julian Schlossberg


Julian Schlossberg is an American motion pictures, theatre and television producer. He has been a college lecturer and television host regarding films, as well.

Early life and education

Schlossberg was born in New York City.
Following a tour of duty in the United States Army, Schlossberg attended college at New York University, graduating with honors.

Career

In 1964 he began his career in television at ABC as an assistant account representative in station clearance. After 10 months, he was promoted to head the department. In 1966 Schlossberg left ABC to become an account executive at Walter Reade Organization in the Television Division. He moved to the Theater division in 1969 as an assistant vice president. He later became the vice president and head film buyer.
In 1974, while working as an executive, Schlossberg began hosting Movie Talk, a four-hour nationally syndicated radio program aired in New York first on WMCA and subsequently on WOR. Over the next nine years, he interviewed hundreds of stars such as Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. He also hosted Movie Talk on television, which aired in New York and Philadelphia on Wometco Home Theatre.
From 1976 to 1977 Schlossberg served as the vice president of World Wide Acquisition at Paramount Pictures. He was vice president of production in 1977, but in 1978, Schlossberg left Paramount.

Castle Hill Productions/Westchester Films/Shout! Factory

In 1978, Schlossberg established Castle Hill Productions, a film production and distribution company. They distributed over 500 first run and classic movies to theaters, pay TV, basic cable, home video, TV syndication and other motion picture outlets worldwide. It became one of the largest independent film distribution companies in the world.
Some of the features distributed by Castle Hill are three Elia Kazan features: Face in the Crowd, Baby Doll and America America; John Cassavetes' collection including Woman Under the Influence and Faces; Orson Welles' Othello, Woody Allen's What's Up Tiger Lily?, John Ford's Stagecoach, Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant, The Marx Brothers' A Night in Casablanca, Hell's Angels on Wheels and Rebel Rousers both starring Jack Nicholson, Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino, Death of a Salesman starring Dustin Hoffman, Seize the Day starring Robin Williams, presented with Martin Scorsese, Fellini's Intervista, two Academy Award nominees - A Great Day in Harlem and Al Hirschfeld: The Line King, and Academy Award winners Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs. Many titles in this library were originally United Artists releases whose ownership had been passed on to their respective producers, and later acquired by Stanley Caidin, who in turn established the Caidin Film Company to manage this portion of the UA library.
Schlossberg established himself as a producer’s representative for prominent figures such as Elia Kazan, Dustin Hoffman, John Cassavetes, and George C. Scott, Elaine May and Robert Duvall.
In 2006 Schlossberg sold Castle Hill Productions and started two new production and film distribution companies, Jumer Productions Inc. and Westchester Films Inc. Their libraries are managed in part by Janus Films.
Then, in 2014, Schlossberg sold the Westchester company and its library to Shout! Factory, though he will remain with the new owners as an adviser.

Record producer

Schlossberg also embarked on a career as a record executive when he and partner Danny Goldberg founded Gold Castle Records. The company went on to record artists such as Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, Don McLean, The Washington Squares, and Judy Collins.

Lecturer

Schlossberg has lectured about film at New York University, Tufts University, The New School, UCLA, The School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Judith Crist's Seminar, Rutgers University, Cannes Film Festival and in the People's Republic of China. In 1971 he created and was the key speaker for The Business of Motion Pictures, a course which he ran for five years. Guest speakers included Otto Preminger, David Susskind, Maximilian Schell, Elia Kazan and many others.

Current projects

Schlossberg has created and is currently producing Witnesses to the 20th Century, a fourteen-hour series that examines the major historical events of the twentieth century from some of the prominent people who lived during it. He is also producing "100 Voices For 100 Years", 100 one-hour interviews with some of the most recognizable people from the 20th century.
Along with Meyer Ackerman he owns the motion picture rights to the musical Carnival based on the motion picture Lili.

Credits

Features

Plays produced by Schlossberg have won many awards including six Tony Awards, two Obie Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards and five Outer Critics Circle Awards.