Robert Latham Brown (born June 20, 1947) is a film producer, line producer, production manager, author,[1] and University of Southern California film and television adjunct professor.[2] In his more than 30-year film career Brown has worked with George Lucas, Paul Verhoeven, Steven Spielberg,[3] and others. His expertise in budgeting and line producing inspired Mel Brooks, his multi-feature boss at the time, to nickname Brown "Mr. On-Budget".[4]

Robert Latham Brown
Robert Brown - Rise of Skywalker 2019
Born
Occupation(s)Film producer, line producer, author, USC film and television adjunct professor
Years active1979–present

Career

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Robert Latham Brown has worked in production capacity on more than 40 feature films, including the very small (the Ray Liotta/Ron Perlman film Local Color,[5] along with drama The Anarchist Cookbook)[6] and also the very large (Blues Brothers,[7] Starship Troopers,[8] and the Kevin Bacon film Hollow Man).[9]

Robert Latham Brown spent most of his early career at Universal Studios. After his work with John Carpenter on The Thing,[10][11] the invitation of Lucasfilm producer/vice president Howard Kazanjian sent Brown to begin work on Return of the Jedi.[12][13] Afterward Brown's career took a freelance aspect that allowed him to work on an eclectic list of films with some of the top individuals in the business, including Michael Douglas,[14] Harrison Ford,[15] and Samuel L. Jackson.[16]

Author and teacher

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Robert Latham Brown authored the long acclaimed book Planning the Low-Budget Film,[17][18][19] and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts since 1996. Additionally, Brown is a former contributing writer to Indie Slate Magazine, writing a series of reviews on film production software.[20]

Writing awards

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Brown's book, Planning the Low-Budget Film was a finalist for the 2007 Benjamin Franklin Awards,[21] and that same year was a first-place winner in the Hollywood Book Festival.[22] In 2002, his screenplay Keats was named a semi-finalist in the 9th Annual Writer's Network Screenplay and Fiction Competition.[23] In 2020, his screenplay Xena & Jonny[24] was named a finalist in the ScreenCraft Family Screenplay Competition.[25]

Partial filmography

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Year Film Credit Notes
1979 The Concorde ... Airport '79 Unit Production Manager Credited as "Bob Brown."
1980 The Nude Bomb Unit Production Manager
The Blues Brothers Unit Production Manager
1981 All Night Long Unit Production Manager
Bustin' Loose Unit Production Manager
Ghost Story Production Manager
1982 The Thing Production Manager Shot in the U.S. and Canada.
1983 Return of the Jedi Production Executive U.S. filming.
Iceman Production Manager Shot in the U.S. and Canada.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Production Manager U.S. filming.
Best Defense Unit Production Manager Shot in the U.S. and Israel.
1984 The Goonies Unit Production Manager Second unit, uncredited.
1985 Warning Sign Associate Producer
Unit Production Manager
1986 Blue City Unit Production Manager
One Crazy Summer Unit Production Manager
Howard the Duck Co-Producer
Production Manager
1987 Spaceballs Production Manager
1988 Clean and Sober Unit Production Manager
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Production Manager Additional scenes.
Child's Play Unit Production Manager
1989 The War of the Roses Unit Production Manager
1990 Child's Play 2 Executive Producer
1991 Child's Play 3[26] Producer
1993 Babylon 5: The Gathering Producer Pilot telefilm
Robin Hood: Men in Tights Executive in Charge of Production
Production Manager
1995 Dracula: Dead and Loving It Associate Producer
Production Manager
Showgirls Unit Production Manager
1997 Starship Troopers Production Manager
1998 The Parent Trap Unit Production Manager
2000 Hollow Man Production Manager
2001 Ali Production Manager Uncredited. Prep period only.
2002 Spider-Man Unit Production Manager Additional scenes and post production. Uncredited.
Vampires: Los Muertos Line Producer
Unit Production Manager
U.S. filming.
The Anarchist Cookbook Producer
2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Unit Production Manager Additional scenes. Uncredited.
S.W.A.T. Unit Production Manager
2005 A Lot Like Love Unit Production Manager
Lords of Dogtown Unit Production Manager Additional scenes. Uncredited.
2006 Local Color Co-producer
Unit Production Manager
The Holiday Unit Production Manager Additional scenes. Uncredited.
2009 Hard Breakers Producer
Production Manager

References

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  1. ^ Author: Robert L. Brown, AuthorsDen, retrieved January 24, 2024
  2. ^ USC Cinematic Arts: Directory Profile, University of Southern California Film and Television, retrieved January 24, 2024
  3. ^ Full Cast and Crew For Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Raider, retrieved January 30, 2024
  4. ^ Planning the Low-Budget Film (Paperback) With Mel Brooks Quote, Boswell Book Company, retrieved January 30, 2024
  5. ^ Local Color - Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide, 2006, retrieved January 30, 2024
  6. ^ The Anarchist Cookbook (2002), Box Office Mojo, retrieved January 30, 2024
  7. ^ The Blues Brothers (1980), The Numbers, retrieved January 30, 2024
  8. ^ Robert Latham Brown, All About Artists, retrieved January 30, 2024
  9. ^ Robert Latham Brown - Producer, Production Manager, Assistant Director, Miscellaneous, AV Club, retrieved January 30, 2024
  10. ^ AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Thing (1982), American Film Institute Catalogue, 2006, retrieved January 30, 2024
  11. ^ The Ketchikan Harbor Incident, Lance Mazmanian: Internet Archive, June 26, 2023, retrieved January 30, 2024
  12. ^ Return of the Jedi: Shooting Script With Full Credits, Bournemouth University: The Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, retrieved January 30, 2024
  13. ^ Return of the Jedi Production Manager Spills the Beans On Unruly Ewoks, Leia Costume Worries, and More, Yahoo!, May 25, 2023, retrieved January 30, 2024
  14. ^ Total Excess: How Carolco Changed Hollywood (2020), All About Artists, retrieved January 30, 2024
  15. ^ Temple of Doom Cast & Crew, The Indy Experience, retrieved January 30, 2024
  16. ^ AFI Conservatory Films, American Film Institute, retrieved January 30, 2024
  17. ^ CTPR 425 Production Planning, University of Southern California, retrieved February 4, 2024
  18. ^ Front Cover Image For Planning the Low-Budget Film (Includes the Complete Production Board and Budget From The Anarchist Cookbook), WorldCat, retrieved January 30, 2024
  19. ^ From Script To Production, FS2P, 2023, retrieved January 30, 2024
  20. ^ Indie Slate magazine, vol. 12, Issue 55, p19.
  21. ^ "IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association". IBPA. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  22. ^ "Hollywood Book Festival". Hollywood Book Festival. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  23. ^ "FADE IN Awards". Fadeinonline.com. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  24. ^ Xena & Jonny, by Robert Latham Brown, CoverFly, retrieved January 24, 2024
  25. ^ "ScreenCraft Family Screenplay Finalists". ScreenCraft. April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  26. ^ Holdings: Child's Play 3 (Universal), Michigan State University, retrieved January 24, 2024
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