Lynda Obst

Early life

Obst was born in New York City on April 14, 1950, to Robert, a garment industry business man, and Clare Rosen, a teacher. She had younger two brothers, Rick and Michael, and grew up in Harrison New York. As a child, she considered herself a "tomboy," playing baseball and participating in gymnastics. Obst was a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California, and studied philosophy in the graduate program at Columbia University. However, Obst elected to leave school to work as editor/writer on the 1978 book, The Sixties: The Decade Remembered Now, by the People who Lived it Then. She met and married literary agent, David Obst.

Career

Obst worked as an editor at The New York Times Magazine before moving to Los Angeles when her then-husband, David, was offered a job starting a production company. Obst's first role in film was in 1979, working in development for Peter Guber and becoming vice president of creative affairs. She then moved on to development for The Geffen Film Company, leading to her first associate producer credit for Flashdance in 1983.

In 1986, Obst partnered with Debra Hill to form one of the first all female production companies, Hill/Obst Productions. Combining Obst's development experience with Hill's hands-on production skills, their first film was Chris Columbus's directorial debut, the 1987 film Adventures in Babysitting. Other films included Heartbreak Hotel, and The Fisher King. The Fisher King was critically successful, winning an Academy Award and totaling four nominations. After The Fisher King (1991), Obst and Hill parted ways. Obst became an in-studio producer. In 1992, she produced Nora Ephron's directorial debut, This Is My Life. She continued her collaboration with Ephron producing Sleepless in Seattle. Other notable films that she produced during this time include One Fine Day, Someone Like You, Contact, Hope Floats, and The Siege. In 1989, Obst founded a production company, Lynda Obst Productions. Initially based at Columbia Pictures, it moved to 20th Century Fox in 1993. By 2007, the company was named Obst/Rosen Productions.

In 2009, Obst completed principal photography as producer on The Invention of Lying (originally titled "This Side of the Truth" and the directing and co-writing debut of Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson) starring Gervais and Jennifer Garner. It was released in October 2009. She was the producer of Gurinder Chadha's Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, released by Nickelodeon in 2008. In 2014, Obst collaborated with director Christopher Nolan and co-produced Interstellar, a science-fiction drama starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. It marked the first time her production company, Lynda Obst Productions, was credited with a production.

Obst was the author of the memoir Hello, He Lied (1996), detailing her experiences in the modern studio system. In 2013 she wrote Sleepless in Hollywood about the shift from character-driven film to blockbusters. Obst was one of the central figures in the battle over the Richard Preston book, Crisis in the Hot Zone.

Lynda Obst Productions

LRO Enterprises, Ltd., doing business as Lynda Obst Productions, is an American film and television production company started by Lynda Obst. She formed the company in 1989 and moved it to Columbia Pictures. In 1993, her company moved to 20th Century Fox. While Obst had producer credits for films from the 1980s to present, Interstellar was the first to display her company banner.

Personal life

Obst has several relatives in media. Her brother Rick was one of the founders of the Endeavor talent agency while her brother Michael was the northeast bureau chief for ABC News. Obst had one son, who also became a talent manager and producer.

In 1997, she bought a home in Texas. Obst was a good friend of writer Susan Berman. She appeared in the 2015 documentary The Jinx, speaking about her friend's murder. Obst went on to testify at Durst's trial, recounting a conversation where Durst asked Berman to help him conceal his wife's disappearance.

Death

Lynda Obst died at her home in Los Angeles on October 22, 2024, at the age of 74. She had COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) at the time of her death, having been a longtime smoker. In 2025, the Producers Guild of America announced that she would receive a posthumous Trailblazer Award in recognition of her contributions to create opportunities for fellow female producers.

Filmography

Obst was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

;Thanks

Television

;As writer

Publications

• The Sixties (Random House: New York, NY, 1978. )
• Dirty Dreams: A Novel (New Amer Library Trade: New York, NY, 1990. )
• Hello, He Lied (Little, Brown & Company: New York, NY, 1996. )
• Sleepless in Hollywood: Tales from the New Abnormal in the Movie Business (Simon & Schuster: New York, NY, 2013. )

References

References

1. Risen, Clay. (2024-10-24). "Lynda Obst, Producer, Dies at 74; Championed Women in Hollywood". The New York Times.
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140222210029/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/143968%7C0/Lynda-Obst/ Lynda Obst], [[Turner Classic Movies. TCM]], retrieved February 8, 2014
3. Eller, Claudia. (1993-01-06). "Obst moving shingle from Sony to Fox lot".
4. (2011-02-24). "Lynda Obst".
5. Smith, Harrison. (2024-10-28). "Lynda Obst, producer who championed women in Hollywood, dies at 74".
6. Sereda, Elisabeth. (2022-03-07). "Women's History Month: Producer Lynda Obst".
7. Lee, Abigail. (2025-01-10). "Lynda Obst and Paula Weinstein to Be Honored Posthumously With Trailblazer Award by PGA".
8. "The Fisher King".
9. (March 20, 2007). "Obst, Rosen team up".
10. Baumgarten, Marjorie. (1997-10-03). "The Art of Film Producing".
11. D'Addario, Daniel. (2013-06-14). "Hollywood memoirist Lynda Obst: "Women make wonderful producers"".
12. "LRO ENTERPRISES, LTD.".
13. Hindes, Andrew. (January 12, 1999). "Par's Obst tackle". [[Variety (magazine).
14. Eller, Claudia. (January 5, 1993). "Obst moving shingle from Sony to Fox lot". [[Variety (magazine).
15. Fleming, Mike. (August 13, 2013). "Christopher Nolan Starts 'Interstellar'".
16. Obst, Lynda. (2017-10-21). "What It Took to Succeed as a Woman Producer in the Hollywood Boys' Club". The New Yorker.
17. Cohen, Jason. (1997-07-01). "Sleepless in Fredericksburg". Texas Monthly.
18. Gerber, Marisa. (2017-04-27). "'Secret witness' at Durst hearing testifies that her now-dead friend pretended to be his missing wife".
19. Blankstein, Andrew. (2017-04-27). "Durst prosecutors call 'secret witness': Hollywood producer Lynda Obst".
20. (October 22, 2024). "Lynda Obst Dies: Prolific Sleepless In Seattle, Fisher King & Interstellar Producer Was 74". Deadline.
21. Gardner, Chris. (October 22, 2024). "Lynda Obst, Veteran Film Producer, Champion of Women in Hollywood and Writer, Dies at 74". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
22. Young, Sage. "How Historically Accurate Is 'Good Girls Revolt'? The Amazon Series Stays True To The Era".
23. Spangler, Todd. (October 24, 2016). "Spin Promotes Amazon's 'Good Girls Revolt' With One-Time Revival of Print Mag (Exclusive)".