is an independent developer and producer of feature films, miniseries, TV movies and related media products. New Amsterdam founder and CEO, Richard P. Rubinstein, formerly Chairman of Laurel Entertainment (a subsidiary of Viacom/Blockbuster/Spelling Entertainment) was initially recognized for movies and television programming "that went bump in the night" including "Creepshow" (Warner Bros.), the
box office smash Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" (Paramount), the hit syndicated TV series "Tales from the Darkside" (Tribune), and the original 1979 horror classic "Dawn of the Dead," written and directed by George A. Romero.
Rubinstein's now diversified credits include the telefilm "The Vernon Johns Story" (Tribune) starring James Earl Jones (co-executive produced with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) that won four Monte Carlo Festival awards and the distinguished Christopher Award; the four-hour miniseries "A Season in Purgatory" (CBS) based on the best-selling Dominick Dunne novel, and the feature film "Knightriders" (United Artists) starring Ed Harris in his first leading role.
In 1994, New Amsterdam's Rubinstein was Executive Producer of the highest-rated miniseries for the broadcast season, Stephen King's "The Stand" (ABC), a feat he repeated the following year with Stephen King's "The Langoliers" (ABC). Building on Rubinstein's success with adapting epic novels, New Amsterdam produced the Emmy-winning six-hour miniseries "Frank Herbert's Dune" in 2000, with William Hurt leading an ensemble cast, that garnered record-breaking ratings for the Sci Fi Channel. "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune," with Susan Sarandon leading the ensemble cast, followed in March 2003 and was also an Emmy winner.
In 2004, New Amsterdam produced, in association with Strike Entertainment, a remake of the original George A. The 2004 version (Universal) starred Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames and Mekhi Phifer. The remake was an Official Selection of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and grossed over $110M at the worldwide box office.
More recently, New Amsterdam co-financed documentary feature "Giving It Up," which is distributed by Shine Reveille outside the U.S.A. “Giving It Up” imbeds us in Hollywood’s “paparazzi wars” as it tells the story of two former LA gang members who co-founded “JFX Direct”, an “A” list celebrity photo agency. The company is currently developing a feature film adaptation of Federico Andahazi's critically acclaimed best-selling novel, The Merciful Women with an English language screenplay by Lucia Puenzo. Puenzo is best known for her feature film "XXY," which won the Critics Week Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. The company is also developing a remake of George A. Romero's "Martin;" a sequel to Stephen King's "The Night Flier" with a screenplay by Mark Pavia and Stephen King; and the next TV incarnation of Frank Herbert's "Dune." The company is currently developing a feature film adaptation of Federico Andahazi's critically acclaimed best-selling novel, "House of Mysteries" with an English language screenplay by Lucia Puenzo. Best-known as the writer / director of the Cannes Film Festival 2007 Critics Week Grand Prize winning feature film "XXY," Ms. Puenzo's most recent work, the feature film "Wakolda" (in which she also served as writer / director) was presented as a Cannes Festival Official Selection in 2013.
