Council Biography

Rob Reiner is a principal and co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment. In addition to directing feature films, he is involved in all phases of Castle Rock's creative activities.

Prior to his directorial debut, Reiner acted in many television and feature films and wrote for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It was, however, his Emmy Award-winning portrayal of Michael Stivic, the son-in-law of Archie Bunker in the hit series "All in the Family," that made him a household name.

Reiner's credits as a director of feature films include the now-legendary "This is Spinal Tap," a parody documentary about a mythical heavy metal group; "The Sure Thing," a hate-turned-to-love story of two college students; the sleeper hit "Stand By Me," about four boys coming of age in the ’50s, for which he received Best Director nominations from the Directors Guild of America and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association; and the much-loved fantasy "The Princess Bride," adapted for the screen by Academy Award winner William Goldman from his original novel.

Castle Rock Entertainment's first feature film release in 1989 was Reiner's "When Harry

Met Sally," a chronicle of romance in the ’80s, which was both a critical and box office success, earning him once again Best Director nominations from both the Hollywood Foreign Press and the Directors Guild of America. He next directed "Misery," a psychological thriller based on Stephen King's bestseller of the same title, which earned Kathy Bates an Oscar in 1990. The mega box office hit "A Few Good Men," starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore, followed in 1992, garnering another DGA Best Director nomination as well as four Academy Award nominations, including that for Best Picture. In 1994, "North" was released, starring Elijah Wood, Bruce Willis, Jon Lovitz, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Reiner directed the hit comedy "The American President" in 1995, which starred Michael Douglas and Annette Bening. "Ghosts of Mississippi," the true story of the re-prosecution of Byron De La Beckwith, the racist murderer of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, followed in 1996, starring Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg and James Woods. Reinees latest film, 1999's "The Story of Us," starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, is a romantic comedy exploring the question, "Can a marriage survive 15 years of marriage?"

In addition to his work behind the camera, Reiner has continued to act, appearing in such films as "Enter Laughing," "Where's Poppa," "Bullets Over Broadway," "Mixed Nuts," "Postcards From the Edge," "Bye Bye, Love," "Sleepless In Seattle," "The First Wives Club," "Primary Colors," "Edtv" and "The Muse."

In 1997, Reiner, his wife Michele Singer Reiner, a professional photographer, and Ellen Gilbert joined forces on a national public awareness and engagement campaign to communicate the importance of the prenatal period through the first three years of life. As a result of Reiner's work with the National Governors' Association in February of that year, a ten-governor, bipartisan task force was assigned to develop state policies for very young children. Then in April, a White House summit on early brain development, hosted by President Clinton and the First Lady, was the launch point for the "I Am Your Child" campaign. Later in the month, an hour-long prime-time special titled, "I Am Your Child" aired on ABC-TV. Reiner co-produced, co-wrote and directed the show, which was hosted by Tom Hanks and which detailed in an entertaining way the importance of early childhood development. The special starred Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Rosie O'Donnell, Oprah Winfrey, Michael J. Fox, Roseanne, General Colin Powell, and the President and First Lady.

The activities of the I Am Your Child campaign continue, encompassing an increasing number of projects. One of the most important outreach efforts is the informational parenting booklet, "The First Years Last Forever," which is given to new parents by over a thousand hospitals across the country. The I Am Your Child Foundation has made parenting information available on the Internet through the www.iamyourchild.org Web site and, as a result of a partnership effort with the Excite Internet portal, through firstyears.excite.com.

Working with the I Am Your Child Foundation, Newsweek published a special parenting issue in both English and Chinese. A "The First Years Last Forever" parenting CD-ROM is available; and over one million copies of a parenting video, also entitled "The First Years Last Forever," narrated in both English (by Reiner) and Spanish, have been distributed to families free of charge. A special airing of the video over the Armed Services Network has reached 1.5 million servicemen and women and their families. As a further service to parents, a brochure was created to provide guidance in the search for quality child care, and a companion video soon followed, featuring Maria Shriver, called "Quality Child Care: Making the Right Choices for You and Your Child." Videos on other topics — health and nutrition, safety, early literacy, and discipline — will soon be available, again in both English and Spanish.

Reiner recently chaired the California Children and Families Initiative, which appeared on the November, 1998, California ballot as Proposition 10. The initiative, proposing a

50-cent per pack cigarette tax to be used to create, on a county-by-county basis, a comprehensive, integrated program of early childhood development services-health care, quality child care, parent education, and intervention programs for families at risk was passed by voters and is currently being implemented by the California Children and Families First State Commission, of which Reiner was appointed chairman by Governor Gray Davis.

Reiner is also an enthusiastic supporter of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The NRDC is a national non-profit organization that combines legal activity, research and citizen education in a highly effective environmental protection program. The NRDC works to preserve and protect the public health and to ensure the conservation and wise management of land and natural resources.

Reiner and his wife Michele have three children.