Paula Kauffman Wagner (born Paula Sue Kauffman) is an American film producer and film executive.
Early life
Wagner was born Paula Sue Kauffman in Youngstown, Ohio. Her mother, Sue Anna (née Shofstall), was a news magazine editor from
Oklahoma, and her father, Edmund Jamison "Ned" Kauffman, Jr., was a business owner.
While in Youngstown, Wagner frequently performed at the local playhouse. She received her BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, where she currently sits on the board of trustees.
Career
Early career
In her early career in New York, Wagner played several ensemble parts in the 1971 stage production of
Lenny.
Some of her additional credits include the role of Helena in
A Midsummer Night's Dream at Yale Repertory Theatre
as well as Maggie in
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Cleveland Play House. Her first marriage, to set designer Robin Wagner, brought her into the industry's
A-list circles; she was present when director Michael Bennett shared ideas with Robin for
A Chorus Line".
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]
Agent and film producer
After her work on the stage, Wagner became a talent agent at the boutique talent agency, Susan Smith and Associates in Los Angeles. Subsequently, Wagner was hired in the talent department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in Los Angeles, where she signed and represented Tom Cruise.
C/W Productions went on to produce such films as The Others, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, Without Limits, Shattered Glass, Narc, Elizabethtown, and Ask the Dust, as well as Steven Spielberg War of the Worlds (which Wagner executive produced).
Wagner continues to work as a film producer and studio executive, developing films, theatre, and television through her company Chestnut Ridge Productions.[Healy, Patrick, "Hollywood Player Joins the Club on Broadway", New York Times, November 1, 2012. "Paula Wagner turns to producing on Broadway." Retrieved November 4, 2012.]
Through Chestnut Ridge Productions, her most recent film was Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, and Sterling K. Brown; a story of a true law case early in the career of Thurgood Marshall. The movie was critically acclaimed and was nominated for one Academy Award.
Theatre producer
Her Broadway theatre producing credits include which also opened a production in Hamburg, Germany in September 2019, a production in on the West End in February 2020; there is a US National Tour in the works. Other Broadway theatrical productions include The Heiress starring Jessica Chastain, David Strathairn, and Dan Stevens and directed by Moisés Kaufman; it opened in the fall of 2012. She also produced the Broadway premiere of Craig Wright’s acclaimed play Grace, directed by Dexter Bullard and starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon, Kate Arrington, and Ed Asner in October 2012 and Terrence McNally Tony-nominated play Mothers and Sons.
Other producing
In addition to her work in film and theatre, Wagner also has produced for television and numerous awards ceremonies. She was an executive producer on the critically acclaimed and award winning Lifetime original movie Five, five short films directed by five female directors. She produced the Governors Awards ceremony for the Motion Picture Academy in 2013 and produced both the 2011 and 2012 Producers Guild of America Award show.
Wagner served on the board of the National Film Preservation Foundation through the Library of Congress and Carnegie Mellon University, where she received her degree and is an adjunct faculty member in the Master in Entertainment Industry Management program through the Heinz College.
Wagner is a member of the American Cinematheque's Board of Directors
Awards and accolades
Wagner was honored by Premiere magazine with the Women in Hollywood Icon Award in 2001.[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards] and the Camerimage Producer with Unique Visual Sensitivity award in 2017.
Personal life
Wagner is married to Rick Nicita, CEO of management and production company RP Media.
Filmography
She was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
- Miscellaneous crew
Television
- Miscellaneous crew
- As an actress
- As writer
External links
