Movies such as “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park,” “Rain Man,” “Minority Report,” “Jurassic Park: The Lost World,” “Days of Thunder,” and “The Meg” have one thing in common: film producer and Marine veteran Gerald R. Molen.
Molen began his career in the movie business by changing tires on studio trucks. He hauled set pieces, transported horses for westerns, and moved other items for productions. He moved on to become the transportation supervisor or coordinator on several films. Molen then became a unit production manager on such films as “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” Tootsie,” and “The Color Purple.”
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Here is a brief look at some of Molen’s top-producing credits:
“Schindler’s List”
One of the greatest films of all time tells the harrowing story of Oskar Schindler, who saved more than 1,000 Jewish people from the Holocaust during World War II. It is arguably Spielberg’s finest achievement as a director and earned Molen an Academy Award in 1994 for co-producing the film with Spielberg and Branko Lustig.
The film is based on Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel, “Schindler’s Ark.” “Schindler’s List” received 12 Oscar nominations and won seven of them. The movie, which grossed $322 million at the box office, is a timeless classic that is historically signifcant and life-changing.
“Rain Man”
Directed by Barry Levison, “Rain Man” centers around a selfish 1980s yuppie, Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), who finds out he has an autistic savant brother named Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). Their father has died and left his multimillion-dollar estate to Raymond and only gave Charlie his old car and rosebushes.
Charlie tries to gain custody of Raymond to get control of his father’s estate. The two travel cross country to Los Angeles, because Raymond refuses to fly. They encounter many different events (some humorous and some not) while they adhere to Raymond’s strict routines. They both grow on each other, and we see Charlie mature exponentially by the conclusion of the film.
The movie grossed $354 million worldwide and won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Hoffman) and Best Screenplay.
“Jurassic Park”
Who has not heard of “Jurassic Park”?
A seminal science-fiction action film, it set the bar for the genre. The film is another Spielberg collaboration with Molen and is based on author Michael Crichton’s best-selling novel. Dinosaurs are recreated from preserved DNA and used for a theme park attraction near Costa Rica. A wealthy businessman has spent hundreds of millions on creating the park and invites a group of researchers and a mathematician (who has a great laugh) to the island to spend the weekend with the businessman’s grandchildren.
All of it goes awry because of the greed of Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight), which throws the park into chaos. Thankfully they escape as dinosaurs overrun the park. The movie has spawned a money-printing franchise. “Jurassic Park” earned Academy Awards for Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.
“Jurassic Park: The Lost World”
The highly anticipated sequel to “Jurassic Park,””Jurassic Park: The Lost World” is another great Spielberg/Molen collaboration that makes a strong second outing for the franchise.
The sequel is set four years after the initial film. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), our favorite mathematics guy (again, mostly for his sarcastic laugh), leads a team sent by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough, the big business guy who made the first park) to Isla Sorna, a second island on which the company used to make dinosaurs, to study the creatures.
The team comes into contact and combat with mercenaries and hunters sent by the main company, InGen, who want to bring the dinos back to the mainland for another “great” attraction show idea. Well, the T-Rex gets out while being transported back via ship to San Diego, and all heck breaks loose as it runs around the city. Malcolm and what’s left of his team must stop the creature.
While “Jurassic Park: The Lost World” made less at the box office than the first film, it was a hit nonetheless. Maybe the T-Rex needed a love story while it was being transported?
“Minority Report”
Another great Spielberg science-fiction action film, “Minority Report” is based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. The future setting of the film provides great character to the story, especially with it being in Washington, D.C., in 2054 with robot cars and high tech around every turn. The storyline is about a special police department that stops crimes before they happen through the use of three psychics named precogs.
It stars Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow. “Minority Report” is a quick-moving, highly intelligent look at the future of our world, and it has some great special effects. The project received an Oscar nomination for Best Sound Editing and gross $358 million worldwide. Another notch of success for Molen and Spielberg.
