Yahoo Lifestyle Glen Powell pays tribute to late “Sleepless in Seattle” producer he interned for: 'A true trailblazer'
Obst, along with Debra Hill, formed one of the first all-female production companies in Hollywood.
Lynda Obst, a veteran Hollywood producer behind such films as Sleepless in Seattle, The Fisher King, and Interstellar, died on Oct. 22, following a bout with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Glen Powell, who interned for Obst, paid tribute to her on X, calling her "a true trailblazer."
Dave Benett/WireImage; Jerod Harris/Getty
Glen Powell, Lynda Obst"I interned for Lynda when I first moved to LA," Powell wrote. "A true trailblazer who never missed an opportunity to help me learn. I’d often get to drive her home from the office and witnessed someone who took in everything. To her, the entire world was a great story ripe for the making. RIP."
I interned for Lynda when I first moved to LA. A true trailblazer who never missed an opportunity to help me learn. I’d often get to drive her home from the office and witnessed someone who took in everything. To her, the entire world was a great story ripe for the making. RIP 💔 https://t.co/Fdcbhjd3LP
— Glen Powell (@glenpowell) October 22, 2024
Obst's first production credit came on the 1983 film Flashdance, starring Jennifer Beals as a welder with dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Though Obst played a key role in developing the film, she recalled in her memoir, Hello, He Lied, that she had to fight to keep her name on the project only to be "ultimately reduced to my lowest possible contractual credit: associate producer.”
The film would go on to become a hug box office hit and won the Best Original Song Oscar for the title song, among four nominations.
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Obst went on to join forces with Debra Hill to form one of the first all-female production companies in Hollywood, Hill/Obst Prods, and together they produced 1987's Adventures in Babysitting and 1991's The Fisher King, which won Mercedes Ruehl a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Obst then went solo and produced Nora Ephron's directorial debut, This Is My Life, and her follow-up, the rom com classic Sleepless in Seattle.
Other credits include One Fine Day, Contact, Hope Floats, The Siege, Someone Like You, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. The last film she produced was 2014's Interstellar, though she also worked extensively for television, producing Hot in Cleveland, Good Girls Revolt, and The Hot Zone.
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