Here is I a copy of Barrie Osborne’s nomination paper for his Carleton College Distinguished Achievement Award:
Nomination for Barrie Osborne (’66) for Carleton College Distinguished Achievement Award
Barrie Osborne has been in the film industry for over 30 years and has been involved in the production of over 30 films. Currently, he is the Executive Producer for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the first of which, The Fellowship of the Ring, is due to be released in 2001. He is also the Executive Producer for this year’s film The Last Place on Earth.
After receiving a degree in Sociology from Carleton in 1966, Barrie spent 4 years in the Army Corps of Engineers rising to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
Barry entered the Film Industry in 1970 as an apprentice editor and assistant production manager. After being accepted into the trainee program in the Directors Guild of America, Barrie worked under the tutelage of Directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Alan Pakula and Sydney Pollack, on films that included The Godfather Part II, Three Days of the Condor and All the President’s Men.
He subsequently worked on 17 films in a variety of production and director capacities (Production Manager, Producer, Second Unit Director, or Assistant Director). Among these films were Kojak, Apocalypse Now, Cutter’s Way, The Escape Artist, The Big Chill, Fandango, Peggy Sue Got Married, and The Cotton Club.
During a two-year tenure as Vice President for Feature Production at Walt Disney Pictures, Barrie oversaw 15 motion pictures, including Ruthless People, The Color of Money, Tin Men, Three Men and a Baby, Tough Guys, Outrageous Fortune, Who Killed Roger Rabbit and Good Morning Vietnam.
After leaving Disney Barrie was Executive Producer for Wilder Napalm, Face Off, Rapa Nui, The Fan, and China Moon. Barrie also was Executive Producer for the 1999 film, The Matrix, which won four major Academy Awards (Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects and Film Editing). The last two of the Oscars were especially significant since Star Wars: Episode One was nominated and heavily promoted in these two categories.
As a result of these many contributions, Barrie is well known and well respected in the film industry. In his acceptance speech for The Academy Award for Film Editing, Zach Staenberg thanked Barrie for “fighting some good fights on our behalf.” In his preview of Lord of the Rings, critic Chad Baetz writes, “Barrie Osborne is . one guy who knows his Hollywood.”
TV producer William Scott writes “Barrie is known as one of the truly fair, honest and respected producers in the business. I would certainly applaud his receiving a Carleton Distinguished Achievement Award.”
