Paula Wagner is a renowned entertainment industry professional who has excelled in various roles, including talent agent, film producer, and studio executive. Through her production company, Chestnut Ridge Productions (CRP),she develops and produces film, theatre, and television projects.
Wagner began her career as an agent at Creative Artists Agency, where she spent 15 years representing some of Hollywood's top actors, directors, and writers. In 1993, she launched Cruise/Wagner Productions with Tom Cruise, her former CAA client. Over the next decade, C/W produced critically acclaimed films with international appeal, including the Mission: Impossible franchise films I, II, and III, Without Limits, The Others, The Last Samurai, Vanilla Sky, and Steven Spielberg's War Of The Worlds, which Wagner executive produced.
Wagner's entrepreneurial spirit led her to become co-owner and CEO of United Artists Entertainment from 2006 to 2008. During her tenure, UA released the Robert Redford political thriller Lions for Lambs and the World War II thriller Valkyrie.
Wagner's current film projects include Marshall (2016),starring Chadwick Boseman and Josh Gad and directed by Reggie Hudlin, based on a crucial case in the early career of U.S Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Additionally, CRP is developing Sylvia Robinson: The Story of the Mother of Hip-Hop, which is being set up at Warner Bros., as well as the China/US co-production Moon Flower of the Flying Tigers, an epic WWII romantic drama based on a true story.
Wagner's producing credits for Broadway include TONY Award-nominated The Heiress starring Jessica Chastain & David Strathairn, Grace starring Paul Rudd & Michael Shannon, and Terrence McNally's TONY Award-nominated play Mothers and Sons.
As a respected industry figure, Wagner is a member of the PGA, the AMPAS, and the Broadway League. She serves on the boards for Film Forum in NY, the American Cinematheque, and the National Film Preservation Foundation. She travels the world as a visiting guest artist and has lectured at Universities around the country, including the Harvard Business School and UCLA's School of Theatre, Film and Television.
Wagner is an adjunct faculty member and Lifetime Trustee of Carnegie Mellon University, her alma mater. She is married to Rick Nicita, CEO of management and production company RP Media, and they have two sons, Zachary and Jesse.
