The Bruce Joel Rubin papers span the years circa 1973 to 2009 and encompass approximately 28 linear feet. The collection consists entirely of production files for every feature-length film written by Rubin. Much of the collection is in the form of scripts and press material.

The bulk of the collection covers the films for which Rubin served as both screenwriter and associate producer: GHOST (1990), JACOB’S LADDER (1990), and MY LIFE (1993). In addition to several dozen script drafts for GHOST, there is a substantial amount of production material, such as casting documents, schedules, and storyboards, as well as a great deal of press material. The numerous scripts for JACOB’S LADDER include revisions by director Adrian Lyne as well as handwritten notes on various drafts reflecting Lyne’s input. Additionally, there is correspondence, research, including reference photographs, and photocopies of storyboards. The files for MY LIFE, which was also directed by Rubin, contain the most comprehensive production material of any title in the collection. There are extensive pre- and post-production records, including documents regarding casting, editing, locations, music, schedules, and storyboards, as well as test- screening responses and a considerable amount of press material.

For those films where Rubin was only a screenwriter, the material largely consists of treatments, scripts, handwritten notes, and research. There are numerous scripts for BRAINSTORM (1983), for which Rubin is credited with the story, including a number of drafts credited to Rubin alone and copyrighted as early as 1973, as well as later drafts containing contributions from director Douglas Trumbull. There is also pre-production material covering an aborted 1975 production based on Rubin’s early drafts, then titled THE GEORGE DUNLAP TAPE. Of interest is a letter from Trumbull to Freddie Fields regarding how Natalie Wood’s death impacted production. DEADLY FRIEND (1986) is mainly represented by script material, including notes on several drafts from director Wes Craven. DECEIVED (1991) is also primarily represented by scripts, revisions, and notes, as well as documentation regarding credit arbitration with the Writers Guild of America. There is a considerable amount of scripts and research for DEEP IMPACT (1998). Of particular interest is material from Steven Spielberg, who was an executive producer on the film, including correspondence and script notes. THE LAST MIMZY (2007) is also mostly represented by script material, containing numerous drafts written by several different writers over the period of a decade. The material on SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (1991) is minimal, though there are script drafts containing Rubin’s uncredited revisions as well as correspondence regarding the Writers Guild of America credit arbitration for the film. There are multiple drafts for THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE (2009), including one by Gus Van Sant, as well as notes and a breakdown documenting Rubin’s process adapting the novel. The material for STUART LITTLE 2 (2002) includes uncredited revisions by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel as well as storyboards and memos.

Bruce Joel Rubin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943. As a child he began his lifelong interest in spiritual and metaphysical exploration, which would inform much of his creative work. He graduated from Mumford High School in Detroit and attended Wayne State University for two years before transferring to NYU Film School. There he befriended Brian De Palma, who directed Rubin’s first script, JENNIFER (1964), a short about the actress Jennifer Salt. After graduating from NYU in 1965, Rubin briefly worked as an assistant film editor for THE HUNTLEY-BRINKLEY REPORT. However, an experience with LSD spurred a desire to travel and to meditate, and he left his job and relocated to Greece. After several months in Greece, he embarked on a journey through the Middle East and Asia, seeking out religious temples and meeting with such spiritual leaders as the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Dalai Lama. He travelled for nearly two years before arriving in Japan and deciding to return home. Back in New York, he met and began studying meditation under Albert Rudolph, also known as Rudi or Swami Rudrananda, and met his future wife, Blanche Mallins.

During this time, Rubin attempted to find work in the film industry. He began writing a script titled THE GEORGE DUNLAP TAPE. He assisted De Palma on a number of projects, first as a second unit director on THE RESPONSIVE EYE (1966), then as an editor on the documentary short TO BRIDGE THIS GAP (1969), as a cinematographer on DIONYSYS IN '69 (1970), and as an assistant director on HI, MOM! (1970). He worked as an assistant to his friend, filmmaker David Bienstock, at the Whitney Museum in New York, where the two developed The New American Filmmakers Series. After the sudden deaths of both Albert Rudolph and Bienstock in 1973, Rubin and Blanche, now his wife, moved to Indiana, where Rubin earned his master’s degree in audio-visual communication and Blanche earned her Doctorate in Art Education from Indiana University. The couple had two sons and moved to Illinois in 1980, where Blanche taught at Northern Illinois University while Rubin worked on the scripts for JACOB’S LADDER (1990) and GHOST (1990).

Rubin managed to sell THE GEORGE DUNLAP TAPE in 1979 and was given a story by credit for the resulting film, BRAINSTORM (1983). He and his family relocated to Los Angeles in 1984 so that he could fully establish himself as a screenwriter. There, Rubin was surprised to find that his reputation preceded him thanks to his widely circulated script for JACOB’S LADDER, which was considered remarkable but too challenging to film. He nevertheless was hired to write DEADLY FRIEND (1986) and in 1990 both GHOST and JACOB’S LADDER were finally produced. For GHOST, he was bestowed the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. For the next two decades, Rubin worked steadily as a screenwriter, writing such films as MY LIFE (1993), which he also directed and produced, DEEP IMPACT (1998), and THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE (2009), among others. In recent years, he has concentrated on photography and meditation, conducting weekly meditation classes in New York.