The prolific movie producer is responsible for such hits as The First Wives Club, The Truman Show, School of Rock, The Hours, and No Country for Old Men. He may also be the most monstrous boss in the city.

Raised on Long Island, Rudin turned down a scholarship at Brown to start his own Broadway casting agency and then decamped to LA at 21. Rudin eventually joined the production department at Fox, where he found a mentor in another gay Jewish man with a nasty temper: Fox chairman Barry Diller, who elevated the young exec to the post of
president of production when he was just 29. A year later, Rudin headed off to start his own production company, Scott Rudin Productions. For two decades now, Rudin has occupied a somewhat unique place in the moviemaking business, financing movies that often straddle the Hollywood/indie divide, making him an ideal producing partner for studios seeking to both stuff their coffers and win awards. After a close partnership with Paramount that lasted more than a decade, Rudin ditched the studio in 2005 and later signed a cushy deal with Disney. Rudin has also produced over two dozen Broadway shows since the mid-90s.

Widely cited as one of the most inhumane bosses in town, the full-figured producer is said to burn through as many as 50 assistants a year. Rudin lives with his boyfriend, theater publicist John Barlow. [Image via Getty]