Obst worked as an editor at
The New York Times Magazine before moving to Los Angeles when her then-husband,
David, was offered a job starting a production company. She then moved on to development for
The Geffen Film Company, leading to her first associate producer credit for
Flashdance in 1983. In 1986, Obst partnered with
Debra Hill to form one of the first all female production companies, Hill/Obst Productions. Other films included
Heartbreak Hotel, and
The Fisher King.
The Fisher King was critically successful, winning an Academy Award and totaling four nominations. After
The Fisher King (1991), Obst and Hill parted ways. Obst became an in-studio producer. In 1992, she produced Nora Ephron's directorial debut,
This Is My Life. She continued her collaboration with Ephron producing
Sleepless in Seattle. In 2009, Obst completed principal photography as producer on
The Invention of Lying (originally titled "This Side of the Truth" and the directing and co-writing debut of
Ricky Gervais and
Matthew Robinson) starring Gervais and
Jennifer Garner. It was released in October 2009. She was the producer of
Gurinder Chadha's
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, released by
Nickelodeon in 2008. In 2014, Obst collaborated with director
Christopher Nolan and co-produced
Interstellar, a science-fiction drama starring
Matthew McConaughey and
Anne Hathaway. It marked the first time her production company, Lynda Obst Productions, was credited with a production. Obst was the author of the memoir
Hello, He Lied (1996), detailing her experiences in the modern studio system. In 2013 she wrote
Sleepless in Hollywood about the shift from character-driven film to blockbusters. Obst was one of the central figures in the battle over the
Richard Preston book,
Crisis in the Hot Zone. ==Lynda Obst Productions==