Jonathan Shestack

{{short description|American film producer}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jonathan Shestack

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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|09|02}}

| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

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| occupation = Film producer, film director, activist

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| spouse = Portia Iversen

| children = Dov Shestack

| mother =

| father = Jerome J. Shestack

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}}

{{Autism rights movement |expanded=criticism}}

Jonathan "Jon" Shestack is a film producer. He has produced well-known movies such as Air Force One. Additionally, he was one of the founders of Cure Autism Now, an autism organization that merged with Autism Speaks in 2006. His father is Jerome J. Shestack, a well-known lawyer from Philadelphia and his mother is Marciarose Shestack a trailblazing broadcast journalist, hailed by McCall’s Magazine as the outstanding woman tv broadcaster in the United States, in 1971.

Shestack has stated that his production style involves starting with a pitch for a script. He then refines the idea as needed until a studio decides that it will be made into a movie. He has also advocated giving credit to people that play an indirect role in moviemaking.{{cite news |last1=Grove |first1=Martin |title=So you're a producer? What exactly do you do? |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/youre-a-producer-what-exactly-154054 |accessdate=16 March 2020 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2 November 2007 |language=en}} He has been eager to use the films he produces to raise money for autism research.{{cite news |last1=Peterson |first1=Richard |title=Celebrities are taking their charity involvement to new levels |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/94064617/| url-access=subscription |accessdate=16 March 2020 |work=The San Bernardino County Sun |date=16 September 1997}}

Shestack started Cure Autism Now after his son, Dov, was diagnosed with autism. One of the organization's goals was to raise money for scientific research on autism.{{cite news |last1=Mestel |first1=Rosie |title=Reaching Out to a Remote World |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-mar-12-he-36596-story.html |accessdate=16 March 2020 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=12 March 2001}} Shestack received many donations from connections in Hollywood. He was known for being able to attract significant donors and awareness, to the extent that he played a major role in convincing congress to pass the Combating Autism Act of 2006. Initially, Shestack was against the merger of the organization with Autism Speaks, but decided to eventually accept the merger.{{cite book |last1=Donvan |first1=John |last2=Zucker |first2=Caren |title=In a Different Key: The Story of Autism |date=2016 |publisher=Crown |isbn=978-0-307-98568-2 |pages=384–391, 467–469 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sdusCAAAQBAJ |accessdate=13 March 2020 |language=en}}

Shestack has stated that Ari Ne'eman, an autistic activist, did not want to understand the challenges of severe autism when he was being nominated to the National Council on Disability.{{cite news |last1=Harmon |first1=Amy |title=Nominee to Disability Council Is Lightning Rod for Dispute on Views of Autism |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/health/policy/28autism.html |accessdate=16 March 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=27 March 2010}}