Film producer

LOS ANGELES

- "Five Easy Pieces" producer Bert Schneider, credited for inspiring a "New Hollywood" band of independent filmmakers, died in Los Angeles at 78.

With producer-director Bob Rafelson, Schneider also created the Monkees pop band.

Schneider, who died Monday, produced 11 movies from 1969 to 1981, including "Easy Rider," "Five Easy Pieces" and "The Last Picture Show." Those movies about rootlessness and discontent became symbols of a new era that helped filmmakers break out of the studio system.

- Associated Press