Brian Helgeland
| Brian Helgeland | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Brian Thomas Helgeland January 17, 1961 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. |
| Occupation | Director, producer, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1988–present |
Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for L.A. Confidential (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay), Mystic River, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.[1] Helgeland also wrote and directed 42 (2013), a biopic of Jackie Robinson, and Legend (2015), about the rise and fall of the Kray twins.
Early life
Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Norwegian-born parents Aud-Karin and Thomas Helgeland, and was raised in nearby New Bedford, Massachusetts. He majored in English at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before following his father's work fishing scallop.
One cold winter day in 1985 made Helgeland consider another job, after finding a book about film schools.
Helgeland eventually settled on a career in film, considering his love for movies. He applied for the film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, as it was the only one which could accept him in the middle of the semester.[2][3][4][5]
Career
Helgeland's agent arranged him a meeting with Rhet Topham, who had an idea for a horror comedy film but was having difficulty writing it. The resulting film was 976-EVIL, which the duo managed to sell for $12,000.[5] 976-EVIL marked the directorial debut of Freddy Krueger portrayer Robert Englund, who went on to recommend Helgeland as New Line Pictures wanted to do a new A Nightmare on Elm Street film. Helgeland was paid $70,000 to do what would become A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Both films were released in 1988, with The Dream Master hitting theaters earlier. Another script, Highway to Hell, earned Helgeland $275,000 and got a film release in 1992.[6]
In 1998, Helgeland won both an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (for L.A. Confidential) and a Razzie (for The Postman) the same year. Only one person had previously achieved the dubious feat (Alan Menken in 1993), and only one other (Sandra Bullock in 2010) has achieved it since. He accepted the Razzie and became only the fourth person in its history to be personally presented with the statuette. He keeps the statues of both the Oscar and the Razzie on his mantle as "a reminder of Hollywood's idealistic nature and unrealistic expectations."[5][7]
Helgeland wrote and directed the films A Knight's Tale (2001), The Order (2003) and 42 (2013). He has worked with director Clint Eastwood twice, in 2002 on Blood Work, and in 2003 on Mystic River, for which he was Oscar nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and has written an as yet unproduced adaptation of Moby-Dick.
In 2004, Helgeland co-wrote the screenplay for the major motion picture The Bourne Supremacy, for which he was uncredited.[8] In early 2008, he was attached to shape the script of the thriller Green Zone[9] after screenwriter Tom Stoppard had to drop out,[10] again collaborating with director Paul Greengrass, whom he worked with on The Bourne Supremacy, as well as reuniting with actor Matt Damon, who played Jason Bourne/David Webb.
Helgeland wrote the screenplay for the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123. The film was released on June 12, 2009.[11]
Works
Films
References
- ↑ Helgeland profile, New York Times; accessed April 11, 2014.
- ↑ "Film-makers on film: Brian Helgeland talks to Mark Monahan about Stuart Rosenberg's Cool Hand Luke (1967)". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. 2003-09-06. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ↑ Helgeland profile, filmreference.com; accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Profile, southcoasttoday.com; accessed April 11, 2014
- 1 2 3 "Screenwriters' Lecture: Brian Helgeland".
- ↑ Million Dollar Babies, New York Magazine
- ↑ Gray, Iain (2007-01-23). "The booby prize that beats the Oscars". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
- ↑ The Bourne Supremacy (2004) profile, imdb.com; accessed April 11, 2014.
- ↑ Michael Fleming (2008-01-09). "Amy Ryan set for Greengrass thriller". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ↑ Richard Brooks (2007-08-12). "The Bourne Ultimatum - Biteback". The Sunday Times.
- ↑ "Richard Donner And Mr. Beaks Talk INSIDE MOVES!". Aint It Cool News. February 19, 2009.