[Screenwriter] Biographies & Profiles
Jane Birkin
Jane Mallory Birkin is an English-French singer and actress who attained international fame for her decade-long musical and romantic partnership with Serge Gainsbourg. As an actress, she starred in both British and French films such as Blowup, Kaleidoscope, and Death on the Nile, as well as the Academy Award-nominated short film La femme et le TGV which she said would be her final film role. Birkin has been living in France since the 1970s, and is the mother of three children, including actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. She is also well-known for lending her name to the Hermès Birkin handbag.
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was a celebrated actor from England who achieved international success in theatre, the silent film industry, and Hollywood. He was nominated for Oscars for his performances in Bulldog Drummond, Condemned, and Random Harvest, and won an Academy Award for Best Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in 1947 for A Double Life. Other notable films he starred in were A Tale of Two Cities, Lost Horizon, The Prisoner of Zenda, and Kismet, which was nominated for four Academy Awards. His influence and legacy has been recognized with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was a prominent figure in Hollywood, having contributed stories for films starting in the silent era and serving as a studio executive for many years. He was one of the longest survivors of the Hollywood studio system, and he produced three Academy Award winning Best Pictures during his career.
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. was an American film and stage actor who gained international fame for his roles in three Orson Welles films - Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Journey into Fear. He went on to star in Hollywood films such as Shadow of a Doubt, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, and The Third Man. Cotten won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in Portrait of Jennie and was highly praised for his work in Heaven's Gate. Despite this success, he never received an Academy Award nomination, a fact which many film critics and media outlets have lamented.
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan was an American actor and director with a career spanning six decades. He was most well-known for his roles as Pete Porter in December Bride and Pete and Gladys, Officer Bill Gannon on Dragnet, Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey, and Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H and AfterMASH. In his lengthy film career, Morgan also appeared as a supporting actor in more than 100 films.
Ashly Burch
Ashly Burch is a widely acclaimed American voice actress, singer and television writer best known for her roles in video games and TV shows such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Life Is Strange, as well as for web series Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?, for which she was also the writer. Other notable roles include Tiny Tina from the Borderlands series, Molly McGee from The Ghost and Molly McGee, Sasha Braus from Attack on Titan and Mayuri Shiina from Steins;Gate.
Peter Morgan
Peter Julian Robin Morgan, CBE is a renowned British screenwriter and playwright. His works include The Audience, Frost/Nixon, The Queen, The Deal, Longford, The Special Relationship and Rush. He is also the creator and showrunner of the popular Netflix series The Crown. Morgan has been recognized for his successes and was awarded a British Film Institute Fellowship in February 2017.
Jane Goldman
Jane Loretta Anne Goldman is an English screenwriter, author, and producer who has written critically acclaimed works such as Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel, X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass, and Stardust. She also wrote the screenplays for The Woman in Black, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and Dreamworld. Additionally, she presented her own paranormal TV series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on Living from 2003 to 2004.
Emily V. Gordon
Emily V. Gordon is an American writer, producer, and podcast host. She co-wrote the 2017 romantic comedy film The Big Sick, which was based on her real-life relationship with her husband and frequent collaborator, comic Kumail Nanjiani. The pair won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Gordon started her career as a family and couples therapist before transitioning into writing and comedy production. She co-created The Meltdown, a live show and its television counterpart for Comedy Central. Gordon also has writing credits for television, a book, and various online and print publications.
Jon M. Chu
Jonathan Murray Chu is an acclaimed American film director, producer, and screenwriter who is renowned for directing the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians. It was the first film by a major Hollywood studio in 25 years to feature a predominantly Asian cast. Further, many of Chu's films are musicals such as Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D, Jem and the Holograms, In the Heights, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and Justin Bieber's Believe. He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Sorkin is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director who is notable for his trademark fast-paced dialogue and extended monologues. He has been widely recognized for his work and has won several awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes. His many works include plays A Few Good Men and To Kill a Mockingbird, television series Sports Night and The Newsroom, and the film screenplays for A Few Good Men, Moneyball, and The Social Network, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. His directorial debut included Molly's Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Diablo Cody
Brook Maurio, or professionally known as Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer who gained recognition for her candid blog and memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper. Her screenwriting debut film, Juno, won multiple awards such as an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay, and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. In addition to her film work, Cody has written and produced the Showtime comedy drama series United States of Tara and wrote, produced, and made her directorial debut with the comedy drama film Paradise. She also wrote and produced the horror comedy film Jennifer's Body, the comedy drama film Young Adult, the musical comedy film Ricki and the Flash, and the comedy drama film Tully. She won a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Jagged Little Pill, her first musical-theater undertaking. Since 2008, Cody has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Writer's Branch.
Charlie McDowell
Charles Malcolm McDowell is an American film director and screenwriter. He is most known for his film The One I Love .
Richard Linklater
Richard Stuart Linklater is an acclaimed American film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his loose narrative style and for creating films about suburban culture that explore the effects of time. His most iconic works include Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, School of Rock, Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, Boyhood, and Everybody Wants Some!! He has received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations, the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival for Before Sunrise, and Golden Globe Award for Boyhood. In 2015, he was listed on Time Magazine’s annual 100 Most Influential People list.
Brad Falchuk
Bradley Douglas Falchuk is an accomplished American television writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating such popular series as Glee, Pose, Scream Queens, and the horror-drama anthology series American Horror Story and its spin off American Horror Stories. He was also a writer and executive producer for Nip/Tuck and is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve is a critically acclaimed Canadian filmmaker and four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction. He is best known for directing films such as Prisoners, Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. For his work on Arrival, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. His most recent movie, Dune, premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival and was a box office success. It also earned him Academy Award nominations and won six Oscars at the 94th Academy Awards.
Sam Esmail
Sam Esmail is an American film and TV producer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for creating, writing and directing the award-winning USA Network series Mr. Robot, starring Rami Malek, and for writing and directing the feature film Comet. He has since produced and directed a number of other series and films, such as Amazon Prime Video's Homecoming and USA's Briarpatch, Starz's Gaslit, and Peacock's Angelyne and The Resort. Esmail's work often touches on themes of alienation, technology, and American society, and he often works with cinematographer Tod Campbell and producer Chad Hamilton of Anonymous Content.
Julie Plec
Julie Plec is an American television producer, writer and director, known for her work on The CW television series The Vampire Diaries which she co-created with Kevin Williamson, and its spin-offs The Originals and Legacies . She also developed the limited series Containment .
Chris Henchy
Christopher Thomas Henchy is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is most notable for his close working relationship with actor Will Ferrell. Henchy co-created the popular website, Funny or Die, and wrote several Ferrell movies, such as Land of the Lost, The Other Guys and The Campaign. Throughout his career, Henchy has worked on a variety of film comedies projects and established himself as a successful screenwriter.
Greg Berlanti
Gregory Berlanti is a prolific American screenwriter, producer, director, and creator of numerous films and television series, including Arrowverse, Titans, and Doom Patrol, as well as Love, Simon, a gay romantic comedy-drama which grossed $66million worldwide. In 2017–2018, he broke the record for the most live-action scripted television series airing at one time, with 18 in the 2019–20 season, and was acknowledged by Time Magazine as one of their 100 most influential people in 2020.
Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins is a prolific American filmmaker and member of The Chopstars collective. After making his debut with the short film "My Josephine", he went on to be nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his first feature film "Medicine for Melancholy" and an eight-year hiatus from feature filmmaking, before directing and co-writing the critically acclaimed and Academy Award-winning LGBT-themed drama "Moonlight". Since then, he has received considerable success, with his third directorial feature "If Beale Street Could Talk" earning him Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, as well as his television series "Dear White People" and Amazon Video limited series "The Underground Railroad", which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and won him a Peabody Award. His work has also seen him included on Time 100's annual list of the most influential people in the world.
Darren Star
Darren Star is an American media producer, director and writer renowned for creating popular TV shows. His list of creations includes Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, Sex and the City, Younger, and Emily in Paris--all of which have been praised by audiences and critics alike. He's also respected for his ability to create female-driven stories and iconic, strong female protagonists. Star has garnered several awards for his work, including four Emmy Award nominations, two Golden Globe Awards and a Producers Guild of America Award.
Josh Schwartz
He also wrote and served as executive producer for the films The O.C.: The Final Season and The O.C.: A California Christmas. Additionally, Schwartz wrote and produced the films Adventureland and The Last Summer. Joshua Ian Schwartz is an American screenwriter and TV producer who is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama series The O.C. At 26, he became one of the youngest people in network history to create and run a series. He wrote and served as executive producer for the films The O.C.: The Final Season and The O.C.: A California Christmas, as well as Adventureland and The Last Summer.
Sian Heder
Sian Heder is an American filmmaker best known for her captivating films. She is the writer and director of Tallulah and the Oscar-winning movie CODA. CODA won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was awarded Best Picture. Heder has become an inspiration for aspiring filmmakers all over the world, showcasing her talent and creativity. Within the creative industry, Heder has also produced television shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and “Little America”.
Eric Andre
Eric Samuel André is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, television host and writer. He is most notably the creator, host and co-writer of the Adult Swim comedy series The Eric Andre Show, as well as Mike in the FXX series Man Seeking Woman and Azizi in the remake of The Lion King. He also creates music under the name Blarf.
Rob Cohen
Rob Cohen is an American director and producer who has been working in film and television since the late 1970s. He started his career as an executive producer for 20th Century Fox and worked on a range of high-profile projects, such as The Wiz, The Witches of Eastwick and Light of Day, before turning to directing full-time in the 1990s. Cohen is best known for his action films The Fast and the Furious and XXX.
Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel is an acclaimed American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, executive producer, and host of the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which first aired on ABC in 2003 and currently resides at the Zappos Theater on the Las Vegas Strip. Kimmel has also hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2012, 2016, and 2020 and the Academy Awards in 2017 and 2018, and he will emcee the show again in 2023. He is famous for his work as a co-host of Comedy Central’s The Man Show and Win Ben Stein’s Money as well as producing shows like Crank Yankers, Sports Show with Norm Macdonald, and The Andy Milonakis Show. In 2018, Time named him as one of “The World's 100 Most Influential People” and he is currently the longest-running late-night TV host in the United States, after Conan O’Brien’s retirement.
Kay Cannon
Kay Cannon is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actress best known for her work on the Pitch Perfect film series, 30 Rock, New Girl and Girlboss. She made her directorial debut with the comedy film Blockers.
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance OBE is an English actor known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. He began his career on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company before acting in feature films such as For Your Eyes Only, Michael Collins, Gosford Park, The Imitation Game, Mank, The King's Man, The Golden Child, Alien 3, Last Action Hero, Dracula Untold and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. He also made his directorial debut with the drama film Ladies in Lavender which he wrote and executive produced. On television, he is best known for his roles as Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown, Mr Tulkinghorn in Bleak House, Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones, and Lord Mountbatten in The Crown, for which he received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. In 2006, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama.