Akiva Goldsman

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Akiva Goldsman
Akiva Goldsman by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Goldsman at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1962-07-07) July 7, 1962 (age 59)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationDirector, producer, writer
Years active1994–present
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 2004; died 2010)​

Joann Richter
​
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2

Akiva J. Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work on motion pictures and adaptations of popular novels.[1]

Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes The Client; Batman Forever and its sequel Batman & Robin; I, Robot; I Am Legend; Cinderella Man, and numerous rewrites that are both credited and uncredited. He also wrote more than a dozen episodes for the science fiction television series Fringe.

In 2002, Goldsman received the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, which also won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 2006, Goldsman re-teamed with A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard to adapt Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code for Howard's film. He also wrote the screenplay for its 2009 sequel Angels & Demons.

Early life[]

Akiva Goldsman was born in New York to Jewish parents and raised in Brooklyn Heights. His parents, Tev Goldsman and Mira Rothenberg, were both clinical child psychologists who ran a group home for emotionally disturbed children.[2] After graduating from Saint Ann's School, which is also in Brooklyn Heights, he received his bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and attended the graduate fiction writing program at New York University. Many of his connections were made at Saint Ann's.

Career[]

Goldsman has a production company at Warner Bros. named Weed Road Pictures.[3]

Goldsman produced the Universal Pictures feature Lone Survivor, from writer/director Peter Berg, based on the book Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell. It tells the story of Luttrell's Navy SEAL team in 2005 Afghanistan, on a mission to kill a terrorist leader. The movie starred Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Taylor Kitsch, and was released in 2013.[4]

Goldsman made his feature film directing debut with Winter's Tale, a film adaption of the Mark Helprin novel, The principal cast consisted of Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, Will Smith and William Hurt.[5] The film was released on February 14, 2014. He also directed the horror thriller film Stephanie (2017),[6] with Frank Grillo in the leading role,[7] and co-wrote and produced the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, which was released on August 4, 2017, and was one of Goldsman's post Apotheosis films.[8]

In June 2015, Paramount Pictures announced that Goldsman would head a team of writers and filmmakers to create a multifilm cinematic universe branching out from Hasbro's Transformers franchise. In 2017, his Weed Road company was signed with Paramount.[9]

Goldsman was revealed in September 2018 to have been on the writing staff for Star Trek: Picard, revolving around the later years of the character of Jean-Luc Picard.[10]

In 2020, Goldsman was revealed to be the creator and showrunner of the forthcoming CBS series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Fringe[]

In 2008, Goldsman joined the first season crew of the Fox horror/mystery series Fringe as writer, director, and consulting producer. The first episode Goldsman directed and wrote was "Bad Dreams".[11][12] In its fifth season, Goldsman remained a consulting producer. Episodes he contributed to included:

  • "Bad Dreams" (01.17)
  • "The Road Not Taken" (01.19) (executive producer Jeff Pinkner and supervising producer J.R. Orci co-wrote a teleplay based on a story by Goldsman)
  • "There's More Than One of Everything" (01.20) (co-executive producer J.H. Wyman and Pinkner co-wrote a teleplay based on a story by Goldsman and executive producer Bryan Burk)
  • "A New Day in the Old Town" (02.01) (co-written by co-creator J. J. Abrams)
  • "Peter" (02.16) (co-showrunners Jeff Pinkner, J.H. Wyman, and supervising producer Josh Singer co-wrote a teleplay based on a story by Pinkner, Goldsman, Singer, and Wyman)
  • "Brown Betty" (02.20) (co-written by Wyman and Pinkner)
  • "Over There (Part 1)" (02.22) (co-written with Pinkner and Wyman)
  • "Over There (Part 2)" (02.23) (co-written by Pinkner and Wyman)
  • "Subject 13" (03.15) (co-written with Wyman and Pinkner)
  • "Stowaway" (03.17) (Danielle Dispaltro wrote a teleplay based on a story Pinkner, Goldsman, and Wyman)
  • "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide" (03.19) (Wyman and Pinkner co-wrote a teleplay based on a story by Wyman, Goldsman, and Pinkner)
  • "The Day We Died" (03.22) (Pinkner and Wyman co-wrote a teleplay based on a story Goldsman, Pinkner, and Wyman)
  • "Neither Here Nor There" (04.01) (Wyman and Pinkner co-wrote a teleplay based on a story Wyman, Goldsman, and Pinkner)
  • "Subject 9" (04.04) (co-written by Wyman and Pinkner)
  • "Making Angels" (04.11) (co-written with Wyman and Pinkner)
  • "Nothing as It Seems" (04.16) (co-written with Pinkner)
  • "Letters of Transit" (04.19) (co-written by Wyman and Pinkner)
  • "Brave New World (Part 1)" (04.21) (co-written by Wyman and Pinkner)
  • "Brave New World (Part 2)" (04.22) (co-written with Wyman and Pinkner)

Personal life[]

Goldsman's first wife, film producer Rebecca Spikings-Goldsman, died of a heart attack on July 6, 2010, at the age of 42.[13] Rebecca was the daughter of producer Barry Spikings.

In 2012, Akiva met his second wife Joann Richter. The couple were married in 2014 and have two daughters, and divide their time between Los Angeles and New York.[14]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes
1994 The Client No No Yes
Silent Fall No No Yes
1995 Batman Forever No No Yes
1996 A Time to Kill No No Yes Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million
1997 Batman & Robin No No Yes Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
1998 Lost in Space No Yes Yes
Practical Magic No No Yes
2001 A Beautiful Mind No No Yes Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2004 I, Robot No No Yes
2005 Cinderella Man No No Yes Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
2006 The Da Vinci Code No No Yes
2007 I Am Legend No Yes Yes
2009 Angels & Demons No No Yes
2014 Winter's Tale Yes Yes Yes Directorial debut
2015 The Divergent Series: Insurgent No No Yes
2016 The 5th Wave No No Yes
2017 Rings No No Yes
Transformers: The Last Knight No No Story Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
The Dark Tower No Yes Yes
Stephanie Yes No No

Television[]

Year Title Director Executive
Producer 		Writer Notes
2008-2013 Fringe Yes Yes Yes 1 episode (director);

18 episodes (writer);

2 episodes (executive producer)

2017 Star Trek: Discovery Yes Yes Yes 3 episodes (writer);
2 episodes (director)
2018–2019 Titans Yes Yes Yes 2 episodes (writer);
2 episodes (director)
2018–2020 Star Trek: Short Treks No Yes No
2020 Star Trek: Picard Yes Yes Yes 2 episodes (writer);
2 episodes (director)
2022[15] Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Yes Yes Yes 1 episode (writer);
1 episode (director)

Acting credits[]

Year Title Role
2008 Hancock Executive
2009 Star Trek Vulcan Council Member
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness Starfleet Admiral

Upcoming works[]

In 2016, it was announced that Goldsman would script an adaptation of Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel.[16] Its final release date is still unknown. In July 2017, Paramount Pictures announced plans to make a film adaptation of the novel Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy with Goldsman as producer.[17]

References[]

  1. ^ McNary, Dave (July 12, 2017). "Akiva Goldsman Signs First-Look Deal With Paramount, Leaves Warner Bros". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "A Beautiful Journey to Professional Nirvana". March 10, 2002.
  3. ^ "The Toxic Avenger Mops Up in Redo Deal". Deadline.
  4. ^ Kroll, Justin (August 13, 2012). "Eric Bana circling 'Lone Survivor': Thesp in talks to join case of Peter Berg-helmed SEAL drama". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  5. ^ Fleming, Mike (August 1, 2012). "William Hurt Joins Akiva Goldsman's 'Winter's Tale'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike (January 27, 2015). "Frank Grillo to Star in Akiva Goldsman's Horror-Thriller 'Stephanie'". The Wrap. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  7. ^ Fleming, Mike (January 27, 2015). "Frank Grillo to Court Stephanie". Dread Central. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  8. ^ "Sony Sets a Date For Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'". Bloody Disgusting. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  9. ^ McNary, Dave (July 12, 2017). "Akiva Goldsman Signs First-Look Deal With Paramount, Leaves Warner Bros". Variety. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  10. ^ Stewart, Patrick (September 24, 2018). "The journey has begun. Kirsten Beyer, Michael Chabon, Akiva Goldsman, Diandra Pendleton-Thompson, James Duff, and yours truly. #StarTrek". Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  11. ^ "IMDB Filmography of Akiva Goldsman".
  12. ^ "Fringe: The Definitive and Exhaustive Chat with John Noble". Los Angeles Times. September 2009.
  13. ^ "Producer Spikings-Goldsman dies of heart attack". Variety. July 7, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  14. ^ http://www.zimbio.com/Akiva+Goldsman+Joann+Goldsman/pictures/pro http://guestofaguest.com/directory/akiva-goldsman/217301
  15. ^ Sperling, Nicole (August 1, 2021). "Can Paramount+ Succeed? One Producer Hopes to Make It So". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  16. ^ LESNICK, SILAS (July 26, 2016). "Akiva Goldsman to Script The Caves of Steel Movie". ComingSoon. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  17. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (July 11, 2017). "Akiva Goldsman Moves To Paramount; 'Rainbow Six,' 'Ologies' & 'Avengelyne' On Menu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 12, 2017.

Further reading[]

  • Thane, Christopher (November 1999). "Swimming with sharks". Fade In. Vol. 5 no. 3. p. 17.
  • Divine, Christian (January 2002). "Peace of mind". Creative Screenwriting. Vol. 9 no. 1. pp. 69, 71–74.
  • Fleming, Michael (June 2006). "Good as Goldsman". Fade In. Vol. 9 no. 2. pp. [50]–52.

External links[]

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