Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scott Alexander
Born (1963-06-16) June 16, 1963 (age 58)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma materUSC School of Cinematic Arts
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1990–present
Children3[1]
Larry Karaszewski
Born (1961-11-20) November 20, 1961 (age 60)
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Alma materUSC School of Cinematic Arts
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1990–present
Spouse(s)
Emily Karazewski
​
(m. 1991)​
Children2

Scott Alexander (born June 16, 1963) and Larry Karaszewski (/ˌkærəˈzjuːski/; born November 20, 1961) are an American screenwriting team. They met at the University of Southern California where they were roommates; they graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts in 1985.[2]

Biography[]

Their first success was the popular but critically derided comedy Problem Child (1990). Alexander and Karaszewski claim that their original screenplay was a sophisticated black comedy, but that the studio watered it down into an unrecognizable state.[3]

In 1994, Alexander and Karaszewski persuaded Tim Burton to direct a biopic about Edward D. Wood, Jr., titled Ed Wood. They wrote the screenplay in six weeks.[4]

Ed Wood led to a succession of offbeat biopics, including The People vs. Larry Flynt; Man on the Moon, about the short life of comedian Andy Kaufman; and Auto Focus, chronicling the downfall and subsequent murder of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, which they produced. A script they penned about the life of Robert Ripley of Ripley's Believe It or Not! was at one time attached to Jim Carrey, but like their scripts about The Marx Brothers, The Village People, and Rollen Stewart a.k.a. "Rainbow Man", it has yet to be produced.

They also adapted Stephen King's short story 1408, did uncredited rewrites on Mars Attacks! and Hulk, and worked on a number of family films, such as Agent Cody Banks and the 1997 remake of That Darn Cat. That same year, an animated film that they co-penned was also released, Cats Don't Dance. Although they were credited in the film's trailer[5] their names were dropped when the film was released.[6] In 2000, they made their directorial debut with Screwed. The film was not well received.

In 2007, they both appeared in the documentary Dreams on Spec, a film looking at the Hollywood creative process from the perspective of the writer.

The duo wrote Tim Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes, a biopic about painter Margaret Keane. They were slated to direct but vacated later. They were also set to collaborate with Burton on a stop-motion The Addams Family film, but the project was scrapped in 2013.[7]

In 2014, the team began working on their first television series, American Crime Story, which is a true crime anthology drama. The first season is based on the O. J. Simpson trial.[8] The show won nine Primetime Emmys after it aired on FX in 2016, with Alexander and Karaszewski nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.

Filmography[]

As screenwriters[]

Year Film Director Note
1990 Problem Child Dennis Dugan
1991 Problem Child 2 Brian Levant
1994 Ed Wood Tim Burton Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Writing
Nominated–Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay
1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt Miloš Forman Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay
1997 That Darn Cat Bob Spiers
1999 Man on the Moon Miloš Forman
2000 Screwed - Also Directors
2003 Agent Cody Banks Harald Zwart Co-written with Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz
2007 1408 Mikael Håfström Co-written with Matt Greenberg
2013 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Thor Freudenthal Uncredited
2014 Big Eyes Tim Burton Also Producers
Nominated–Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay
2015 Goosebumps Rob Letterman Story only
2019 Dolemite Is My Name Craig Brewer

Television series[]

Year Film Director Note
1993–94 Problem Child Various Also executive producers
2016–present American Crime Story Also executive producers and creators
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series (2016, 2018)
Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film (2017, 2019)
Producers Guild of America Award for Best Long-Form Television (2017)
Producers Guild of America Award for Best Limited Series Television (2019)
Writers Guild Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted
Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special

Other credits[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski". Final Draft. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  2. ^ "An Evening with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski". Cinema.usc.edu. November 2, 2010.
  3. ^ "Money-into-light.com". Money-into-light.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  4. ^ Yahoo.com
  5. ^ "Cats Don't Dance (1997) Official Trailer - John Rhys-Davies, Don Knotts Movie HD". Movieclips Classic Trailers. June 7, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Elaine Dutka (January 15, 1997). "They're on Track--and Offbeat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Debruge, Peter (July 17, 2013). "Illumination Chief Chris Meledandri Lines Up Originals for Universal". Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2013. At the same time, Illumination has scrapped a number of planned movie ideas. "Waldo" and a Tim Burton-helmed, stop-motion The Addams Family are dead. The company abandoned a Woody Woodpecker pic, and couldn't crack "Clifford the Big Red Dog."
  8. ^ Zuckerman, Esther (January 17, 2015). "Ryan Murphy to tackle O.J. Simpson case with 'American Crime Story'". Entertainment Weekly.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""