Steven Zaillian

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Steven Zaillian
Born
Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian

(1953-01-30) January 30, 1953 (age 68)
Fresno, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationSan Francisco State University
Alma materSan Francisco State University
OccupationScreenwriter, director, film editor, producer
Years active1977–present[1]
Notable work
Schindlers list, The Irishman, Searching for Bobby Fischer
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Zaillian
Children2
Parent(s)Vina Zaillian, Jim Zaillian
AwardsAcademy Award, Golden Globe Award , BAFTA award

Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian[1] (born January 30, 1953) is an American screenwriter, director, film editor, and producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for his screenplay Schindler's List (1993) and has also earned Oscar nominations for films Awakenings, Gangs of New York, Moneyball and The Irishman. He was presented with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2009 Austin Film Festival and the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America in 2011. Zaillian is the founder of Film Rites, a film production company. In 2016, he created, wrote and directed the HBO limited series The Night Of. Zaillian is widely recognized as one of the most influential screenwriters of all time.

Early life[]

Steven Zaillian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Jim Zaillian, a radio news reporter. He is of Armenian descent.[2][3] He attended Sonoma State University, graduated from San Francisco State University in 1975 with a degree in Cinema.[1]

Personal life[]

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Elizabeth Zaillian and their two children, Nicholas and Charles Zaillian.[4]

Career[]

Steven Zaillian is known for writing screenplays that often deal with tragedy and drama. Zaillian has written screenplays for many notable films. Zaillian wrote the screenplay for the 1990 film Awakenings. His most notable work is the 1993 screenplay for the film Schindler's List, for which he won an Academy Award. The Schindler’s List screenplay was voted the 49th best screenplay of all time by the Writers Guild of America West, the 32nd best of all time by IMDb, and the 49th best by filmsite.org. Zaillian directed and wrote the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer, for which he earned critical and commercial acclaim. Zaillian also wrote and directed the 1998 film A Civil Action and wrote the screenplays for films Gangs of New York in 2002, and American Gangster in 2007. In 2007, in partnership with Mandate Pictures, he signed a deal with Columbia Pictures.[5] Zaillian co-wrote the screenplay for Moneyball in 2011 with Aaron Sorkin. Zaillian also wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. His most recent work includes creating, directing, writing, and producing the 2016 HBO miniseries The Night Of and writing the screenplay for the 2019 Netflix film The Irishman.

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Film Director Writer Producer Notes
1985 The Falcon and the Snowman No Yes No
1990 Awakenings No Yes No
1993 Schindler's List No Yes No
Searching for Bobby Fischer Yes Yes No
Jack the Bear No Yes No
1994 Clear and Present Danger No Yes No
1996 Mission: Impossible No Yes No "Story by", with David Koepp
1998 A Civil Action Yes Yes executive
2001 Hannibal No Yes No
2002 Gangs of New York No Yes No
2005 The Interpreter No Yes No
2006 All the King's Men Yes Yes Yes
2007 American Gangster No Yes executive
2011 Moneyball No Yes No co-written with Aaron Sorkin
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo No Yes executive
2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings No Yes No
2018 Red Sparrow No No Yes
2019 The Irishman No Yes No
2021 Those Who Wish Me Dead No No Yes
2022 Deep Water No No Yes

Television[]

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Notes
2016 The Night Of Yes Yes Yes
TBA Ripley Yes Yes Yes In pre-production[6][7]

Executive producer only[]

Editor[]

Awards[]

Year Film Award Result
1991 Awakenings Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
1994 Schindler's List Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Won
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Won
1999 A Civil Action Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2003 Gangs of New York Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2008 American Gangster BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2012 Moneyball Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay Won
Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
2012 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2017 The Night Of Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film (Episode: "The Beach") Won
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Episode: "The Beach") Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Episode: "The Call of the Wild") Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted Nominated
2020 The Irishman Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Critics' Choice Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay Nominated

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Blue" Gene Tyranny (2015). "Steven Zaillian". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Armenia's tragedy was long in coming to the movie screen". Los Angeles Times. November 18, 2002. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  3. ^ "A conversation with Steven Zaillian – Armen Sarvar Official Website". Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "Steven Zaillian biography". Tribute. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  5. ^ Garrett, Diane (May 1, 2007). "Zaillian signs deal with Columbia". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2021..
  6. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 2, 2019). "Showtime To Win Auction For Steve Zaillian Series On Patricia Highsmith's Tom Ripley Books". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Malone, Michael (September 25, 2019). "Showtime to Turn Highsmith's 'Ripley' Novels Into Series". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved October 15, 2019.

External links[]

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