Brian Helgeland

Brian Helgeland

Birth name: Brian Thomas Helgeland
Born: January 17, 1961
Age: 63
Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
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Biography

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. Helgeland also wrote and directed 42 (2013), a biopic of Jackie Robinson, and Legend (2015), about the rise and fall of the Kray twins.

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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 in 1985 made Helgeland consider another job, and after finding a book about film schools, eventually he settled for that, considering his love for movies. He applied for the film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, as it was the only one that would accept him in the middle of the semester.

Career

Helgeland's agent arranged him a meeting with Rhet Topham, who had an idea for a horror comedy film but was having a difficulty writing it. The result was 976-EVIL, which the duo managed to sell for $12,000. 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.

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."

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. In early 2008, he was attached to shape the script of the thriller Green Zone after screenwriter Tom Stoppard had to drop out, 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.

Works

Films

Year Feature film Credit/Role Notes
1988 A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master Writer
1988 976-EVIL Writer
1992 Highway to Hell Writer/Producer
1995 Assassins Writer
1997 L.A. Confidential Writer Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
USC Scripter Award
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
1997 Conspiracy Theory Writer
1997 The Postman Writer
1999 Payback Writer/Director Cognac Festival du Film Policier Audience Award
2001 A Knight's Tale Writer/Director/Producer
2002 Blood Work Writer
2003 Mystic River Writer National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Screenplay
Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
USC Scripter Award
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — American Screenwriters Association Award
Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated — Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
Nominated — Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
Nominated — London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year
Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated — Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2003 The Order Writer/Director/Producer
2004 Man on Fire Writer
2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 Writer
2009 Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Writer
2010 Green Zone Writer
2010 Robin Hood Writer
2013 42 Writer/Director Hochi Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Nominated — Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
2015 Legend Writer/Director

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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