David Weissman

Last updated

David Weissman is an American screenwriter and director, most known for his comedies. He frequently collaborates with David Diamond. [1] Diamond and Weissman met in high school, at Akiba Hebrew Academy (now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy). [2] They graduated in 1983.

Contents

His film credits include Dream a Little Dream 2 (his only produced project not co-written with Diamond), The Family Man , [3] [4] Old Dogs , When in Rome , [5] Evolution [6] and the television film Minutemen .

Career

The duo sold their first spec script, The Whiz Kid, to 20th Century Fox in 1994. Their first produced project came in 2000, The Family Man starring Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. Cage's production company, Saturn Films, helped produce the film. The Family Man opened at #3 at the North American box office making $15.1 million in its opening weekend, behind What Women Want and Cast Away , which opened at the top spot. [7]

Diamond and Weissman next wrote the sci-fi comedy Evolution, helmed by Ivan Reitman. Evolution was based on a story by Don Jakoby, who turned it into a screenplay along with Diamond and Weissman. The film was originally written as a serious horror science fiction film, until director Reitman re-wrote much of the script. A short-lived animated series, Alienators: Evolution Continues , loosely based on the film, was broadcast months after the film was released. [8] In 2005, they partnered with Wedding Crashers producer Andrew Panay on Old Dogs and When In Rome.

In 2019, the duo published a screenwriting manual, Bulletproof: Writing Scripts That Don't Get Shot Down. [9] The book draws from their extensive film experience.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Family Man</i> 2000 film directed by Brett Ratner

The Family Man is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Brett Ratner, from a screenplay by David Diamond and David Weissman. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni, with Don Cheadle, Saul Rubinek, and Jeremy Piven in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Reitman</span> Slovak–Canadian filmmaker (1946–2022)

Ivan Reitman was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian filmmaker. He was best known for his comedy work, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Koepp</span> American screenwriter (born 1963)

David Koepp is an American screenwriter and director. He is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial success in a wide variety of genres: thriller, science fiction, comedy, action, drama, crime, superhero, horror, adventure, and fantasy.

<i>Evolution</i> (2001 film) 2001 science fiction comedy film by Ivan Reitman

Evolution is a 2001 American comic science fiction film directed by Ivan Reitman. It stars David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, Julianne Moore, and Ted Levine. It was released by DreamWorks Pictures in the United States and by Columbia Pictures internationally. The plot of the film follows college professor Ira Kane (Duchovny) and geologist Harry Block (Jones), who investigate a large meteor crash in Arizona. They discover that the meteor harbors extra-terrestrial lifeforms, which are evolving very quickly into large, diverse and outlandish creatures.

<i>Junior</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Ivan Reitman

Junior is a 1994 American comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Emma Thompson. The film follows Alex Hesse, an Austrian-American scientist who agrees to undergo a male pregnancy from a newly developed drug Expectane.

<i>Twins</i> (1988 film) 1988 American buddy film directed by Ivan Reitman

Twins is a 1988 American buddy comedy film produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. The film is about unlikely fraternal twin brothers who were separated at birth. The core of the film is the contrast between the streetwise Vincent (DeVito) and the intelligent but naive Julius (Schwarzenegger).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Forster</span> German-Swiss filmmaker

Marc Forster is a German and Swiss film director, writer, and producer. He is best known for directing the feature films Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, Stranger than Fiction, Quantum of Solace, World War Z, and Christopher Robin, and has directed numerous television commercials as well. He is a BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Independent Spirit Award nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Phillips</span> American filmmaker (born 1970)

Todd Phillips is an American filmmaker and film producer. Phillips began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and School for Scoundrels. He came to wider prominence in the early 2010s for directing The Hangover film series. In 2019, he co-wrote and directed the psychological thriller film Joker, based on the DC Comics character of the same name, which premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival where it received the top prize, the Golden Lion. Joker went on to earn Phillips three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, with his co-writer Scott Silver, his second, third, and fourth Academy Award nominations after also being nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat at the 79th Academy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Reitman</span> Canadian-American filmmaker (born 1977)

Jason R. Reitman is a Canadian-American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), Young Adult (2011) and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). He has received one Grammy Award, one Golden Globe and four Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director. Reitman is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States. He is the son of director Ivan Reitman, and known for frequently collaborating with screenwriter Diablo Cody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Kenan</span> British–American filmmaker (born 1976)

Gil Kenan is a British-born American filmmaker. Kenan made his feature directorial debut with the animated horror comedy film Monster House (2006) to critical and commercial success, in which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and has since directed the science fantasy adventure City of Ember (2008), the supernatural horror Poltergeist (2015), a remake of the 1982 film, and the Christmas fantasy A Boy Called Christmas (2021). He also co-wrote the supernatural comedy film Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), the sequel to the first two films in the Ghostbusters series, and then directing and co-writing the upcoming sequel to Afterlife, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024).

David Diamond is an American screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with David Weissman.

The Ghostbusters franchise consists of American supernatural comedies, based on an original concept created by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis in 1984. The plot ostensibly centers around a group of eccentric New York City parapsychologists who investigate, encounter, and capture ghosts, paranormal manifestations, demigods and demons. The franchise expanded with licensed action figures, books, comic books, video games, television series, theme park attractions, and other original Ghostbusters-themed products.

<i>When in Rome</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by Mark Steven Johnson

When in Rome is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Mark Steven Johnson, co-written by Johnson, David Diamond and David Weissman. It stars Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. It was released by Touchstone Pictures in the United States on January 29, 2010. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, it was a small box office success, opening at number three in the U.S. behind one other new entry and ultimately grossing $43,042,835 worldwide against a $28 million budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Goldberg (producer)</span> Canadian film producer and screenwriter (1948/1949 – 2023)

Daniel Mitchell Goldberg was a Canadian film producer and screenwriter. He was a writer and producer on the films Meatballs and Stripes. He was also a producer of The Hangover film series and received an Emmy Awards nomination for the film The Late Shift.

<i>Edge of Tomorrow</i> 2014 film by Doug Liman

Edge of Tomorrow is a 2014 American science fiction action film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt with Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson in supporting roles. Directed by Doug Liman with a screenplay written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, its story is adapted from the 2004 Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The film takes place in a future where most of Europe is occupied by an alien race. Major William Cage (Cruise), a public relations officer with limited combat experience, is forced by his superiors to join a landing operation against the aliens, only to find himself experiencing a time loop as he tries to find a way to defeat the invaders.

<i>War Dogs</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Todd Phillips

War Dogs is a 2016 American black comedy crime film directed by Todd Phillips and written by Phillips, Jason Smilovic and Stephen Chin, based on a 2011 Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson, as well as Efraim Diveroli's 2016 memoir Once a Gun Runner as outlined in an ongoing lawsuit. Lawson then wrote a 2015 book, Arms and the Dudes, detailing the story. The film follows two arms dealers, Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, who receive a U.S. Army contract to supply ammunitions for the Afghan National Army worth approximately $300 million. The film, which has an unreliable narrator, is heavily fictionalized and dramatized, and some of its events, such as the duo driving through Iraq, were either invented or based on other events, such as screenwriter Stephen Chin's own experiences.

<i>Tully</i> (2018 film) 2018 film by Jason Reitman

Tully is a 2018 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and starring Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, and Mark Duplass. The film follows the friendship between a mother of three and her night nanny. It is the third collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, following the films Juno (2007) and Young Adult (2011), the last of which also starred Theron.

<i>Game Night</i> (film) 2018 film by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein

Game Night is a 2018 American action comedy film directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and written by Mark Perez. It stars Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams and follows a group of friends whose game night turns into a real-life mystery after one of them is kidnapped. The film's supporting cast includes Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris, Kylie Bunbury, Jesse Plemons, Michael C. Hall, and Kyle Chandler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris</span> American screenwriters and producers

Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris are American screenwriters and producers. They are known for their work in both feature films and television.

<i>Ghostbusters: Afterlife</i> 2021 film by Jason Reitman

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 American supernatural comedy film directed by Jason Reitman, who co-wrote it with Gil Kenan. It is the sequel to Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and the fourth film in the Ghostbusters franchise. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd, alongside Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Sigourney Weaver reprising their characters from the earlier films. Set 32 years after the events of Ghostbusters II, it follows a single mother and her children who move to an Oklahoma farm they inherited from her estranged father Egon Spengler, a member of the original Ghostbusters.

References

  1. "David Diamond & David Weissman - Deadline.com". deadline.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27.
  2. "Alumni: Welcome". Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  3. "Moviemans guide listing for The Family Man". Archived from the original on 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  4. Leydon, Joe (December 11, 2000). "The Family Man Review". Variety . Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  5. Barnard, Linda (January 29, 2010). "When in Rome: Did their talent get lost with the luggage?". Toronto Star . Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  6. "Evolution -- Shades of Ghostbusters". CANOE. June 8, 2001. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. "The Family Man (2000) - Weekend Box Office Results - Box Office Mojo".
  8. "DHX Media Distribution Catalog p. 38" (PDF). DHX Media. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  9. Brooks, Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz. "Screenwriter David Diamond brings Hollywood lessons to Shalhevet".