Edward Zwick

Last updated

Edward Zwick
Edward Zwick 2016.jpg
Zwick in 2016
Born (1952-10-08) October 8, 1952 (age 72)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater Harvard University (AB)
AFI Conservatory (MFA)
Occupation(s)Director, producer, screenwriter
Years active1979–present
Notable work About Last Night , Glory , The Last Samurai , Blood Diamond , Defiance , Love & Other Drugs
Spouse
(m. 1982)

Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres and has received nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

Contents

He made his film debut with the comedy About Last Night (1986), followed by Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). His later films include Love & Other Drugs (2010), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016). He won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Shakespeare in Love (1998) as a producer.

He is also the co-creator of the ABC family drama series thirtysomething from 1987 to 1991 and Once and Again from 1999 to 2002.

Early life and education

Zwick was born on October 8, 1952, into a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth Ellen (née Reich) and Allen Zwick. [1] [2] [3] [4] He attended New Trier High School, received an A.B. at Harvard in 1974, and attended the AFI Conservatory, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1975.

Despite sharing a surname and profession, Edward is unrelated to fellow director Joel Zwick. He has been married to actress Liberty Godshall since 1982, and they have two grown children. [4]

Career

His films include Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). Along with Marshall Herskovitz, Zwick runs a film production company called The Bedford Falls Company (inspired by the name of the town featured in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life ). This company has produced such notable films as Traffic and Shakespeare in Love and the TV shows thirtysomething , Relativity , Once and Again , and My So-Called Life .

Zwick's body of work has earned numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Picture as a producer, and Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series, and Outstanding Dramatic Special. He was one of the recipients of the Academy Award for Best Picture for Shakespeare in Love ; he was also nominated in the same category for Traffic . He has additionally been nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards.

In 2024, Zwick released his memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood. [5]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorProducerWriter
1986 About Last Night... YesNoNo
1989 Glory YesNoNo
1992 Leaving Normal YesNoNo
1994 Legends of the Fall YesYesNo
1996 Courage Under Fire YesNoNo
1998 The Siege YesYesYes
2003 The Last Samurai YesYesYes
2006 Blood Diamond YesYesNo
2008 Defiance YesYesYes
2010 Love & Other Drugs YesYesYes
2014 Pawn Sacrifice YesYesNo
2016 Jack Reacher: Never Go Back YesNoYes
The Great Wall NoNoStory
2017 American Assassin NoNoYes
2018 Trial by Fire YesYesNo

Producer only

Executive producer

Television

YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer
CreatorNotes
1979–80 Family YesYesNoNoAlso producer;
5 episodes (written);
Directed episode "Ballerina"
1985 The Insiders YesNoNoNoPilot episode
1987–91 thirtysomething YesYesYesYes3 episodes (directed);
8 episodes (written)
1999–2002 Once and Again YesYesYesYes3 episodes (directed);
4 episodes (written)
Also actor (as Dr. Daniel Rosenfeld)
2008 Quarterlife NoYesYesYesWeb series;
2 episodes (written)
2016–18 Nashville NoYesYesNoWrote episode "The Wayfaring Stranger"
2020 Away YesNoYesNoDirected episode "Go"

Television films

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducer
1982Having It AllYesNoNo
1983 Special Bulletin YesYesYes
1990Extreme Close-UpNoStoryexecutive
2009A MarriageNoYesexecutive
2020Thirtysomething(else)YesYesNo

Executive producer only

YearTitleNotes
1987 CBS Summer Playhouse Episode "Sawdust"
1989 Dream Street
1994-95 My So-Called Life
1998 Relativity
2000The Only Living Boy in New YorkTV movie
2002Women vs. Men

Awards and nominations

YearTitleAward/Nomination
1989 Glory Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Director
1994 Legends of the Fall Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Director
1998 Shakespeare in Love Academy Award for Best Picture
BAFTA Award for Best Film
Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture
2000 Traffic Nominated - Academy Award for Best Picture
2003 The Last Samurai National Board of Review Award for Best Director
Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Director
Nominated - Producers Guild of America Award for Best Picture
2006 Blood Diamond Nominated - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Award for Best Director
Awards received by Zwick films
YearTitleAcademy AwardsBAFTA AwardsGolden Globe Awards
NominationsWinsNominationsWinsNominationsWins
1989 Glory 53151
1994 Legends of the Fall 314
2003 The Last Samurai 43
2006 Blood Diamond 51
2008 Defiance 11
2010 Love & Other Drugs 2
Total18410161

Books

Related Research Articles

<i>Shakespeare in Love</i> 1998 film by John Madden

Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 period romantic comedy film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck and Judi Dench. The film depicts a fictional love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare (Fiennes) and Viola de Lesseps (Paltrow) while Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet. Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Dmytryk</span> American film director (1908–1999)

Edward Dmytryk was a Canadian-born American film director and editor. He was known for his 1940s noir films and received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for Crossfire (1947). In 1947, he was named as one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who refused to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their investigations during the McCarthy-era Red Scare. They all served time in prison for contempt of Congress. In 1951, however, Dmytryk testified to the HUAC and named individuals, including Arnold Manoff, whose careers were then destroyed for many years, to rehabilitate his own career. First hired again by independent producer Stanley Kramer in 1952, Dmytryk is likely best known for directing The Caine Mutiny (1954), a critical and commercial success. The second-highest-grossing film of the year, it was nominated for Best Picture and several other awards at the 1955 Oscars. Dmytryk was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

<i>Glory</i> (1989 film) 1989 film directed by Edward Zwick

Glory is a 1989 American historical war drama film directed by Edward Zwick about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army's earliest African-American regiments in the American Civil War. It stars Matthew Broderick as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the regiment's commanding officer, and Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, and Morgan Freeman as fictional members of the 54th. The screenplay by Kevin Jarre was based on the books Lay This Laurel (1973) by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush (1965) by Peter Burchard and the personal letters of Shaw. The film depicts the soldiers of the 54th from the formation of their regiment to their heroic actions at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Newton Howard</span> American composer and music producer (born 1951)

James Newton Howard is an American film composer, orchestrator and music producer. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards.

<i>Legends of the Fall</i> 1994 American epic Western film by Edward Zwick

Legends of the Fall is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the film is about three brothers and their father living in the wilderness and plains of Montana in the early 20th century and how their lives are affected by nature, history, war, and love. The film's time frame spans nearly 50 years from the early 20th century; World War I, through the Prohibition era, and ending with a brief scene set in 1963. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards and won for Best Cinematography. Both the film and book contain occasional Cornish language terms, the Ludlows being a Cornish immigrant family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Olin</span> American actor (born 1954)

Kenneth Edward Olin is an American actor, television director, and producer. As an actor, Olin is known for his role as Michael Steadman in the ABC drama series Thirtysomething (1987–1991), for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama nomination in 1990. Olin later began working behind the scenes, as a director and producer. His credits as a producer include Alias (2001–2006), Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011), and This Is Us (2016–2022). Olin is married to actress Patricia Wettig.

<i>Thirtysomething</i> American drama television series (1987-1991)

Thirtysomething is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal B. Wallis</span> American film producer (1898-1986)

Harold B. Wallis was an American film producer. He is best known for producing Casablanca (1942), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), and True Grit (1969), along with many other major films for Warner Bros. featuring such film stars as Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Bette Davis, and Errol Flynn. As a producer, he received 19 nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Wettig</span> American actress (born 1951)

Patricia Anne Wettig is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Nancy Weston in the television series Thirtysomething (1987–1991), for which she received a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanie Mayron</span> American actress and director

Melanie Joy Mayron is an American actress and director of film and television. Mayron is best known for her role as photographer Melissa Steadman on the ABC drama thirtysomething for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1989, and was nominated for same award in 1990 and 1991. In 2018, the Santa Fe Film Festival honored Mayron for her outstanding contributions to film and television.

John Toll, ASC is an American cinematographer and television producer. Toll's filmography spans a wide variety of genres, including epic period drama, comedy, science fiction, and contemporary drama. He won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in both 1994 and 1995 for Legends of the Fall and Braveheart respectively, and has also won numerous BAFTA, ASC, and Satellite Awards. He has collaborated with such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Edward Zwick, Terrence Malick, Mel Gibson, Cameron Crowe, The Wachowskis, and Ang Lee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Herskovitz</span> American film director

Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz is an American film director, writer, and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the Producers Guild of America. Among his productions are Traffic, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, and I Am Sam. Herskovitz has directed two feature films, Jack the Bear and Dangerous Beauty. Herskovitz was a creator and executive producer of the television shows thirtysomething, My So-Called Life, and Once and Again, and also wrote and directed several episodes of all three series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash Film Works</span>

Flash Film Works is a computer graphics company that provides visual effects for films, television shows and commercials. It is owned by director William Mesa and is located in Los Angeles, California.

<i>Blood Diamond</i> 2006 American political thriller film by Edward Zwick

Blood Diamond is a 2006 American political war thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance conflicts, and thereby profit warlords and diamond companies around the world.

Steven Rosenblum is an American film editor with over twenty feature film credits dating from 1987. He has had an extended, notable collaboration with the director Edward Zwick, and has edited all of his films since Glory (1989).

<i>Defiance</i> (2008 film) 2008 film directed by Edward Zwick

Defiance is a 2008 American war film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Daniel Craig as Tuvia Bielski, Liev Schreiber as Zus Bielski, Jamie Bell as Asael Bielski, and George MacKay as Aron Bielski. Set during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany, the film's screenplay by Clayton Frohman and Zwick was based on Nechama Tec's 1993 book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, an account of the eponymous group led by Polish Jewish brothers who saved and recruited Jews in Belarus during World War II.

Bedford Falls Productions or The Bedford Falls Company is an American production company founded in 1985 by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick. Under the banner, they created television shows like Thirtysomething and Once and Again, produced television shows Legends of the Fall, Blood Diamond and My So-Called Life and the Academy Award-winning films Shakespeare in Love and Traffic.

Pieter Jan Brugge is a Dutch film producer.

Pawn Sacrifice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score soundtrack / extended play composed by James Newton Howard for the 2014 biographical psychological drama film Pawn Sacrifice directed by Edward Zwick based on the life of chess grandmaster and 11th world champion Bobby Fischer, and starred Tobey Maguire as Fischer. The film score was released through Lakeshore Records on September 11, 2015, five days ahead of the film's theatrical release.

References

  1. Sachs, Micah (February 17, 2009). "An Interview with Filmmaker Edward Zwick". InterfaithFamily.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  2. Rosen, Steven (December 7, 2006). "Director Zwick excavates the bloody price of 'Diamonds'". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles . Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  3. Cox, David (January 13, 2009). "In Defiance of Jewish passivity". The Guardian . Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Zwick, Edward 1952– (Ed Zwick)". Encyclopedia.com . Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  5. "Oscar-winning director-producer Ed Zwick writing memoir 'Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions'". The Independent. June 12, 2023.

Further reading