Lawrence Lasker

Last updated

Lawrence Lasker
Lawrence Lasker at WarGames 25th anniversary showing.jpg
Lasker at WarGames 25th anniversary showing
Born
Lawrence Charles Lasker

(1949-10-07) October 7, 1949 (age 74)
Alma mater Yale University
Occupation(s)Film producer, screenwriter
Parent(s) Jane Greer
Edward Lasker
Family Albert Lasker (grandfather)
Frances Lasker Brody (aunt)
Doris Kenyon (step-grandmother)
Mary Woodard Lasker (step-grandmother)

Lawrence Charles Lasker (born October 7, 1949) is an American screenwriter and producer who entered American film in 1983 as writer of the movie WarGames . [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Lasker was born in Los Angeles County, California. He is the son of actor Jane Greer and producer Edward Lasker. [3] His paternal grandfather was businessman Albert Lasker and his paternal step-grandmothers were actor Doris Kenyon and Mary Woodard Lasker. He graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1967 and attended Yale University, as did his father.

Filmography

TitleYearProducerWriterNotes
WarGames 1983Yes
Project X 1987YesStory
True Believer 1989Yes
Awakenings 1990Yes
Eddie Dodd 1991ExecutiveCreatorTelevision series (6 episodes)
Sneakers 1992YesYes

Also cameo as "Party Guest" in The Other Side of the Wind (2018).

Work nominated for awards

Lasker and Walter F. Parkes were nominated for an Academy Award in screenwriting in 1983 for WarGames. [4] Parkes and he later were nominated for Best Picture of the Year in 1990 for Awakenings .

Related Research Articles

<i>WarGames</i> 1983 science-fiction film directed by John Badham

WarGames is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a young computer hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to simulate, predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union, triggering a false alarm that threatens to start World War III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Quinn</span> American actor (1915–2001)

Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca, better known by his stage name Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. Born in Mexico to a Mexican mother and a first-generation Irish-Mexican father, he was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in numerous critically acclaimed films both in Hollywood and abroad. His notable films include La Strada (1954), The Guns of Navarone (1961), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Guns for San Sebastian (1968), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), The Message (1976), Lion of the Desert (1980), Jungle Fever (1991) and Seven Servants (1996). He also had an Oscar-nominated title role in Zorba the Greek (1964).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wyler</span> Swiss-German-American director and producer (1902–1981)

William Wyler was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades he has received numerous award accolades including three Academy Awards. He holds a record twelve nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director. For his work Wyler was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award, and the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter O'Toole</span> British actor (1932–2013)

Peter Seamus O'Toole was an English stage and film actor. He attended RADA and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company. In 1959 he made his West End debut in The Long and the Short and the Tall, and played the title role in Hamlet in the National Theatre's first production in 1963. Excelling on the London stage, O'Toole was known for his "hellraiser" lifestyle off it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greer Garson</span> English-American actress (1904–1996)

Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson was a British-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homefront; listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top-10 box office draws from 1942 to 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Mitchum</span> American actor (1917–1997)

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American actor. He is known for his antihero roles and film noir appearances. He received nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984 and the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1992. Mitchum is rated number 23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male stars of classic American cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Fonda</span> American actor (1940–2019)

Peter Henry Fonda was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fonda was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Easy Rider (1969), and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Ulee's Gold (1997). For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Fonda also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Harris</span> American actor and director (born 1950)

Edward Allen Harris is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), Pollock (2000), and The Hours (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Dern</span> American actor

Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Coming Home (1978) and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Nebraska (2013). He is also a BAFTA Award, two-time Genie Award, and three-time Golden Globe Award nominee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Danza</span> American actor (born 1951)

Tony Danza is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series Taxi (1978–1983) and Who's the Boss? (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards. In 1998, Danza won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Television Series for his work on the 1997 sitcom The Tony Danza Show. He has also appeared in films such as The Hollywood Knights (1980), Going Ape! (1981), She's Out of Control (1989), Angels in the Outfield (1994), Crash (2004), and Don Jon (2013).

Irwin Winkler is an American film producer and director. He is the producer or director of over 58 motion pictures, dating back to 1967's Double Trouble, starring Elvis Presley. The fourth film he produced, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), starring Jane Fonda, was nominated for nine Academy Awards. He won an Oscar for Best Picture for 1976's Rocky. As a producer, he has been nominated for Best Picture for five films: Rocky (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Right Stuff (1983), Goodfellas (1990), and The Irishman (2019).

Walter F. Parkes is an American producer, screenwriter, and media executive. The producer of more than 50 films, including the Men in Black series and Minority Report, he is the co-founder and co-chairman of Dreamscape Immersive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Greer</span> American actress (1924–2001)

Jane Greer was an American film and television actress best known for her role as femme fatale Kathie Moffat in the 1947 film noir Out of the Past. In 2009, The Guardian named her one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.

Edgar J. Scherick was an American television executive and producer of television miniseries, made-for-television films, and theatrical motion pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evan Peters</span> American actor (born 1987)

Evan Thomas Peters is an American actor. He made his acting debut in the 2004 drama film Clipping Adam and starred in the ABC science fiction series Invasion from 2005 to 2006.

Lawrence Turman was an American Academy Award-nominated film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">80th Academy Awards</span> Award ceremony for films of 2007

The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Comedian Jon Stewart hosted the show for the second time, having previously presided over the 78th ceremony held in 2006. On February 9, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Alba.

Edward Lasker was an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.

Ronald Louis Schwary was an Academy Award winning American producer and director. Films that he was either producer or executive producer include Ordinary People for which he won an Academy Award for Best Picture, Havana, Scent of a Woman, Sabrina, Meet Joe Black and Random Hearts.

Benjamin Mark Lasker Wallfisch is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer, known for his work on film scores. He has contributed to over 75 feature films since the mid-2000s, including notable works like Blade Runner 2049, Shazam!, It, It Chapter Two, The Invisible Man, Hidden Figures, A Cure for Wellness and The Flash.

References

  1. Brown, Scott (July 21, 2008). "WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars". Wired.
  2. "Lawrence Lasker". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  3. Oliver, Myrna (August 28, 2001). "From the Archives: Jane Greer; Star of Film Noir 'Out of the Past'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  4. Jackson, Matthew (June 1, 2018). "15 Surprising Facts About WarGames". Mental Floss .