Michael Tolkin

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Michael Tolkin
Michael Tolkin.jpg
Born (1950-10-17) October 17, 1950 (age 74)
Alma mater Middlebury College (BA) [1]
Occupation(s)Writer, film director
Spouse Wendy Mogel
Children2

Michael L. Tolkin (born October 17, 1950) is an American screenwriter, novelist, and director. He has written numerous screenplays, including The Player (1992), which he adapted from his own 1988 novel of the same name, [2] and for which he received the Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay (1993) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He later wrote a follow-up to the novel, titled The Return of the Player, which was published in 2006. [3]

Contents

In 2018, Tolkin served as co-creator of the miniseries Escape at Dannemora with Brett Johnson. [4] The series was based on the real-life 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape that led to a massive manhunt for two escaped convicts in upstate New York. In 2022, he served as creator of the miniseries The Offer , which is about the making of The Godfather.

Biography

Tolkin was born to a Romanian-Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish family [5] [6] in New York City, the son of Edith (née Leibovitch), a studio executive and film industry lawyer, and the late comedy writer Mel Tolkin. [7] [8]

He is a 1974 graduate of Middlebury College. [1]

Tolkin lives in Los Angeles with his wife, author Wendy Mogel. They have two daughters, Susanna and Emma. [9]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1982 Gossip NoYesNoUnfinished
1989 Gleaming the Cube NoYesAssociate
1991 The Rapture YesYesNo
1992 The Player NoYesYes BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Film
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
Deep Cover NoYesNo
1994 The New Age YesYesNo
1998 Deep Impact NoYesNo
2002 Changing Lanes NoYesNo
2009 Nine NoYesNo

Uncredited writing roles

Television

Series

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerCreatorNotes
1979 Delta House NoYesNoNo3 episodes
1980 Taxi NoYesNoNoEpisode "Shut It Down: Part 1"
2007 Masters of Science Fiction YesYesNoNoEpisode "Jerry Was a Man"
2014–15 Ray Donovan NoYesConsultingNoWrote 4 episodes
2018 Escape at Dannemora NoYesExecutiveYesMiniseries
2022 The Offer NoYesExecutiveYes

TV films

YearTitleWriterProducer
1994 The Burning Season YesNo
1997The PlayerYesExecutive
20081%YesYes

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Middlebury College Alumni Honor Roll" Archived 2016-07-26 at the Wayback Machine , Middlebury College website
  2. 1 2 Tolkin, Michael, "The Player", 1st ed., New York : Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988. ISBN   0-87113-228-1
  3. Tolkin, Michael, The Return of the Player, 1st ed., New York : Grove Press, 2006. ISBN   0-8021-1801-1
  4. Andreeva, Nellie (June 2, 2017). "Paul Dano Joins Benicio del Toro & Patricia Arquette As Ben Stiller's Prison Break Limited Series Gets Showtime Green Light". Deadline. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  5. Rosenman, Howard (March 20, 2019). "Hollywood Writer Michael Tolkin on Judaism, Awards and Global Warming". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles . Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  6. Tablet Magazine: "Michael Tolkin’s American Midrash" by Michael Lee retrieved June 2, 2017
  7. Filmreference.com
  8. "Michael Tolkin". Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  9. New York Times: "So the Torah Is a Parenting Guide?" by Emily Bazelon October 1, 2006
  10. Allen Barra "The Return of the Player," Salon, October 26, 2006.