Steven Zaillian

Last updated

Steven Zaillian
Born
Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian

(1953-01-30) January 30, 1953 (age 71)
Alma mater San Francisco State University
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • film director
  • film producer
  • film editor
Years active1977–present [1]
SpouseElizabeth Zaillian
Children2

Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian [1] (born January 30, 1953) is an Armenian-American screenwriter, film director and producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for his screenplay Schindler's List (1993) and has earned Oscar nominations for the films Awakenings , Gangs of New York , Moneyball and The Irishman . He was presented with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2009 Austin Film Festival and the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America in 2011. Zaillian is the founder of Film Rites, a film production company.

Contents

He also created, wrote and directed the limited series The Night Of (2016) and Ripley (2024), the latter for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award. [2]

Early life

Steven Zaillian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Jim Zaillian, a radio news reporter. Zaillian is of Armenian descent. [3] [4] He attended Sonoma State University, graduated from San Francisco State University in 1975 with a degree in Cinema. [1]

Personal life

He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Elizabeth Zaillian; they have two sons together. [5]

Career

Steven Zaillian is known for writing screenplays that often deal with tragedy and drama. Zaillian has written screenplays for many notable films. Zaillian wrote the screenplay for the 1990 film Awakenings . His most notable work is the 1993 screenplay for the film Schindler's List , for which he won an Academy Award. The Schindler’s List screenplay was voted the 49th best screenplay of all time by the Writers Guild of America West, the 32nd best of all time by IMDb, and the 49th best by filmsite.org. Zaillian directed and wrote the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer , for which he earned critical and commercial acclaim. Zaillian also wrote and directed the 1998 film A Civil Action and wrote the screenplays for the films Gangs of New York in 2002, and American Gangster in 2007. In 2007, in partnership with Mandate Pictures, he signed a deal with Columbia Pictures. [6] Zaillian co-wrote the screenplay for Moneyball in 2011 with Aaron Sorkin. Zaillian also wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . His most recent work includes creating, directing, writing, and producing the 2016 Emmy-winning HBO miniseries The Night Of and writing the screenplay for the 2019 Netflix film The Irishman .

Filmography

Film

YearTitle Director Writer Producer
1985 The Falcon and the Snowman NoYesNo
1990 Awakenings NoYesNo
1993 Schindler's List NoYesNo
Searching for Bobby Fischer YesYesNo
Jack the Bear NoYesNo
1994 Clear and Present Danger NoYesNo
1996 Mission: Impossible NoStoryNo
1998 A Civil Action YesYesExecutive
2001 Hannibal NoYesNo
2002 Gangs of New York NoYesNo
2005 The Interpreter NoYesNo
2006 All the King's Men YesYesYes
2007 American Gangster NoYesExecutive
2011 Moneyball NoYesNo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo NoYesExecutive
2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings NoYesNo
2018 Red Sparrow NoNoYes
2019 The Irishman NoYesNo
2021 Those Who Wish Me Dead NoNoYes

Television

YearTitleDirectorWriterExecutive
Producer
CreatorNotes
2016 The Night Of YesYesYesYes
2024 Ripley YesYesYesYes

Executive producer only

Editor

Awards

YearTitleAwardResult
1991 Awakenings Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
1994 Schindler's List Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Won
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Won
1999 A Civil Action Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2003 Gangs of New York Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2008 American Gangster BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated
2012 Moneyball Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay Won
Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
2012 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
2017 The Night Of Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film
(Episode: "The Beach")
Won
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Episode: "The Beach")Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special (Episode: "The Call of the Wild")Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted Nominated
2020 The Irishman Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
Critics' Choice Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated
AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay Nominated
2024 Ripley Astra TV Award for Best Directing in a Limited Series or TV MoviePending
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Nominated
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Won
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Nominated

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Blue" Gene Tyranny (2015). "Steven Zaillian". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. "'Ripley' Director Steve Zaillian Takes Home Emmy For Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie". Deadline. September 16, 2024.
  3. "Armenia's tragedy was long in coming to the movie screen". Los Angeles Times. November 18, 2002. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. Setencich, Eli (March 23, 1994). "'Schindler's' screenwriter goes back to dad's vision". Fresno Bee. p. B1. Retrieved July 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Steven Zaillian biography". Tribute . Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  6. Garrett, Diane (May 1, 2007). "Zaillian signs deal with Columbia". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2021..