Gordy Hoffman

Last updated
Gordy Hoffman
Born
Gordon Richard Hoffman

(1964-10-13) October 13, 1964 (age 58)
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, director
Relatives

Gordon Richard Hoffman (born October 13, 1964) is an American screenwriter and director. He is the older brother of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Contents

Biography

Early life

His mother, Marilyn O'Connor (née Loucks), a native of Waterloo, New York, is a family court judge and lawyer. His father, Gordon Stowell Hoffman, is a former Xerox executive. [1] [2] He has two sisters, Jill and Emily, in addition to his late brother Philip. His parents divorced in 1976. [3]

Film

In 2002, he wrote the screenplay for the film Love Liza , about a man dealing with his wife's suicide. [4] The Guardian 's Peter Bradshaw described it as a "very melancholy evening in the cinema ... an intelligent and harrowing movie," [5] while Ed Gonzalez from Slant Magazine disparagingly wrote: "Love Liza will have a difficult time distinguishing itself from Alexander Payne's About Schmidt , another widower-in-chaos comedy starring [Kathy] Bates in an undervalued role. Love Liza is nowhere near as condescending but its shrill pitch makes it just as difficult to take." [6] The film received the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Hoffman is the founder of the BlueCat Screenplay Competition—for finding and fostering undiscovered writing talent. The winning screenplay from the 2005 competition, Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach , was purchased by Greenestreet Films, and was released in 2009.

He taught graduate screenwriting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Curtis</span> New Zealander-born British filmmaker (born 1956)

Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis is a British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), About Time (2013) and Yesterday (2019). He is also known for the drama War Horse (2011) and for having co-written the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Vicar of Dibley. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News and ITV's Spitting Image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Seymour Hoffman</span> American actor (1967–2014)

Philip Seymour Hoffman was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles— eccentrics, lowlifes, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical productions, including leading roles, from the early 1990s until his death in 2014. He was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time in a 2022 readers' poll by Empire magazine.

<i>Love Liza</i> 2002 French film

Love Liza is a 2002 American tragicomedic drama film directed by Todd Louiso and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Wayne Duvall, Sarah Koskoff and Stephen Tobolowsky. The film is written by Gordy Hoffman, a playwright and the elder brother of Philip. Love Liza debuted at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

<i>State and Main</i> 2000 American film

State and Main is a 2000 American comedy film written and directed by David Mamet and starring William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pidgeon, David Paymer, Patti LuPone, Clark Gregg, and Charles Durning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Claude Carrière</span> French writer (1931–2021)

Jean-Claude Carrière was a French novelist, screenwriter and actor. He received an Academy Award for best short film for co-writing Heureux Anniversaire (1963), and was later conferred an Honorary Oscar in 2014. He was nominated for the Academy Award three other times for his work in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), and The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988). He also won a César Award for Best Original Screenplay in The Return of Martin Guerre (1983).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Schamus</span> American filmmaker (born 1959)

James Allan Schamus is an American screenwriter, producer, business executive, film historian, professor, and director. He is a frequent collaborator of Ang Lee, the co-founder of the production company Good Machine, and the co-founder and former CEO of motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company Focus Features, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal. He is currently president of the New York–based production company Symbolic Exchange, and is Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University, where he has taught film history and theory since 1989.

<i>Capote</i> (film) 2005 American biographical film by Bennett Miller

Capote is a 2005 biographical drama film about American novelist Truman Capote directed by Bennett Miller, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role. The film primarily follows the events during the writing of Capote's 1965 nonfiction book In Cold Blood. The film was based on Gerald Clarke's 1988 biography Capote. It was released September 30, 2005, coinciding with Capote's birthday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennett Miller</span> American film director (born 1966)

Bennett Altman Miller is an American film director, known for directing the acclaimed films Capote (2005), Moneyball (2011), and Foxcatcher (2014). He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Director.

Todd Louiso is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role as timid record store clerk Dick in High Fidelity, opposite Jack Black and John Cusack.

Stephen Adly Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced both Off-Broadway and on Broadway as well as in the UK. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

<i>The Savages</i> (film) 2007 film by Tamara Jenkins

The Savages is a 2007 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Philip Bosco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamara Jenkins</span> American filmmaker

Tamara Jenkins is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), The Savages (2007), and Private Life (2018).

<i>Doubt</i> (2008 film) 2008 American film by John Patrick Shanley

Doubt is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning 2004 stage play Doubt: A Parable. Produced by Scott Rudin, the film takes place in a Catholic elementary school named for St. Nicholas, led by Sister Aloysius. Sister James tells Aloysius that Father Flynn might be paying too much attention to the school's only black student, Donald Miller, thus leading to Aloysius investigating Flynn's behaviour. The film also features Viola Davis as Donald Miller's mother, Mrs. Miller, in her breakout role.

<i>Ghost World</i> (film) 2001 black comedy film by Terry Zwigoff

Ghost World is a 2001 black comedy film directed by Terry Zwigoff and starring Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Brad Renfro, Illeana Douglas and Steve Buscemi. Based on the 1993–97 comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes, with a screenplay co-written by Clowes and Zwigoff, the story focuses on the lives of Enid (Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson), two teenage outsiders in an unnamed American city. They face a rift in their relationship as Enid takes interest in an older man named Seymour (Buscemi), and becomes determined to help his romantic life.

<i>Moneyball</i> (film) 2011 American film by Bennett Miller

Moneyball is a 2011 American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller with a script by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin from a story by Stan Chervin. The film is based on the 2003 nonfiction book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. The book is an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to assemble a competitive team. In the film, Beane and assistant general manager Peter Brand, faced with the franchise's limited budget for players, build a team of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach to scouting and analyzing players. Philip Seymour Hoffman also stars as Art Howe.

<i>Jack Goes Boating</i> 2010 film by Philip Seymour Hoffman

Jack Goes Boating is a 2010 American romantic drama film directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and stars Hoffman in the title role, as well as Amy Ryan, John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega. The film's script was written by Robert Glaudini, based on his 2007 play Jack Goes Boating. The film's cast was mostly the same as that of the play's premiere at The Public Theater, although Amy Ryan replaced Beth Cole. The film was produced by Overture Films and Relativity Media. It premiered at the 26th Sundance Film Festival and was later released in the United States on September 17, 2010.

<i>The Master</i> (2012 film) Film by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Master is a 2012 American psychological drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. It tells the story of Freddie Quell (Phoenix), a World War II Navy veteran struggling to adjust to a post-war society, who meets Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman), the leader of a religious movement known as The Cause. Dodd sees something in Quell and accepts him into the movement. Freddie takes a liking to The Cause and begins traveling with Dodd's family to spread his teachings.

<i>Gods Pocket</i> 2014 American film

God's Pocket is a 2014 American drama film directed by John Slattery, his feature film directorial debut. Slattery co-wrote the screenplay with Alex Metcalf, based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Pete Dexter. The film stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Turturro, Christina Hendricks, and Richard Jenkins. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to mixed critical reviews, and was picked up for domestic distribution by IFC Films. The film is set in a poor working class South Philadelphia neighborhood modeled on Devil's Pocket, but filmed in Yonkers and New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Seymour Hoffman on screen and stage</span>

Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967–2014) was an American actor, director, and producer who made his screen debut on the police procedural Law & Order in 1991. He made his film debut later in the same year by appearing in a minor role in Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole. Hoffman followed this with supporting roles as a student in Scent of a Woman (1992), and a storm chaser in Twister (1996) before his breakthrough role as a gay boom operator in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama Boogie Nights (1997), for which he received critical acclaim. In the same year, he appeared in the Revolutionary War documentary series Liberty! (1997). Two years later, he played a kind nurse in Anderson's Magnolia and an arrogant playboy in The Talented Mr. Ripley, for which he received the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor. Hoffman made his Broadway debut the following year with his lead role in True West which garnered him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Tom Stempel is an American film scholar and critic. He is a Professor Emeritus in Film at Los Angeles City College, where he taught from 1971 to 2011.

References

  1. "Philip Seymour Hoffman Biography (1967–)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  2. Shaw, David L. (March 7, 2006). "Oscar-Winner's Mother Was Born in Waterloo". Syracuse Post Standard . p. 78. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  3. "Yahoo". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  4. Bruce Weber (February 2, 2014). "Philip Seymour Hoffman, Actor of Depth, Dies at 46". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  5. Peter Bradshaw (2014). "Love Liza". The Guardian. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  6. Ed Gonzalez (November 22, 2002). "Love Liza". Slant Magazine. Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  7. "Screenwriting Workshop with Gordy Hoffman | Dryden Theatre". Dryden.eastmanhouse.org. August 1, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.