John Logan (writer)
| John Logan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
September 24, 1961 San Diego, California, US |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1996–present |
John David Logan (born September 24, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter, film producer, and television producer. He is a three-time Academy Award nominee; twice for Best Original Screenplay for : Gladiator (2000) and The Aviator (2004) and once for Best Adapted Screenplay for Hugo (2011).
Early life
Logan was born in San Diego on September 24, 1961. His parents emigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland via Canada. The youngest of three children, he has an older brother and sister. Logan grew up in California and New Jersey, before moving to Chicago to attend Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1983.[1]
Career
Logan was a successful playwright in Chicago for many years before turning to screenwriting. His first play, Never the Sinner, tells the story of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Subsequent plays include Hauptmann, about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and Riverview, a musical melodrama set at Chicago's famed amusement park.
His play Red, about artist Mark Rothko, was produced by the Donmar Warehouse, London, in December 2009,[2] and on Broadway in 2010, where it received six Tony Awards, the most of any play, including best play, best direction of a play for Michael Grandage and best featured actor in a play for Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne and Alfred Molina had originated their roles in London and also performed on Broadway, for a limited run ending in late June.[3]
Logan wrote Any Given Sunday and the television film RKO 281, before gaining an Academy Award nomination for co-writing (with David Franzoni and William Nicholson) the Best Picture winner Gladiator in 2000. He received another nomination for writing The Aviator (2004), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. Other notable films written by Logan include Star Trek: Nemesis, The Time Machine, The Last Samurai, and the Tim Burton-directed musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, for which he received a Golden Globe Award.
Logan's feature films include Rango, an animated feature starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski, the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Coriolanus directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, Hugo an adaptation of the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret directed by Martin Scorsese and the James Bond film Skyfall, along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. He wrote the Bond film, Spectre (2015).
Two plays by Logan premiered in 2013; Peter and Alice, directed by Michael Grandage and starring Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw opened in London at the Noël Coward Theatre on March 25, 2013 and I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, directed by Joe Mantello and starring Bette Midler, opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on April 24, 2013.[4]
He also created the 2014 television series Penny Dreadful starring Josh Hartnett, Eva Green and Timothy Dalton, for which he served as sole writer until it concluded with its third season.
In November 2015, Logan was reported to have rewritten the script for Alien: Covenant.[5][6] During the audio commentary of Alien: Covenant, Scott mentions that Logan has already started writing Alien: Covenant 2.[7]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Tornado! | Written by | Television film |
| 1999 | Bats | Written by | Also executive producer |
| RKO 281 | Written by | Television film | |
| Any Given Sunday | Screen story, screenplay | ||
| 2000 | Gladiator | Screenplay | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards for Best Original Screenplay |
| 2002 | The Time Machine | Screenplay | Also co-producer |
| Star Trek: Nemesis | Screenplay, story | ||
| 2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Screenplay | |
| The Last Samurai | Screenplay, story | ||
| 2004 | The Aviator | Written by | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Writer Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay |
| 2007 | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Screenplay | Also producer Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy |
| 2011 | Rango | Screenplay, story | Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production |
| Coriolanus | Screenplay | Also producer | |
| Hugo | Screenplay | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | |
| 2012 | Skyfall | Written by | |
| 2014–2016 | Penny Dreadful | Created by | Also writer and executive producer |
| 2015 | Spectre | Screenplay, story | |
| 2016 | Genius | Written by | Also producer |
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant | Screenplay | |
Theatre
- Never the Sinner (1985)
- Hauptmann (1991)
- Riverview (1992)
- Red (2009)
- Peter and Alice (2013)
- I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers (2013)
- The Last Ship (2014)
- Moulin Rouge! (2018)
Accolades
- Nominated, 2011 – Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Hugo
- Winner, 2010 – Tony Award Best Play, for Red.
- Winner 2008 – Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- Winner, 1999 – Writers Guild of America Best TV Adapted Writing, for RKO 281
- Nominated, 2004 – Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for The Aviator.
- Nominated, 2004 – BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, for The Aviator
- Nominated, 2004 – Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay, for The Aviator
- Nominated, 2000 – Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Gladiator.
- Nominated, 2000 – BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Gladiator
- Nominated, 1999 – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Mini-Series or Movie, for RKO 281
References
- ↑ Stockwell, Anne (March 1, 2005). "Logan's run: one of Hollywood's hottest screenwriters, The Aviator's John Logan proves that you don't have to be straight to write the blockbusters". The Advocate.
- ↑ "Red". Donmar Warehouse. February 6, 2010. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ↑ "Time Is Short to See Tony Winners" by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, June 14, 2010 (p. C1 2010-06-15 New York ed.). Retrieved 2010-06-14.
- ↑ Gans, Andrew. Bette Midler Is Showbiz Agent Sue Mengers in I'll Eat You Last, Opening on Broadway April 24" Archived April 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Playbill, April 24, 2013
- ↑ Schaefer, Sandy (November 11, 2015). "Alien Paradise Lost Script To Be Rewritten By John Logan". ScreenRant. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ↑ Lodge, Guy (November 5, 2015). "Watch Ridley Scott Receive His Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame". Variety. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
- ↑ Chitwood, Adam (September 1, 2017). "38 Thing We Learned From Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant Audio Commentary". Collider. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
