Kenneth Lonergan
| Kenneth Lonergan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lonergan at the Vienna International Film Festival in 2016 | |
| Born |
October 16, 1962 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film director, playwright, screenwriter |
| Alma mater |
New York University Wesleyan University |
| Period | 1982–present |
| Notable works |
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle You Can Count On Me Gangs of New York Margaret Manchester by the Sea |
| Notable awards |
Academy Award (2016) BAFTA Award (2016) NBR Award (2016) NSFC Award (2000, 2016) NYFCC Award (2000, 2016) Satellite Award (2016) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is best known for co-writing Gangs of New York (2002), and for writing and directing You Can Count On Me (2000), Margaret (2011), and Manchester by the Sea (2016). Lonergan earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Director for Manchester by the Sea, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for You Can Count On Me, Gangs of New York, and Manchester by the Sea, winning for the latter at the 89th Academy Awards. He also won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay for Manchester by the Sea at the 70th British Academy Film Awards.
Early life and education
Lonergan was born in The Bronx, New York City to a psychiatrist mother and physician father. His mother is Jewish, and his father was of Irish descent.[1][2]
Lonergan began writing in high school at the Walden School (a now defunct, highly progressive private school in Manhattan with a strong drama program).
His first play, The Rennings Children, was chosen for the Stephen Sondheim-founded Young Playwrights, Inc. Young Playwright's Festival in 1982 while he was still an undergraduate. Lonergan matriculated to Wesleyan University where he trained as a playwright and director;[3] he would go on to graduate at the NYU Playwriting Program.
Government and commercial work
After graduating from NYU, Lonergan worked as a speechwriter for the Environmental Protection Agency. He also wrote industrial shows—long-play commercials—for clients such as Weight Watchers[4] and Fujifilm.
Career
Stage
Lonergan's first theatrical success came with the play This Is Our Youth (1996); it was followed by The Waverly Gallery (1999), based on his grandmother's Greenwich Village gallery, and later Lobby Hero (2002). His play The Starry Messenger premiered Off-Broadway in 2009 and starred his wife J. Smith-Cameron and Matthew Broderick.[5]
Film
Lonergan's film career began with his screenplay for the gangland comedy Analyze This (1999). He was subsequently offered a job writing The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000).
Lonergan directed his own screenplay for You Can Count On Me (2000); the film, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, went on to receive and be nominated for numerous writing awards.[6] He contributed to the screenplay for Gangs of New York (2002). In 2005, filming took place for his second film as writer/director, Margaret, starring Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick, and J. Smith-Cameron. The film spent over five years in post-production, with Lonergan, the producers and various editors unable to agree on its final cut, resulting in multiple legal disputes. It was finally released in 2011.[1] Margaret ranked 31st in a 2016 BBC poll of the 21st century's greatest films.[7]
Lonergan wrote and directed Manchester by the Sea, which was released in 2016 to critical acclaim.[8] He also had a small part in the film, as a pedestrian. David Fear of Rolling Stone said the film proves that Lonergan is "practically peerless in portraying loss as a living, breathing thing without resorting to the vocabulary of griefporn."[9]
Lonergan also wrote the BBC/Starz miniseries Howards End.[10]
Personal life
Lonergan is married to actress J. Smith-Cameron. They have one daughter, Nellie.[11][12]
Credits
Stage
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The Rennings Children | One-act |
| 1993 | Betrayal by Everyone | One-act; would become This is Our Youth |
| 1996 | This Is Our Youth | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Best Play |
| 2000 | The Waverly Gallery | Nominated—Pulitzer Prize for Drama |
| 2001 | Lobby Hero | Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Best Play Nominated—Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play and John Gassner Playwrighting Award Nominated—Olivier Award for Best Play |
| 2004 | True to You | One-act premiered at TriBeCa Theater Festival |
| 2009 | The Starry Messenger | |
| 2012 | Medieval Play | |
| 2016 | Hold On to Me Darling |
Film and television
References
- 1 2 Brody, Richard (March 15, 2012). "Kenneth Lonergan". The New Yorker.
- ↑ "The Cinematic Traumas of Kenneth Lonergan". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2017-01-01.
- ↑ James Fisher. Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater, 1930–2010.
- ↑ Stephen Farber, "A Playwright in Pottsylvania," The Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2000.
- ↑ Hernandez, Ernio. Cameron, Culkin, Hadary and More Will Join Cast of Starry Messenger' " playbill.com (webcache.googleusercontent.com), September 18, 2009
- ↑ "Kenneth Lonergan Awards" The New York Times
- ↑ "The 21st Century's 100 greatest films". BBC. August 23, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ↑ Lewis, Andy (November 24, 2016). "How Matt Damon's Almost-Directorial Debut 'Manchester by the Sea' Became Another Helmer's Comeback". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ↑ Fear, David (February 1, 2016). "How 'Manchester by the Sea' Became a Sundance 2016 Hit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "Starz Boards 'Howards End' BBC Limited Series; Hayley Atwell, Matthew Macfadyen & Tracey Ullman To Star". Deadline. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ↑ Vellela, Tony (October 5, 2001). "J. Smith-Cameron's role-changing, name-changing career". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ↑ "What's Up, J. Smith-Cameron? The Starry Star on Life, Art and Why She Loves Ben Brantley". Broadway.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
Further reading
- Mead, Rebecca (November 7, 2016). "Lost time : after years spent battling Hollywood producers, Kenneth Lonergan returns with Manchester by the Sea". Onward and Upward with the Arts. The New Yorker. 92 (36): 46–55. (Online version is titled "The Cinematic Traumas of Kenneth Lonergan").
