Steven Zaillian
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"Steve's scripts read like movies. He writes like a director. His writing is so specific and carefully wrought, all you need to do is follow what he has on the page and you'll end up with a wonderful scene." --producer Scott Rudin quoted in THE NEW YORK TIMES, August 9, 1993
"Nothing really horrible has happened to me. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. There are so many stories of screenwriters who write a script and sell it for a million dollars, and people think those are the ones who lead charmed lives. I feel I've led a charmed life in a way because I've worked on things I've really liked." --Steven Zaillian to THE NEW YORK TIMES, August 9, 1993
Biography
Having established himself as one of the top screenwriters working in Hollywood, Steven Zaillian made the successful transition to directing with the critically acclaimed drama, "Searching for Bobby Fisher" (1993). Though not a box office hit, the film was hailed for turning the world of competitive chess into fertile ground for compelling drama. Prior to his directing debut, Zaillian penned several notable films, including his first produced credit "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985) and Penny Marshall's tear-jerking drama "Awakenings" (1990). But it was his script work on Steven Spielberg's stark Holocaust drama "Schindler's List" (1993) that earned him his first Academy Award. From there, he wrote a number of high-profile projects like "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) and "Mission: Impossible" (1996), while doing uncredited script doctoring on major blockbuster releases. He returned to the director's chair for the notable courtroom thriller, "A Civil Action" (1998), and collaborated with directors such as Ridley Scott on "Hannibal" (2001) and "Black Hawk Down" (2001), and Martin Scorsese on "Gangs of New York" (2002). After an unsuccessful third stab at directing with the critically maligned "All the King's Men" (2006), Zaillian returned to critical acclaim by penning "Moneyball" (2011) and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), proving that he was one of the best screenwriters working in the business.
Born on Jan. 30, 1953 in Fresno, CA, Zaillian was raised in Los Angeles as the son of radio news reporter, James Zaillian. After graduating San Francisco State University in 1975, Zaillian became interested in making documentaries and worked a series of low-level editing jobs on films like "Breaker, Breaker" (1976), "Kingdom of the Spiders" (1977) and "Starhops" (1978). The following year, he wrote a screenplay centered around a group of high school boys in the 1960s called "Bad Manners" that attracted the attention of producer Ray Stark. Stark never made the film, but Zaillian found the doors to Hollywood opened before him. But he had to wait another six years before seeing his first produced script, which turned out to be John Schlesinger's fact-based espionage thriller, "The Falcon and the Snowman" (1985), starring Timothy Hutton as a young CIA operative and Sean Penn as his con artist friend who lures him into a scheme to sell top-secret information to the Soviet embassy in Mexico. Though not a box office smash, the film was praised by critics and marked an auspicious beginning for Zaillian's career.
Once again, Zaillian was forced to wait another long stretch until his next film was made, the Penny Marshall-directed "Awakenings" (1990), a tear-jerking true story about a physician (Robin Williams) whose care and dedication to curing his comatose patients - including one (Robert De Niro) who has been lapsed since he was a child - leads to extraordinary, but temporary results. Based on Oliver Sacks' 1973 non-fiction novel, the film earned considerable critical acclaim, while Zaillian received his first Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Because of the critical success of "Awakenings," Zaillian saw films with his name on them released with more frequency. But he had a frustrating experience on his next film, "Jack the Bear" (1993), which starred Danny DeVito as an oft-fired television personality who moves his two sons to Northern California, where he hosts a late-night horror show on a cheap local station and drinks himself into oblivion while trying to forget the tragic loss of his wife. Zaillian was disappointed with the final film that resembled nothing of his original intentions and vowed to tell a more true-to-heart father-son story.
That vow led Zaillian to make his feature debut with the highly praised drama, "Searching for Bobby Fischer" (1993), which starred Joe Mantegna as the father of a chess prodigy (Max Pomeranc), who tries to maintain his son's positive outlook on life in the face of learning the game from a cold-blooded instructor (Ben Kingsley) teaching him to show now mercy on his opponents. Zaillian hit one out of the park on his first try, directing a profound and completely engrossing film that earned widespread praise from critics, even though it saw little financial return in a limited release. That same year, he wrote "Schindler's List" (1993) for director Steven Spielberg, an adaptation of Thomas Keneally's novel that focused on a morally ambiguous businessman, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who goes from seeking his fortune as a war profiteer in Nazi Germany to being the savior of over 1,000 Jews during the Holocaust. Zaillian's rigorous concentration on his main character, despite the enormity of historical events, was nothing short of brilliant, as his script earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while the film itself won six others and was hailed as one of the greatest films in cinema history.
Zaillian went mainstream for his next two projects, sharing screenwriting credit with Donald Stewart and John Milius on Phillip Noyce's "Clear and Present Danger" (1994), starring Harrison Ford as Tom Clancy's hero, Jack Ryan. He next received story credit on the first movie in the popular action franchise, "Mission: Impossible" (1996), directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. As many screenwriters often do, Zaillian did some uncredited script doctoring on blockbusters like "Twister" (1996), "Amistad" (1997) and "Saving Private Ryan" (1998). He next returned behind the camera to helm "A Civil Action" (1998), a courtroom thriller about a materialistic personal injury attorney (John Travolta) who winds up sacrificing his financial well-being to help a group of families take on two powerful corporations after they have developed leukemia from poisoned tap water. Though uneven at times, the film boasted good performances from its leads, especially Robert Duvall as a high-priced corporate lawyer. From there, he returned to writing duties, sharing screen credit with David Mamet on the sub-par sequel "Hannibal" (2001), rewrote "Black Hawk Down" (2001) for Ridley Scott, and collaborated with Martin Scorsese on the historical epic, "Gangs of New York" (2002), which earned him another Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay.
Zaillian went on to share credit with fellow A-lister, Scott Frank, and another writer on Sydney Pollack's final directing effort, "The Interpreter" (2005), which starred Nicole Kidman as a United Nations interpreter who overhears an assassination plot and arouses the suspicions of a Secret Service agent (Sean Penn) wary of her secretive past. Back in the director's chair, he helmed an adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's acclaimed novel of political corruption, "All the King's Men" (2006), starring Penn as an idealistic Southern politician who slowly becomes corrupted by the system. Though hyped prior to its release because of its high-profile cast and politico James Carville serving as an executive producer, "All the King's Men" disappointed many critics and failed at the box office. After reuniting with Ridley Scott to write the well-received crime saga, "American Gangster" (2007), which depicted real-life heroin smuggler Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), Zaillian found himself in Oscar contention once more for his adaptation of Michael Lewis' non-fiction novel "Moneyball" (2011). The acclaimed drama focused on Billy Beane, the unorthodox general manager of the Oakland A's who turned his small market team into a playoff winner by bucking long-held traditions. Zaillian shared an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay with Aaron Sorkin. Also that year, he adapted the English-language remake of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), which starred a barely recognizable Rooney Mara as a troubled computer hacker who helps an intrepid journalist (Daniel Craig) solve a years-old murder.
By Shawn Dwyer
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Life Events
1977
First credit as an editor, "Breaker, Breaker"
1979
Sold first screenplay "Bad Manners" to Ray Stark's Rastar Productions; never produced
1985
First produced screenplay, "The Falcon and the Snowman"
1990
Earned first Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay for "Awakenings"
1993
Feature directorial debut, "Searching for Bobby Fischer"; also scripted from the book by Fred Waitzkin
1993
Penned the screenplay for Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List"
1994
Was one of three credited writers on "Clear and Present Danger"
1996
Provided the story for the big screen adaptation of "Mission: Impossible"
1997
Reportedly did uncredited script work for Spielberg's "Amistad" (1997) and "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)
1998
Wrote and directed the based-on-fact drama "A Civil Action"
2001
Penned a draft of the script for "Hannibal"; shared final on screen credit with David Mamet
2002
Co-wrote the screenplay for Scorsese's "Gangs of New York"
2006
Wrote and directed "All the King's Men," an adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's classic 1946 political novel
2007
Wrote the film adaptation of Ridley Scott's "American Gangster," based on a <i>New York</i> magazine story about the rise and fall of the 1970s heroin kingpin Frank Lucas
2011
Co-wrote the screenplay for "Moneyball" with Aaron Sorkin
2011
Penned the film adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," based on the book by Stieg Larsson and directed by David Fincher
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Steve's scripts read like movies. He writes like a director. His writing is so specific and carefully wrought, all you need to do is follow what he has on the page and you'll end up with a wonderful scene." --producer Scott Rudin quoted in THE NEW YORK TIMES, August 9, 1993
"Nothing really horrible has happened to me. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. There are so many stories of screenwriters who write a script and sell it for a million dollars, and people think those are the ones who lead charmed lives. I feel I've led a charmed life in a way because I've worked on things I've really liked." --Steven Zaillian to THE NEW YORK TIMES, August 9, 1993
On his penchant for writing adapted screenplays over originals: "I hate the actual writing of scripts. Halfway through, I just want to throw them in the trash. So when someone pays me to adapt something, I take the money and spend it right away; then I have to finish the job." --From VARIETY, January 3-9, 1994
"You hear about these books and courses on screenwriting. On page 20 something has to happen. The character arc and all that stuff. I have no idea. I don't think about those things. Every time I do it, it feels like the first time and I'm scared and I don't know if it's going to turn out. And if I get to page 50 or so and I'm not enjoying it, then I know it's not working.""The tone of the movie is the magic thing for me. That's like the big battle. The tone and the voices and how people sound. The level of realism. That's what matters to me." --Zailian quoted in THE NEW YORK TIMES, November 15, 1998
