Christopher Wilkinson
| Christopher Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
March 29, 1950 New York, NY |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Temple University |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, producer, director |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse(s) | Cathy Guisewite (1997-2011) |
| Children | 2 |
Christopher Wilkinson (born March 29, 1950) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Nixon (1995).[1] He also wrote the screenplays for Ali (2001)[2] and Copying Beethoven (2006), the latter of which he also produced.[3] Most of his scripts are historically based and co-written with Stephen J. Rivele.
Early life
Wilkinson was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. He began his career as a musician before attending film school at Temple University.[4]
Career
Wilkinson starting out his career writing, producing and directing industrials, commercials and documentaries in Philadelphia and New York, while also working as a cameraman for ESPN, CBS Sports and EUE/Screen Gems. His documentaries from this time include Engine 2, Ladder 3, Echoes and One in Ten, all of which appeared on PBS. These films won awards at the Chicago International Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and CINE (among others).[4]
Wilkinson has written several biopics with frequent writing partner Stephen J. Rivele, starting with 1995's Nixon, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Anthony Hopkins, about the life of president Richard Nixon.[5] Ali (2001), directed by Michael Mann and starring Will Smith, details Muhammad Ali's boxing career and soul-searching struggles.[2] Copying Beethoven (2006) dramatized the last years of Ludwig van Beethoven's life as he became increasingly isolated, struggled with deafness and was scorned by the public. Wilkinson also produced the film, which was directed by Agnieszka Holland and starred Ed Harris.[3][6] In 2008, he and Rivele did script work on Moneyball (2011).[7] He was a writer and executive producer on Pawn Sacrifice (2014), Miles Ahead (2015), and wrote and directed the PBS film, Virtuosity (2014).
Wilkinson worked on the screenplays for Mercury, a biopic about Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died of complications from AIDS in 1991,[8] the long-planned All Eyez on Me, based on the final days of rapper Tupac Shakur, who was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting in 1996,[9][10][11] and Birth of the Dragon, Bruce Lee origin story inspired by the real-life no-rules fight between Lee and Chinese kung fu master Wong Jack Man.[12]
Personal life
Wilkinson resides in Los Angeles, California, with his son.[13] He was formerly married to cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (creator of the comic strip Cathy).
Filmography
- Echoes (1980) - writer/director/producer
- Engine 2, Ladder 3 (1982) - writer/director/producer
- The River (1984) - second unit director
- Nuts (1987) - writer (uncredited)
- Penrod (1990) - writer/director/producer
- Nobody's Home (1990) - writer/director/producer
- For the Boys (1991) - second unit director/associate producer
- Intersection (1994) - second unit director/post-production supervisor
- Nixon (1995) - writer
- Ali (2001) - writer
- Copying Beethoven (2006) - writer/producer
- Virtuosity (2014) - writer/director/producer
- Pawn Sacrifice (2014) - writer/executive producer
- Miles Ahead (2015) - writer/executive producer
- Birth of the Dragon (2016) - writer/producer
- All Eyez on Me (2016) - writer
References
- ↑ “The Oscars: A Scorecard,” New York Times, March 25, 1996.
- 1 2 Claude Brodesser, “Smith laces up for ‘Ali’,” Variety, May 15, 2001.
- 1 2 Michael Wilmington, “Movie review: ‘Copying Beethoven’,” Chicago Tribune, November 9, 2006.
- 1 2 Chris Wehner, “10 Questions with Nixon & Ali Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson,” Screenwriter's Utopia, March 29, 2005.
- ↑ Janet Maslin, “Stone’s Embrace of a Despised President,” New York Times, December 20, 1995.
- ↑ Manohla Dargis, “Handmaiden to a Maestro and Midwife to His Symphony,” New York Times, November 10, 2006.
- ↑ Michael Cieply, “Money Worries Kill A-List Film at Last Minute,” New York Times, July 1, 2009.
- ↑ Jeff Sneider, “Frears frontrunner to helm Freddie Mercury pic,” Variety, May 9, 2012.
- ↑ Daniel Kreps, “Tupac Movie to Focus on Rapper’s Final Day,” Rolling Stone, August 27, 2010.
- ↑ Claude Brodesser-Akner, “A New Tupac Shakur Biopic Will Answer Why He Was Killed, If Not By Whom,” Vulture, August 26, 2010.
- ↑ Chris Coplan, “Tupac biopic finally going into production,” Consequence of Sound, September 19, 2013.
- ↑ Borys Kit, “Bruce Lee Origin Story Heading to Big Screen,” The Hollywood Reporter, February 19, 2013.
- ↑ Biography for Christopher Wilkinson, IMDb. Accessed October 10, 2013.