David Franzoni | |
---|---|
Born | March 4, 1947 |
Alma mater | University of Vermont |
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, producer |
Years active | 1980–present |
Awards |
Academy Award for Best Picture Gladiator (2000) BAFTA Award for Best Film Gladiator (2000) |
David Harold Franzoni (born March 4, 1947) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He conceived the story for, co-wrote and co-produced the 2000 film Gladiator, [1] [2] for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. [2] [3] [4] [5] His other screenplays include King Arthur (2004), [6] [7] [8] [3] [4] Amistad (1997), [9] and Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986). [10]
Franzoni's script for Gladiator was a revival of the sword-and-sandal genre, [11] using characters very different from the original and drawing upon available historic and archaeological sources. [12] He started to write the story in the 1970s, after reading the 1958 non-fiction book Those About to Die by Daniel P. Mannix, which detailed the Roman gladiatorial games. [13]
For Amistad, Franzoni decided not to use a standard narrative, explaining, "the typical slant in this sort of film is to have the poor, chained black man arrive in the presence of the white guy, who has a good soul and fights the good faith to liberate the black man." [14] Franzoni was also the one who convinced Steven Spielberg to direct the film. [11]
Franzoni stated that the screenplay of King Arthur "aims more for history than myth," [15] and again relied upon archaeological evidence in an attempt to create a more realistic human and political interpretation of the character. [16] [17]
Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Director(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | Jumpin' Jack Flash | Yes | No | Penny Marshall | co-written with Charles Shyer, Nancy Meyers and Chris Thompson |
1992 | Citizen Cohn | Yes | No | Frank Pierson | television film |
1997 | Amistad | Yes | No | Steven Spielberg | |
2000 | Gladiator | Yes | Yes | Ridley Scott | co-written with John Logan and William Nicholson |
2004 | King Arthur | Yes | No | Antoine Fuqua | |
2018 | Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story | No | Executive | La Villa Brothers | documentary film |
2024 | Gladiator II | No | Yes | Ridley Scott | |
TBA | JSA | Yes | No | Himself | directorial debut |
David Franzoni | |
---|---|
Born | March 4, 1947 |
Alma mater | University of Vermont |
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, producer |
Years active | 1980–present |
Awards |
Academy Award for Best Picture Gladiator (2000) BAFTA Award for Best Film Gladiator (2000) |
David Harold Franzoni (born March 4, 1947) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He conceived the story for, co-wrote and co-produced the 2000 film Gladiator, [1] [2] for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. [2] [3] [4] [5] His other screenplays include King Arthur (2004), [6] [7] [8] [3] [4] Amistad (1997), [9] and Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986). [10]
Franzoni's script for Gladiator was a revival of the sword-and-sandal genre, [11] using characters very different from the original and drawing upon available historic and archaeological sources. [12] He started to write the story in the 1970s, after reading the 1958 non-fiction book Those About to Die by Daniel P. Mannix, which detailed the Roman gladiatorial games. [13]
For Amistad, Franzoni decided not to use a standard narrative, explaining, "the typical slant in this sort of film is to have the poor, chained black man arrive in the presence of the white guy, who has a good soul and fights the good faith to liberate the black man." [14] Franzoni was also the one who convinced Steven Spielberg to direct the film. [11]
Franzoni stated that the screenplay of King Arthur "aims more for history than myth," [15] and again relied upon archaeological evidence in an attempt to create a more realistic human and political interpretation of the character. [16] [17]
Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Director(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | Jumpin' Jack Flash | Yes | No | Penny Marshall | co-written with Charles Shyer, Nancy Meyers and Chris Thompson |
1992 | Citizen Cohn | Yes | No | Frank Pierson | television film |
1997 | Amistad | Yes | No | Steven Spielberg | |
2000 | Gladiator | Yes | Yes | Ridley Scott | co-written with John Logan and William Nicholson |
2004 | King Arthur | Yes | No | Antoine Fuqua | |
2018 | Black and White Stripes: The Juventus Story | No | Executive | La Villa Brothers | documentary film |
2024 | Gladiator II | No | Yes | Ridley Scott | |
TBA | JSA | Yes | No | Himself | directorial debut |