Brian Helgeland

Brian Helgeland
Helgeland in 2013
Born	Brian Thomas Helgeland (1961-01-17) January 17, 1961 (age 64) Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Loyola Marymount University
Occupations	Screenwriter director producer
Years active	1988–present
Notable work	L.A. Confidential Mystic River
Awards	Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay L.A. Confidential (1997)

Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961)[1] is an American screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is best known for writing the screenplays for the films L.A. Confidential (1998) and Mystic River (2003).[2] He wrote and directed the films 42, a biopic of Jackie Robinson; and Legend, about the rise and fall of the infamous London gangsters, the Kray twins. His work on L.A. Confidential earned him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Early life

Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Norwegian immigrants Aud-Karin and Thomas Helgeland. He was raised in nearby New Bedford, Massachusetts. He majored in English at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before following his father's work in fishing scallop.

A particularly cold winter day in 1985 made Helgeland consider finding another job. He was fascinated by a book about film schools. With a love for movies, Helgeland decided to seek a career in film. He applied for the film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the only one to agree to accept him in mid-semester.[3][4][5][6]

Career

Helgeland's agent arranged a meeting fo him with Rhet Topham, who had an idea for a horror comedy film but was having difficulty writing it. The duo completed 976-EVIL, which they sold for $12,000.[6] 976-EVIL marked the directorial debut of actor Robert Englund, who had portrayed Freddy Krueger in films of that franchise (A Nightmare on Main Street).

He recommended Helgeland to New Line Cinema representatives, who wanted to do a new A Nightmare on Elm Street film. Helgeland was paid $70,000 to write what was released as A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Both films were released in 1988, with The Dream Master hitting theaters earlier.

Helgeland earned $275,000 for his script for Highway to Hell, which was released in 1992.[7] In 1990, Helgeland and Manny Coto sold a script, The Ticking Man, for $1 million, but the film was never made.[8]

In 1998, Helgeland won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for L.A. Confidential, which was based on the 1990 novel of the same name by James Ellroy. That year Helgeland also won a Razzie for The Postman, being one of only three people to have previously achieved this dubious feat (preceded by Alan Menken in 1993 and followed by Sandra Bullock in 2010). Helgeland accepted the Razzie, the fourth person to receive the statuette in person, which was delivered to him in his office at Warner Bros. He keeps the statues of both the Oscar and the Razzie on his mantle as "a reminder of Hollywood's idealistic nature and unrealistic expectations."[6][9]

Helgeland wrote and directed the films Payback (1999), A Knight's Tale (2001), The Order (2003), 42 (2013), and Legend (2015). He has worked with director Clint Eastwood twice, in 2002 on Blood Work, and in 2003 on Mystic River, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also has written an as-yet-unproduced adaptation of Moby-Dick.

In 2004, Helgeland co-wrote the screenplay for The Bourne Supremacy, for which he was uncredited.^[citation needed] In early 2008, he was attached to shape the script of the thriller Green Zone[10] after screenwriter Tom Stoppard had to drop out.[11] He collaborated with director Paul Greengrass, whom he worked with on The Bourne Supremacy, as well as reuniting with actor Matt Damon, who played Jason Bourne/David Webb.

Helgeland wrote the screenplay for the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, replacing screenwriter David Koepp. The film was released on June 12, 2009.[12]

On May 4, 2017, HBO announced that Helgeland was one of four writers working on a potential pilot for a Game of Thrones spin-off. In addition to Helgeland, Carly Wray, Max Borenstein, and Jane Goldman were also working on potential pilots.[13] Helgeland has been working and communicating with George R. R. Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series of novels upon which the original series is based.[14] Former Game of Thrones showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff were said to be executive producers for whichever project is picked up by HBO.[14][15]

Personal life

Helgeland and his wife Nancy have two sons.[16]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1988	A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master	No	Yes	No
	976-EVIL	No	Yes	No
1992	Highway to Hell	No	Yes	Yes
1995	Assassins	No	Yes	No
1997	L.A. Confidential	No	Yes	No	Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
	Conspiracy Theory	No	Yes	No
	The Postman	No	Yes	No	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
1999	Payback	Yes	Yes	No
2001	A Knight's Tale	Yes	Yes	Yes	Also executive soundtrack producer
2002	Blood Work	No	Yes	No
2003	Mystic River	No	Yes	No	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
	The Order	Yes	Yes	Yes
2004	Man on Fire	No	Yes	No
2009	The Taking of Pelham 123	No	Yes	No
	Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant	No	Yes	No
2010	Green Zone	No	Yes	No
	Robin Hood	No	Yes	No
2013	42	Yes	Yes	No
2015	Legend	Yes	Yes	No
2020	Spenser Confidential	No	Yes	No
2023	Finestkind	Yes	Yes	No
2024	The Killer	No	Yes	No

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
1989-1990	Friday the 13th: The Series	No	Yes	Episodes: "Crippled Inside", "Mightier Than the Sword"
1996	Tales from the Crypt	Yes	Yes	Episode: "A Slight Case of Murder"

Additional awards

Year	Title	Award	Result
1997	L.A. Confidential	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay	Won
		Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year	Won
		Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		USC Scripter Award	Won
		Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
1999	Payback	Cognac Festival du Film Policier Audience Award	Won
2003	Mystic River	National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay	Won
		PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Screenplay	Won
		Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		USC Scripter Award	Won
		Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Won
		American Screenwriters Association Award	Nominated
		Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay	Nominated
		Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay	Nominated
		Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay	Nominated
		Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay	Nominated
		London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year	Nominated
		Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay	Nominated
		Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay	Nominated
2013	42	Hochi Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film	Won
		Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2023	Finestkind	Writers Guild of America Award for Best TV & New Media Motion Pictures	Nominated

References

1. Rose, Mike (January 17, 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 17, 2023 includes celebrities James Earl Jones, Jim Carrey". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
2. Helgeland profile, The New York Times. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
3. "Film-makers on film: Brian Helgeland talks to Mark Monahan about Stuart Rosenberg's Cool Hand Luke (1967)". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. September 6, 2003. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
4. Helgeland profile, filmreference.com. Retrieved April 11, 2014
5. Profile Archived April 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved April 11, 2014
6. "Screenwriters' Lecture: Brian Helgeland". October 26, 2012.
7. Million Dollar Babies, New York
8. Welkos, Robert W. (May 28, 1995). "Megabucks Turn to Megabusts". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
9. Gray, Iain (January 23, 2007). "The booby prize that beats the Oscars". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
10. Michael Fleming (January 9, 2008). "Amy Ryan set for Greengrass thriller". Variety. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
11. Richard Brooks (August 12, 2007). "The Bourne Ultimatum – Biteback". The Sunday Times.
12. "Richard Donner And Mr. Beaks Talk INSIDE MOVES!". Aint It Cool News. February 19, 2009.
13. Holloway, Daniel (May 4, 2017). "'Game of Thrones' Spinoffs in the Works at HBO". Variety. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
14. Goldberg, Lesley (May 4, 2017). "'Game of Thrones': HBO Exploring Four Different Follow-Up Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
15. Blistein, Jon (May 4, 2017). "HBO Preps 'Game of Thrones' Spin-Off Series With George R.R. Martin". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
16. "Brian Helgeland - Biography". IMDb.

External links

• Brian Helgeland at IMDb