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]
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) |
Career
editFranzoni'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]
Filmography
edit| 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 | based on characters created by |
| TBA | JSA | Yes | No | Himself | directorial debut |
References
edit- ^ Ortega Giménez, Alfonso (17 December 2013). "Derecho romano". Cine y derecho en 21 películas (in Spanish). Editorial Club Universitario. p. 191. ISBN 9788415941729.
- ^ a b Marks, Dara (23 February 2009). "Filmography". Inside Story: The Power of the Transformational Arc. A&C Black. p. 337. ISBN 9781408109427.
- ^ a b Indick 2004, p. 250, "Conclusion".
- ^ a b Santas et al. 2014, p. 230, G.
- ^ Scott, Ridley (2005). "Filmography". In Knapp, Laurence F.; Kulas, Andrea F. (eds.). Ridley Scott: Interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 27. ISBN 9781578067268.
- ^ Santas et al. 2014, p. 309, K.
- ^ Shaheen, Kareem (6 June 2016). "Rumi film will challenge Muslim stereotypes, says Gladiator writer". The Guardian. Istanbul. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ^ Indick 2004, p. 145, "Part Four".
- ^ Godawa 2011, p. 202, Christianity.
- ^ Sun, Rebecca (16 June 2014). "Oscar-winning Producer David Franzoni Signs With Paradigm". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- ^ a b Alberich, Enric (2009). Películas clave del cine histórico (in Spanish). Ediciones Robinbook. p. 188. ISBN 9788496924741.
- ^ Caparrós Lera, José María; José Martín, Jerónimo (2001). "Gladiator de Ridley Scott". El cine de fin de milenio (1999-2000) (in Spanish). Ediciones Rialp. p. 128. ISBN 9788432133442.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Solomon, John (2004). "Gladiator from Screenplay to Screen." In Winkler, Martin M. (Ed.), Gladiator: Film and History, pp. 1–15. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 1-4051-1042-2
- ^ Hixson, Walter L. (2003). "Steven Spielberg American Dream". The American Experience in World War II: The United States and the road to war in Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 253. ISBN 9780415940290.
- ^ Soriano, John. "WGA.org's Exclusive Interview with David Franzoni" (PDF). WGAW. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ Godawa 2011, p. 76, Story Telling in the Movies.
- ^ Matthews, John (2004). "An interview with David Franzoni". Arthuriana. 14 (3): 116. doi:10.1353/art.2004.0054. S2CID 162155578.
Bibliography
edit- Godawa, Brian (2011). Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment. InterVarsity Press. p. 261. ISBN 9780830869534.
- Indick, William (2004). Psychology for Screenwriters. Michael Wiese Productions. p. 304. ISBN 9781615930456.
- Raw, Laurence (28 September 2009). The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p. 336. ISBN 9780810869523.
- Santas, Constantine; Wilson, James M.; Colavito, Maria; Baker, Djoymi (2014). The Encyclopedia of Epic Films. Scarecrow Press. p. 712. ISBN 9780810882485.
External links
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