Josh Singer (born 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing The Fifth Estate (2013), Spotlight (2015), The Post (2017), First Man (2018), and Maestro (2023). He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Spotlight and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for Spotlight and The Post.
Josh Singer | |
|---|---|
 Singer in 2018 | |
| Born | 1972 (age 51–52) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University Harvard Law School Harvard Business School |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, producer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Early life and education
editSinger was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised Jewish. His father was born Jewish, and his mother converted to Judaism (she herself was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother).[1] Singer attended Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, where he appeared in musicals and was a member of math club, drama club, video club, and chorus.[2] In high school, he was elected class treasurer, wrote for the school newspaper, and played for the school's baseball team. Singer won many awards, including the Upper Dublin Medal, science competition and literary prizes, and was co-winner of the school district's highest award.[2] In his senior year, he was named class valedictorian, a Presidential Scholar and a National Merit Scholar.[2]
Singer graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, with distinction in mathematics and economics.[3] At Yale, he was a member and business manager of both The Whiffenpoofs and The Yale Alley Cats. Three to four months prior to going to graduate school, he worked for Children's Television Workshop (the name, at that time, of the production company for the TV show "Sesame Street",[4]) and then began doing internships. He did an internship for Nickelodeon in New York and an internship for Disney Channel out in L.A., working for Roy Price at Disney TV Animation for four or five weeks. As a result, he developed an interest in script writing.[5] He worked as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company[6] before obtaining a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[7]
Career
editAfter Singer graduated from Harvard, he was hired by showrunner John Wells to write for The West Wing.[6]
In 2006 he was nominated for a WGA award.[8]
Singer was hired in 2008 to write a screenplay for a Leonard Bernstein biopic, but the film languished in development hell for a decade. Eventually, Bradley Cooper was hired to direct the film, and re-wrote Singer's script; the pair were eventually nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[9] In 2012, Singer wrote the screenplay for The Fifth Estate.[10] In 2015, he co-wrote the screenplay for Spotlight, for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[11]
Personal life
editIn 2011, Singer married the American novelist Laura Dave. They have one son and reside in Los Angeles, California.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Fifth Estate | |
| 2015 | Spotlight | with Tom McCarthy; Also executive producer Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—Golden Globe for Best Screenplay |
| 2017 | The Post | with Liz Hannah; Also executive producer Nominated—Golden Globe for Best Screenplay |
| 2018 | First Man | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2023 | Maestro | with Bradley Cooper Also executive producer Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| TBA | Untitled Bullitt reboot |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2006 | The West Wing | Editor and writer |
| 2007–2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Producer |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Supervising producer |
| 2009–2010 | Fringe | |
| 2010–2011 | Co-executive producer | |
| 2023 | The Last Thing He Told Me | Executive producer |
Awards and nominations
editSinger won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Spotlight in 2015 and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for the film. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for The Post in 2018. In 2023 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay alongside Bradley Cooper for the film Maestro.
References
edit- ^ Tangcay, Jazz (June 19, 2016). "Interview: Spotlight writer Josh Singer". Awards Daily.
- ^ a b c Holmes, Kristen (May 27, 1990). "Another Feather In Cap Of Former 'Nerd'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014.
- ^ "The Art of Adaptation The Fifth Estate". The writing studio. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
- ^ (That production company is now called "Sesame Workshop")
- ^ Erbland, Kate (November 4, 2015). "How 'Spotlight' Screenwriter Josh Singer Recovered From 'The Fifth Estate' With Another Journalism Film". Indie wire. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
- ^ a b Thompson, Anne (October 16, 2013). "Josh Singer Talks Challenges of Tackling WikiLeaks Drama 'The Fifth Estate' --and What He Left Out". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ "Native son forges 'West Wing'-Constitution Center ties". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 26, 2005. p. D05.
- ^ Soares, Andre (January 20, 2006). "Writers Guild Awards 2006". Alt Film Guide. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (2024-01-10). "10 Years, 3 Directors, 1 Vision: Inside Writer Josh Singer's Long Journey to Make Maestro". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
- ^ Tullis, Paul (October 21, 2013). ""Fifth Estate" Screenwriter Reveals All". takepart.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (November 4, 2015). ""How 'Spotlight' Screenwriter Josh Singer Recovered From 'The Fifth Estate' With Another Journalism Film"". indiewire.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
External links
edit- Josh Singer at IMDb