Christopher Wilkinson
Christopher Wilkinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 29, 1950 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Temple University |
| Occupations | Screenwriter, producer and director |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Spouse | Cathy Guisewite (m. 1997, div. 2011) |
| Children | 2 |
Christopher Wilkinson is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He is best known for writing the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for Oliver Stone's film Nixon,[1] and for Ali, starring Will Smith.[2]
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Wilkinson was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. He began his career as a musician while attending film school at Temple University.[3]
Career
[edit | edit source]Before working on feature films, Wilkinson wrote, produced and directed documentaries, industrials and commercials for EUE/Screen Gems, PBS, Center City Video and Bell of Pennsylvania. During this period, he also worked as a cameraman for ESPN. After director Mark Rydell saw Wilkinson's documentary Engine 2, Ladder 3 during a directing seminar at the Maine Photographic Workshop, he hired Wilkinson as second unit director for his film The River (1984). Wilkinson would go on to run script development at Rydell's Concourse Productions, and direct the second units of his films For the Boys (1991) and Intersection (1994).[4]
Wilkinson has written several films with Stephen J. Rivele. In 1992, they were hired to write three screenplays for George Harrison's HandMade Films, which cemented their partnership.[4][5] They went on to write Nixon (1995), starring Anthony Hopkins,[6] and Ali (2001), directed by Michael Mann.[2] They wrote and produced Copying Beethoven (2006), starring Ed Harris,[7][8] and Birth of the Dragon (2016).[9] They were also writers and executive producers on Ed Zwick's Pawn Sacrifice (2014) and Miles Ahead (2015), directed by and starring Don Cheadle.[10]
On his own, Wilkinson wrote the pilot for the television series Fordlandia, to be directed by Werner Herzog,[11] and the screenplay for the upcoming Ridley Scott film, The Dog Stars.[12]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Wilkinson lives in Los Angeles, California.[13] He was formerly married to cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (creator of the comic strip Cathy).
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Film
| Year | Title | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Nixon | Yes | No |
| 2001 | Ali | Yes | No |
| 2006 | Copying Beethoven | Yes | Yes |
| 2014 | Pawn Sacrifice | Story | Executive |
| 2015 | Miles Ahead | Story | Executive |
| 2016 | Birth of the Dragon | Yes | Yes |
| 2026 | The Dog Stars | Yes | No |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Engine 2, Ladder 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2014 | Virtuosity[14][15] | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Uncredited rewrites
- The River (1984)
- Nuts (1987)
- Moneyball (2011)
- All Eyez on Me (2017)
- Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
- A Star Is Born (2018)
- Gemini Man (2019)
Other credits
| Year | Title | 2nd Unit Director |
Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | The River | Yes | No | |
| 1991 | For the Boys | Yes | Associate | Played the part of Niles LaGuardia |
| 1994 | Intersection | Yes | Post-Production Supervisor |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ “The Oscars: A Scorecard,” The New York Times, March 25, 1996.
- ^ a b Claude Brodesser, “Smith laces up for ‘Ali’,” Variety, May 15, 2001.
- ^ Chris Wehner, “10 Questions with Nixon & Ali Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson,” Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine Screenwriter's Utopia, March 29, 2005.
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- ^ Janet Maslin, “Stone’s Embrace of a Despised President,” The New York Times, December 20, 1995.
- ^ Michael Wilmington, “Movie review: ‘Copying Beethoven’,” Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Tribune, November 9, 2006.
- ^ Manohla Dargis, “Handmaiden to a Maestro and Midwife to His Symphony,” The New York Times, November 10, 2006.
- ^ Borys Kit, “Bruce Lee Origin Story Heading to Big Screen,” The Hollywood Reporter, February 19, 2013.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Biography for Christopher Wilkinson, IMDb. Accessed October 10, 2013.
- ^ New National PBS Air Date for Cliburn Documentary,Virtuosity June 4, 2015
- ^ Virtuosity: The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition makes Music a grueling competition sport July 28, 2015
External links
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