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Chicago Film Critics Association Award For Best Screenplay
The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay is one of the annual awards given by the Chicago Film Critics Association. Winners 1990s * 1990: ''Goodfellas'' – Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese * 1993: ''Schindler's List'' – Steven Zaillian * 1994: ''Pulp Fiction'' – Roger Avary and Quentin Tarantino * 1995: ''The Usual Suspects'' – Christopher McQuarrie * 1996: '' Fargo'' – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen * 1997: ''L.A. Confidential'' – Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland * 1998: ''Shakespeare in Love'' – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard ** ''Bulworth'' – Warren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser ** ''Happiness'' – Todd Solondz ** '' A Simple Plan'' – Scott Smith ** ''The Truman Show'' – Andrew Niccol * 1999: ''Being John Malkovich'' – Charlie Kaufman ** '' American Beauty'' – Alan Ball ** ''Magnolia'' – Paul Thomas Anderson ** ''The Sixth Sense'' – M. Night Shyamalan ** ''Topsy-Turvy'' – Mike Leigh 2000s * 2000: ''Almost Famous'' – Cameron Crow ...
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Chicago Film Critics Association
The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeMaire and Sue Kiner, following the success of the first Chicago Film Critics Awards given out in 1988. The association comprises 60 members. Since 1989, the CFCA has given out annual awards that recognize the best films in a variety of categories. These awards are noted in the established print media such as ''Variety'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. The association has also hosted the annual Chicago Critics Film Festival since 2013, which intends to bring a number of feature and short films to a larger audience. Membership The Chicago Film Critics Association restricts its membership to professional film critics, who have been employed in the media as a "critical voice or staff authority" on the subject of the cinema for six months. Appli ...
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Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical thematics of society. Stoppard has been a playwright of the National Theatre and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. Stoppard was knighted for his contribution to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997. Born in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard left as a child refugee, fleeing imminent Nazi occupation. He settled with his family in Britain after the war, in 1946, having spent the previous three years (1943–1946) in a boarding school in Darjeeling in the Indian Himalayas. After being educated at schools in Nottingham and Yorkshire, Stoppard became a journalist, a drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright. Stoppard's most prominent plays include ''R ...
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Alan Ball (screenwriter)
Alan Erwin Ball (born May 13, 1957) is an American writer, director, and producer for television, film, and theater. Ball wrote the screenplay for '' American Beauty,'' for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also created the series '' Six Feet Under'' and ''True Blood'', works for which he earned an Emmy as well as awards from the Writers, Directors, and Producers Guilds of America. He was an executive producer on the Cinemax television series ''Banshee''. He also wrote and directed the film '' Uncle Frank''. Early life Ball was born in Marietta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, respectively an aircraft inspector and a homemaker. His older sister, Mary Ann, was killed in a car accident when Ball was 13; he was in the passenger seat at the time. He attended high school in Marietta before going to college at the University of Georgia and Florida State University. Ball graduated from Florida State in 1980 with a degree in theater arts. After coll ...
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American Beauty (1999 Film)
''American Beauty'' is a 1999 American satirical black comedy-drama film written by Alan Ball and directed by Sam Mendes in his directorial debut. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, an advertising executive who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, played by Mena Suvari. Annette Bening stars as Lester's materialistic wife, Carolyn, and Thora Birch plays their insecure daughter, Jane. Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, and Allison Janney co-star. Academics have described the film as satirizing how beauty and personal satisfaction are perceived by the American middle class; further analysis has focused on the film's explorations of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. After being filmed in California from December 1998 to February 1999, ''American Beauty'' was released in North America on September 17, 1999, receiving widespread critical and popular acclaim. It was the second-best-review ...
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Charlie Kaufman
Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), ''Adaptation'' (2002), and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). He made his directorial debut with ''Synecdoche, New York'' (2008), which film critic Roger Ebert called "the best movie of the decade" in 2009.Ebert, Roger. (December 13, 2009The best films of the decade – Roger Ebert's Journal. Blogs.suntimes.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-19. Further directorial work includes the stop motion animated film ''Anomalisa'' (2015) and ''I'm Thinking of Ending Things'' (2020). In 2020, Kaufman made his literary debut with the release of his first novel, ''Antkind''. One of the most celebrated screenwriters of his era, Kaufman has been nominated for four Academy Awards: twice for Best Original Screenplay for ''Being John Malkovich'' and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (winning for the latter), once for Best Adapted Screenplay ( ...
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Being John Malkovich
''Being John Malkovich'' is a 1999 American fantasy comedy film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a satirical version of himself. Cusack plays a puppeteer who finds a portal that leads into Malkovich's mind. Released by USA Films, the film received widespread acclaim for its writing and direction and was nominated in three categories at the 72nd Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actress for Keener. Plot Craig Schwartz is an unemployed puppeteer in New York City, in a forlorn marriage with his pet-obsessed wife, Lotte. He finds work as a file clerk for the eccentric Dr. Lester in the Mertin-Flemmer building, on a floor between the 7th and 8th, where the ceiling is very low. He develops an attraction to co-worker Maxi ...
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Andrew Niccol
Andrew Niccol (born 10 June 1964) is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. He wrote and directed ''Gattaca'' (1997), '' Simone'' (2002), ''Lord of War'' (2005), ''In Time'' (2011), '' The Host'' (2013), and ''Good Kill'' (2014). He wrote and co-produced ''The Truman Show'', which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won him the BAFTA Award in the same category. His films tend to explore social, cultural and political issues, as well as artificial realities, simulations and the male gaze. His film ''Good Kill'' was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. Early and personal life Niccol was born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand, and grew up in Auckland, where he attended Auckland Grammar School beginning in 1973. He left New Zealand at age 21 and began directing TV ads in London, which he did for more than ten years before his directorial debut, ''Gattaca'' (1997). During productio ...
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The Truman Show
''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American psychological satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir, produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman, and Adam Schroeder, and written by Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a man who grew up living an ordinary life that—unbeknownst to him—takes place on a large set populated by actors for a television show about him. The supporting cast includes Laura Linney, Ed Harris, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone, Holland Taylor, Paul Giamatti, and Brian Delate. Unlike the finished product, Niccol's spec script was more of a science-fiction thriller, with the story set in New York City. Scott Rudin purchased the script and set up production at Paramount Pictures. Brian De Palma was to direct before Weir signed as director, making the film for $60 million—$20 million less than the original estimate. Niccol rewrote the script while the crew was waiting for Carrey to sign. The majority of film ...
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Scott Smith (author)
Scott Bechtel Smith (born July 13, 1965) is an American author and screenwriter. He has written two novels, '' A Simple Plan'' (1993) and '' The Ruins'' (2006). Both were adapted into films - '' A Simple Plan'' (1998) and '' The Ruins'' (2008), respectively - based on Smith's own screenplays. He also wrote the screenplays for the films ''Siberia'' (2018) and '' The Burnt Orange Heresy'' (2019). His screenplay for ''A Simple Plan'' earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Early life and education Smith was born in Summit, New Jersey in 1965 and moved to Toledo, Ohio as a child. He is the son of Linda and Doug Smith. He told the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' reviewer Regis Behe that, as a child, he read his father's "castoffs," the novels of Clive Cussler and Jack Higgins. "Growing up, I also read Ray Bradbury and Stephen King," he said. "I just had a sense of how to create these places that aren't real world places, but just with this provision ...
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A Simple Plan (film)
''A Simple Plan'' is a 1998 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Scott B. Smith, based on Smith's 1993 novel of the same name. The film stars Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bridget Fonda. Set in rural Minnesota, the story follows brothers Hank (Paxton) and Jacob Mitchell (Thornton), who, along with Jacob's friend Lou (Brent Briscoe), discover a crashed plane containing $4.4 million in cash. The three men and Hank's wife Sarah (Fonda) go to great lengths to keep the money a secret but begin to doubt each other's trust, resulting in lies, deceit and murder. Development of the film began in 1993 before the novel was published. Mike Nichols purchased the film rights, and the project was picked up by Savoy Pictures. After Nichols stepped down, the film adaptation became mired in development hell, with Ben Stiller and John Dahl turning down opportunities to direct it. After Savoy closed in November 1997, the project was sold to Paramount Pictures. Joh ...
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Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz (; born October 15, 1959) is an American filmmaker and playwright known for his style of dark, socially conscious satire. Solondz's work has received critical acclaim for its commentary on the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia," a reflection of his own background in New Jersey. His work includes ''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' (1995), ''Happiness (1998 film), Happiness'' (1998), ''Storytelling (film), Storytelling'' (2001), ''Palindromes (film), Palindromes'' (2004), ''Life During Wartime (film), Life During Wartime'' (2009), ''Dark Horse (2011 film), Dark Horse'' (2011), and ''Wiener-Dog (film), Wiener-Dog'' (2016). Biography Solondz was born in Newark, New Jersey. He wrote several screenplays while working as a delivery boy for the Writers Guild of America. Solondz earned his undergraduate degree in English from Yale and attended New York University's Master of Fine Arts program in film and television, but did not complete a degree. During the early ...
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Happiness (1998 Film)
''Happiness'' is a 1998 American black comedy-drama film written and directed by Todd Solondz, that portrays the lives of three sisters, their families, and those around them. The film was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for "its bold tracking of controversial contemporary themes, richly-layered subtext, and remarkable fluidity of visual style," and the cast received the National Board of Review award for best ensemble performance. The film spawned the pseudosequel '' Life During Wartime'', which premiered at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. Plot Trish Maplewood, the eldest Jordan sister, is a housewife who lives an upper middle class life. She is married to psychiatrist Bill Maplewood and has three children. Trish is unaware of Bill's secret life: he is a pedophile who is obsessed with 11-year-old Johnny Grasso, a classmate of their son, Billy. When Johnny comes to the Jordan house for a sleepover, Bill drugs and rapes him. Later, Bill learns that ano ...
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