Benedict Fitzgerald (born 1949) is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

who co-wrote the screenplay for 2004 film ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

'' with its director,

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

. His other writing credits include a television screenplay of ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...

'' in 1998 (uncredited) and ''

Wise Blood ''Wise Blood'' is the Debut novel, first novel by American author Flannery O'Connor, published in 1952 in literature, 1952. The novel was assembled from disparate stories first published in ''Mademoiselle (magazine), Mademoiselle'', ''Sewanee Rev ...

'' in 1979. He is a consulting producer on the

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

television series ''

Evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

''.

Early life

Benedict is the son of Sally and poet/critic

Robert Fitzgerald Robert Stuart Fitzgerald (; 12 October 1910 – 16 January 1985) was an American poet, literary critic and translator whose renderings of the Greek classics "became standard works for a generation of scholars and students".Mitgang, Herbert (Janua ...

. When he was a child, one of his babysitters was novelist

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern writer who often ...

Lawsuit

On February 11, 2008, Benedict Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against

and the production company

Icon Productions Icon Productions is a production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey, which, unlike most other independent production companies, funds most of its development and production cos ...

, alleging the unfair deprivation of compensation and deception on the overall expense of the film production budget after the blockbuster box office success of the film ''

'', including, but not limited to, "fraud, breach of contract & unjust enrichment" seeking unspecified damages. According to his lawsuit, Fitzgerald says he "accepted a salary substantially less than what he would have taken had he known the true budget for the film," agreeing to an undisclosed "relatively small salary," a $75,000 production bonus, another $75,000 if the movie broke even, and then five percent of revenues. Fitzgerald received a loan of $200,000 from Gibson in December 2003 backed by his share of the film's future profits as collateral. In May 2009, Gibson agreed to an undisclosed settlement with Fitzgerald. Details of the settlement, agreed at Los Angeles Superior Court, were not released. Gibson's representatives have not commented on the settlement.

Filmography

Film

*''

'' (1979) *''

'' (2004) *''Mary Mother of Christ'' (TBA) *''

A Good Man Is Hard to Find ''A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories'' (published in the United Kingdom as ''The Artificial Nigger and Other Tales'') is a collection of short stories by American author Flannery O'Connor. The collection was first published in 1955. The ...

'' (TBA)

Television

*''

Heart of Darkness ''Heart of Darkness'' (1899) is a novella by Polish-English novelist Joseph Conrad in which the sailor Charles Marlow tells his listeners the story of his assignment as steamer captain for a Belgian company in the African interior. The novel ...

'' (1993) *'' Zelda'' (1993) *''

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 murders of four members of the Clutter family in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the qua ...

'' (1996) *''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...

'' (1998) (uncredited) * ''

'' (2020) (consulting producer)

References

External links

*
Interview with Benedict Fitzgerald

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honolulu Advertiser''). ...

February 22, 2004 1949 births American male screenwriters Living people {{US-screenwriter-stub