Christopher Wilkinson (born March 29, 1950) 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. ...

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

. He was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

for ''

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

'' (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

).“The Oscars: A Scorecard,”
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', March 25, 1996. He also wrote the screenplays for ''

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

)Claude Brodesser
“Smith laces up for ‘Ali’,”
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', May 15, 2001. and ''

Copying Beethoven ''Copying Beethoven'' is a 2006 American dramatic film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Agnieszka Holland which gives a fictionalized take on the triumphs and heartaches of Ludwig van Beethoven's last years. Plot It is 1824 as Bee ...

'' (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

), the latter of which he also produced.Michael Wilmington
“Movie review: ‘Copying Beethoven’,”
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', November 9, 2006. Most of his scripts are historically based and co-written with Stephen J. Rivele.

Early life and education

Wilkinson was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and raised in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He began his career as a musician before attending film school at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

.Chris Wehner
“10 Questions with Nixon & Ali Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson,”
Screenwriter's Utopia, March 29, 2005.

Career

Wilkinson has written several biopics with frequent writing partner Stephen J. Rivele, starting with ''

'' (1995) and including ''

'' (2001) and ''

'' (2006). He was a writer and executive producer on ''

Pawn Sacrifice ''Pawn Sacrifice'' is a 2014 American biographical drama film about chess player Bobby Fischer. It follows Fischer's challenge against top Soviet chess grandmasters during the Cold War and culminating in the World Chess Championship 1972 match ...

'' (2014) and '' Miles Ahead'' (2015), and wrote and directed the PBS film ''Virtuosity'' (2014). Wilkinson worked on the screenplays for ''Mercury'', a biopic about

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

lead singer

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

, the long-planned ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoo ...

'', about rapper

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

, and ''

Birth of the Dragon ''Birth of the Dragon'' is a 2016 American martial arts action film directed by George Nolfi and written by Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J. Rivele. The film stars Philip Ng, Xia Yu, and Billy Magnussen. The film is a fictional account on th ...

'', inspired by the real-life no-rules fight between

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

and Chinese kung fu master Wong Jack Man.

Personal life

Wilkinson lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, with his son.Biography for Christopher Wilkinson
IMDb. Accessed October 10, 2013. He was formerly married to cartoonist

Cathy Guisewite Cathy Lee Guisewite (born September 5, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created the comic strip ''Cathy'', which had a 34-year run. The strip focused on a career woman facing the issues and challenges of eating, work, relationships, and havi ...

(creator of the comic strip ''

Cathy ''Cathy'' is an American gag-a-day comic strip, drawn by Cathy Guisewite from 1976 until 2010. The comic follows Cathy, a woman who struggles through the "four basic guilt groups" of life—food, love, family, and work. The strip gently pokes ...

'').

Filmography

* ''Echoes'' (1980) - writer/director/producer * ''Engine 2, Ladder 3'' (1982) - writer/director/producer * '' The River'' (1984) - second unit director * '' Nuts'' (1987) - writer (uncredited) * ''Penrod'' (1990) - writer/director/producer * ''Nobody's Home'' (1990) - writer/director/producer * ''

For the Boys ''For the Boys'' is a 1991 American musical comedy-drama film that traces the life of Dixie Leonard, a 1940s actress/singer who teams up with Eddie Sparks, a famous performer, to entertain American troops. The film was adapted by Marshall Brickma ...

'' (1991) - second unit director/associate producer * ''

Intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

'' (1994) - second unit director/post-production supervisor * ''

'' (1995) - writer * ''

'' (2001) - writer * ''

'' (2006) - writer/producer * ''Virtuosity'' (2014)Virtuosity: The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition makes Music a grueling competition sport
July 28, 2015 - writer/director/producer * ''

'' (2014) - writer/executive producer * '' Miles Ahead'' (2015) - writer/executive producer * ''

'' (2016) - writer/producer * ''

'' (2017) - writer * '' Gemini Man'' (2019) - co-writer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Christopher American male screenwriters Film producers from New York (state) 1950 births Living people Temple University alumni Film directors from New York City Film directors from Pennsylvania Screenwriters from New York (state)