David Diamond is an American screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with

David Weissman David Weissman is an American screenwriter and director, most known for his comedies. He frequently collaborates with David Diamond. Diamond and Weissman met in high school, at Akiba Hebrew Academy (now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy). They gradu ...

Early life

Diamond was born on April 19, 1965, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Diamond and Weissman met in high school, at Akiba Hebrew Academy (now

Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy is a coeducational college-preparatory and religiously pluralistic Jewish day school for grades 6 through 12, located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded in Center City, Philadelphia in 1946 as Akiba Hebrew Aca ...

). They graduated in 1983.

Career

The duo sold their first spec script, ''The Whiz Kid'', to 20th Century Fox in 1994. Their first produced project came in 2000, ''

The Family Man ''The Family Man'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Brett Ratner, from a screenplay by David Diamond and David Weissman. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni, with Don Cheadle, Saul Rubinek, and Jeremy ...

'' starring Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. Cage's production company,

Saturn Films Nicolas Cage is an American actor and producer who began his acting career in 1981 with a role in the television pilot '' The Best of Times''. The following year, Cage made his feature film acting debut in ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'', the ...

, helped produce the film. ''The Family Man'' opened at #3 at the North American box office making $15.1 million in its opening weekend, behind ''

What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film earned mixed reviews from critics but wa ...

'' and ''

Cast Away ''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in ...

'', which opened at the top spot. Diamond and Weissman next wrote the sci-fi comedy ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'', helmed by

Ivan Reitman Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946February 12, 2022) was a Czechoslovak-born Canadian filmmaker. He was best known for his comedy work, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998. Film ...

. ''Evolution'' was based on a story by Don Jakoby, who turned it into a screenplay along with Diamond and Weissman. The film was originally written as a serious horror science fiction film, until director Reitman re-wrote much of the script. A short-lived

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

, '' Alienators: Evolution Continues'', loosely based on the film, was broadcast months after the film was released. They partnered with ''

Wedding Crashers ''Wedding Crashers'' is a 2005 American comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher, starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Christopher Walken with Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper and Jane Seymou ...

'' producer Andrew Panay on ''

Old Dogs Old Dogs was an American country music supergroup composed of singers Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, and Jerry Reed. Signed in 1998 to Atlantic Records, Old Dogs recorded a self-titled studio album for the label that year. The album ...

'' and '' When In Rome''. From 2018 to 2021, Diamond taught screenwriting at the

Shalhevet High School Jean and Jerry Friedman Shalhevet High School is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Modern Orthodox Jewish high school in Los Angeles, California. Background information The demographic breakdown of the 254 students enrolled in 2017-18 was ...

Los Angeles 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' ...

until moving back to Philadelphia. In 2019, the duo published a

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, de ...

manual, ''Bulletproof: Writing Scripts That Don't Get Shot Down''. The book draws from their extensive film experience.

References

External links

* Living people 1965 births Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy alumni American male screenwriters American television writers People from Philadelphia American male television writers Screenwriting instructors Screenwriters from Pennsylvania {{US-screenwriter-stub