Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker and producer of film and television. He has worked primarily in the

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

and epic historical film genres, including ''

About Last Night About Last Night may refer to: Film and television * ''About Last Night'' (1986 film), an American comedy-drama directed by Edward Zwick * ''About Last Night'' (2014 film), an American remake of the 1986 film, directed by Steve Pink * "About Las ...

, Glory,

Legends of the Fall ''Legends of the Fall'' is a 1994 American epic Western drama film directed by Edward Zwick and starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond and Henry Thomas. Based on the 1979 novella of the same title by Jim Harrison, the fil ...

,'' and ''

The Last Samurai ''The Last Samurai'' is a 2003 epic period action drama film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Logan and Marshall Herskovitz from a story devised by Logan. The film stars Ken Watanabe in the ...

.'' He is also the co-creator of the television series ''

thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust anyo ...

'' and ''

Once and Again ''Once and Again'' is an American family drama television series that aired on ABC from September 21, 1999, to April 15, 2002. It depicts the family of a single mother and her romance with a single father. It was created by Marshall Herskovitz a ...

''. During his career he has worked with

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Gol ...

, Leonardo DiCaprio,

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Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

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, Anne Hathaway and Liev Schreiber Zwick's body of work has earned numerous accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Picture as a producer, and Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series, and Outstanding Dramatic Special. He has additionally been nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards.

Early life and education

Zwick was born into a American Jews, Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth Ellen (''née'' Reich) and Allen Zwick.Edward Zwick Biography (1952–)
''FilmReference.com''. Retrieved November 3, 2010. He attended New Trier High School, received an A.B. at Harvard in 1974, and attended the AFI Conservatory, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1975.

Career

His films include '' Glory'' (1989), ''

'' (1994), ''The Siege (1998 film), The Siege'' (1998), ''

'' (2003), ''Blood Diamond'' (2006), and ''Defiance (2008 film), Defiance'' (2008). Along with Marshall Herskovitz, Zwick runs a film production company called The Bedford Falls Company (inspired by the name of the town featured in Frank Capra's ''It's a Wonderful Life''). This company has produced such notable films as ''Traffic (2000 film), Traffic'' and ''Shakespeare in Love'' and the TV shows ''

'', ''Relativity (TV series), Relativity'', ''

'', and ''My So-Called Life''. He was one of the recipients of the Academy Award for Best Picture for ''Shakespeare in Love''; he was also nominated in the same category for ''Traffic (2000 film), Traffic''. Despite sharing a surname and profession, Edward is unrelated to fellow director Joel Zwick.

Filmography

Film

Producer only

Television

Television films Executive producer only

Awards received by Zwick films

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zwick, Edward 1952 births AFI Conservatory alumni Film producers from Illinois American male screenwriters Harvard University alumni Living people New Trier High School alumni Writers from Chicago Filmmakers who won the Best Film BAFTA Award Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Jewish American screenwriters Film directors from Illinois Golden Globe Award-winning producers Primetime Emmy Award winners Writers Guild of America Award winners Screenwriters from Illinois 21st-century American Jews