Marshall Schreiber Herskovitz (born February 23, 1952) is an American film director, writer, and producer, and currently the President Emeritus of the

Producers Guild of America The Producers Guild of America (PGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing television producers, film producers and New media, New Media producers in the United States. The PGA's membership includes over 8,000 members of the producing esta ...

. Among his productions are ''

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Blood Diamond ''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...

'', and ''

I Am Sam ''I Am Sam'' (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American comedy film co-written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with an intellectual disability, Dakota Fanning as his bright and inquisitive daughter, and Michelle ...

''. Herskovitz has directed two feature films, ''

Jack the Bear ''Jack the Bear'' is a 1993 American drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz, written by Steven Zaillian based on the novel by Dan McCall, and starring Danny DeVito, Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., Miko Hughes, and Gary Sinise. Plot Jack Leary a ...

'' and ''

Dangerous Beauty ''Dangerous Beauty'' is a 1998 American biographical drama film directed by Marshall Herskovitz and starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, and Oliver Platt. Based on the non-fiction book '' The Honest Courtesan'' by Margaret Rosenthal, the f ...

''. Herskovitz was a creator and executive producer of the television shows ''

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 ...

'', ''

My So-Called Life ''My So-Called Life'' is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995. It is distributed by The Bed ...

'', 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 ...

'', and also wrote and directed several episodes of all three series.

Life and career

Herskovitz was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, the son of Frieda (née Schreiber) and Alexander Herskovitz. His family is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. He was married to screenwriter Susan Shilliday from 1981 to 1993. They have two daughters. Herskovitz married Landry Major in 2015. Herskovitz has long been "one of the film industry's most active and passionate environmentalists." He serves on the advisory board of

The Climate Mobilization The Climate Mobilization (TCM) is a grassroots environmental advocacy group working toward large-scale political action against global warming. It believes that the crisis of climate change requires a national economic effort on the scale of the ...

, a grassroots advocacy group calling for a national economic mobilization against climate change on the scale of the

home front during World War II The term "home front" covers the activities of the civilians in a nation at war. World War II was a total war; homeland production became even more invaluable to both the Allies of World War II, Allied and Axis powers. Life on the home front duri ...

, with the goal of 100% clean energy and

net zero Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...

greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

Awards

''Thirtysomething'' won numerous

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

s, including Outstanding Drama series in 1988. That year it also won Outstanding Writing in a Drama series for an episode that Herskovitz co-wrote with

Paul Haggis Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners '' Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...

. The show also received the Best Drama Series award at the

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

that year. Herskovitz himself was honored by both the Writers Guild and

Directors Guild The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

for his work on the series. ''Traffic'' was nominated for Best Picture at the

73rd Academy Awards The 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 2000 in film and took place on March 25, 2001, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / ...

in 2001. ''Once and Again'' was nominated for Best Drama Series of 1999 at the

Filmography

Executive producer * ''Lone Star State of Mind'' (2002) * '' Defiance'' (2008) * ''

About Alex ''About Alex'' is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Jesse Zwick. The film stars Nate Parker, Jason Ritter, Maggie Grace and Max Greenfield. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, 2014. Screen Media Fil ...

'' (2014) * '' Boys of Abu Ghraib'' (2014) Other credits

References

External links

*
Art Film Talk #23 Marshall Herskovitz
– Interview about

Quarterlife ''Quarterlife'' (stylized as ''quarterlife'') is an American web series, also briefly an NBC television series in 2008, created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creators of '' Thirtysomething'' and ''Once and Again'', and producers of ...

, November 30, 2007 (audio) {{DEFAULTSORT:Herskovitz, Marshall 1952 births Living people American film directors American film producers American male screenwriters American television directors Television producers from Pennsylvania American television writers Brandeis University alumni Writers from Philadelphia Writers Guild of America Award winners Directors Guild of America Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners AFI Conservatory alumni Jewish American writers American male television writers