Peter Simpson Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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. ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

Early life

Hedges was born in

West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk County, Iowa, Polk, Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas, Warren County, Iowa, Warren, and Madison County, Iowa, Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of ...

, where he was raised, the son of Carole (Simpson), a psychotherapist, and the Rev. Robert Boyden Hedges, an Episcopal priest. His mother left when he was young so he was raised by his single father. He attended Valley High School, where he was involved in the theater department, including the

improvisational Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

group and the

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...

troupe, The Bakers Dozen. He later went to the

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

, where he studied drama.

Career

Hedges' novel ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' was adapted into a critically acclaimed movie of the same title, for which he wrote the screenplay, launching his film career. In 2002, he was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, musica ...

for '' About a Boy'', alongside

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

and Paul Weitz. In the same year, he wrote and directed ''

Pieces of April ''Pieces of April'' is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges. Marking Hedges' directorial debut, the film stars Katie Holmes, Derek Luke, Sean Hayes, Alison Pill, Oliver Platt and Patricia Clarkson. The film f ...

'', starring

Katie Holmes Kate Noelle Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress. She first achieved fame as Joey Potter on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003). Holmes made her feature film debut in 1997 with a supporting role in Ang Lee ...

, which he dedicated to his mother. In 2007, he co-wrote and directed ''

Dan in Real Life ''Dan in Real Life'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Hedges, and stars Steve Carell, Alison Pill, Juliette Binoche, Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney and Dane Cook. This is the first Touchstone Pictures film to be distributed by W ...

''. He wrote and directed ''

The Odd Life of Timothy Green ''The Odd Life of Timothy Green'' is a 2012 American fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges from a story by Ahmet Zappa. Starring Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, Dianne Wiest, CJ Adams, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, ...

'' (2012), a film conceived by

Ahmet Zappa Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician and writer, and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. Early life Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and b ...

, produced by Zappa and Scott Sanders, and released by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...

. In 2018, he wrote and directed the drama ''

Ben Is Back ''Ben Is Back'' is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges, and starring Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges and Courtney B. Vance. The plot follows a mother who tries to help her addict son after he returns home from rehab. The f ...

'', about drug addiction, starring his son

Lucas Hedges Lucas Hedges (born December 12, 1996) is an American actor. A son of filmmaker Peter Hedges, he studied theater at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Hedges began his acting career with a supporting role in Wes Anderson's comed ...

, and

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...

. His latest novel ''The Heights'' was published March 4, 2010 by Dutton.

Personal life

His wife is Susan Bruce (Titman), a poet. They have two sons; Simon, who works in private equity GQ, The Long Adolescence of Lucas Hedges
/ref> in New York, and actor

Filmography

* ''

What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates. It follows 25-year-old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store clerk c ...

'' (1993) (writer) * ''

A Map of the World ''A Map of the World'' (1994) is a novel by Jane Hamilton. It was the Oprah's Book Club selection for December 1999. It was made into a movie released in 1999 starring Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, David Strathairn, Chloë Sevigny, Louise F ...

'' (1999) (writer) * '' About a Boy'' (2002) (writer) * ''

'' (2003) (writer and director) * ''

'' (2007) (co-writer and director) * ''

'' (2012) (co-writer and director) * ''

'' (2018) (writer, director and producer) * ''

The Same Storm ''The Same Storm'' is a 2021 American drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges and starring Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Elaine May, Moses Ingram, Noma Dumezweni, Raúl Castillo, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, Alison Pill, John Gallag ...

'' (2021) (writer and director)

Plays

* ''Oregon'' (1984) * ''Champions of the Average Joe'' (1985) * ''The Age of Pie'' (1986) * ''Andy and Claire'' (1986) * ''Teddy by the Sea'' (1986) * ''Imagining Brad'' (1988) * ''Baby Anger'' (1993) * ''Good as New'' (1995)

Novels

* ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1991) * ''An Ocean in Iowa'' (1998) * ''The Heights'' (2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedges, Peter 1962 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters Living people Writers from Des Moines, Iowa University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Iowa Film directors from Iowa Screenwriters from Iowa