Allan Loeb
| Allan Loeb | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 25, 1969 Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, television producer, film producer |
| Alma mater | Ithaca College |
| Period | 2004–present |
| Notable work(s) | 21 Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps |
Allan Loeb (born to Elsie and Henry Loeb on June 25, 1969) is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He wrote the 2007 film Things We Lost in the Fire and created the 2008 television series New Amsterdam. He wrote the drama film 21, which also was released in 2008. He wrote and produced The Switch which came out in August 2010. He wrote Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, released in September 2010, The Dilemma (January 2011), and Just Go with It (February 2011). He also wrote the film So Undercover starring Miley Cyrus, which is set to come out in March 2012.
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[edit] Life and career
Loeb was born in Highland Park, Illinois[1] and attended Ithaca College in New York from 1988 to 1992,[2] dropping out to work at the Chicago Board of Trade.[1] He relocated to Los Angeles, California in 1993 to pursue a career in screenwriting.[2] Loeb was only marginally successful, with only the occasional deal. He made his first deal in 1997 when he sold a pitch to Dreamworks. It was a romantic comedy titled The Second Time Around and he was paid a 'low-six figures against mid-six figures'. With his foot in the door, the following year he and Steven Pearl sold a pitch to United Artists, in 1998. It was a baseball dramedy titled The 7th Game that they shared a 'low-six figures against mid-six figures'. However, Loeb's success was short lived. Neither scripts got the movies made. His gambling habit began to overtake his writing and eventually drained him of the little money he did make with the two sales. He didn't make another deal for 3 years, until May 2001, when he sold his spec script thriller Protection to Davis Entertainment and Fox for 'low-six figures against mid-six figures'. In 2003, Loeb landed a rewrite assignment on producer Neal H. Moritz' romantic comedy Made of Honor. His draft was eventually tossed out and he didn't receive any credit when the movie was finally made and released in 2008. [3] In 2004, after graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles,[4] with money he had received from 20th Century Fox for a revision of the script of a thriller, Protection, that he had sold to the company several years before but they had never produced, he moved to New York to write what he calls his "Hail Mary" script The Only Living Boy in New York. The day he started writing the script, however, his agent dismissed him and refused to represent Loeb any longer.[3] He returned to Los Angeles and began to rewrite The Only Living Boy in New York with the help of Little Miss Sunshine producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, and joined Gamblers Anonymous to cure his gambling addiction, which he claims changed his writing for the better.[3] In March 2005 he returned to Hollywood with his new script. Only Living Boy became "the hot read" within the agency circuit and he was quickly signed by CAA - Creative Artists Agency. In May 2005 The Only Living Boy in New York sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment in a deal worth 'mid-six figures'. While this was going on, Loeb was quickly putting pen to paper on his next script, Things We Lost in the Fire. As soon as he put the script on the market, it was snatched up by DreamWorks in a deal said to be 'mid-six figures'.
By December 2005, both scripts landed in the top four spots in the inaugural Black List of the Best Unproduced Scripts in Hollywood. Loeb parlayed that into one of the hottest streaks of any writer in recent history. In 2006, Loeb landed 6 movie script deals as well as several TV shows that he and his Scarlet Fire Entertainment producing partner (and former writing partner) Steven Pearl sold to Fox and FX in 2007, one of which was New Amsterdam.[3] In 2009, Loeb wrote the film The Switch,[3] which premiered in August 2010. He also co-wrote the 2010 film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. In addition, he wrote three 2011 films, The Dilemma, Just Go With It, and the upcoming So Undercover which hits theaters in March 2012. Next for Loeb, is a rewrite on the 80's rock musical Rock of Ages starring Tom Cruise, which Loeb will receive a shared 'screenplay' credit on. It hits theaters in June 2012. Finally, in October 2012, the release of the Kevin James led mixed martial arts comedy Here Comes the Boom which Loeb co-wrote the script to with James.
In September 2010, Allan Loeb bought a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan for close to $3.9 million, in a recently renovated building at 141 Fifth Avenue. Just five years earlier, his career seemed dead and he was nearly broke. However from 2005 to 2012, Allan Loeb has been attached to more than 46 projects in both film and television as a writer and/or producer.
His most recent deals include setting up a television production company Dark Fire with Ryan Reynolds where they have a first look deal with Fox. They are developing a pair of shows including the animated series And Then There Was Gordon which Loeb is co-creator, writer of the pilot script and executive producer. And Guidance which Loeb and Reynolds are co-creators and executive producers.
Loeb is also rewriting the earthquake disaster 3D project San Andreas at New Line Cinema and the action comedy The Machine with Vin Diesel attached to produce and star at MGM. He's also signed on to rewrite the action adventure project, The Leading Man, for Universal, based on the comic book series. These are just the most recent of the more than 22 movie scripts that Allan Loeb has in development around Hollywood. Loeb is also attached to developing at least a dozen other projects in both film and television as a producer.
[edit] Personal life
Loeb was a compulsive gambler from the age of ten until he joined Gamblers Anonymous in 2005, claiming: "Literally the minute I quit gambling my writing changed. It was magical. I had been giving so much emotional energy to gambling that only half of myself was out there writing. Gambling was a time suck, an energy suck, a creativity suck. I started going to GA meetings every Thursday night, and the writing flourished. It had so much more energy and passion."[3] He lost up to $30,000 to his gambling addiction in a single weekend and he was eventually left with $150,000 in credit-card debt.[3] Loeb is a keen follower of rock band Grateful Dead, which he compares to the film industry in its fanbase.[1]
[edit] Filmography
- Things We Lost in the Fire (2007 – screenplay)
- 21 (2008 – co-screenplay)
- The Switch (2010 – screenplay)
- Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010 – screenplay)
- The Dilemma (2011 – screenplay)
- Just Go with It (2011 – co-screenplay)
- So Undercover (2011 – screenplay)
- Here Comes the Boom (currently in production)
- The Only Living Boy in New York (2013 – screenplay)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Elder, Robert K. (October 18, 2007). "Screen Scene: Highland Park's Allan Loeb took his time creating 'Fire'". Chicago Tribune. http://www.topix.net/content/trb/2007/10/screen-scene-highland-parks-allan-loeb-took-his-time-creating-fire. Retrieved 2008-05-05.[dead link]
- ^ a b Lynch, Dianne (October 12, 2005). "Ever write a script? Ever want to?". All Things Park. http://allthingspark.blogspot.com/2005/10/ever-write-script-ever-want-to.html. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- ^ a b c d e f g Fernandez, Jay A. (September 27, 2006). "Former gambler now in the chips". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-scriptland27sep27,1,5285823.story. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
- ^ "21: Production Notes". Sony Pictures Entertainment. 2008. http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/21/production-notes.html. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
