Frank Darabont
| Frank Darabont | |
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| Born | January 28, 1959 Montbéliard, France |
| Other names | Frank A. Darabont Ardeth Bey |
| Occupation | Film director Screenwriter Producer |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse(s) | Karyn Wagner |
Frank Darabont (born Darabont Ferenc; January 28, 1959) is a Hungarian-American[1] film director, screenwriter and producer who has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. He has directed the films The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, all based on stories by Stephen King. In 2010 he developed, executive produced, and directed the pilot episode of the AMC's The Walking Dead. As of 2013, he is working on his new television series, Lost Angels.
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Early life [edit]
Darabont was born in a refugee camp in 1959 in Montbéliard, Doubs, France. His parents fled Hungary after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. When he was still an infant, his family moved to the United States, settling in Chicago. When Darabont was five the family moved to Los Angeles.[2]
Career [edit]
Early films [edit]
By the age of 20, Darabont became involved in filmmaking. One of his first films was a short adaptation of Stephen King's The Woman in the Room, which made the semi-finalist list for Academy Award consideration in 1983, and was shown in its entirety in the 1986 syndicated television special, Stephen King's World of Horror.[citation needed] The short, a "Dollar Baby", led to a close association with King, who granted him the "handshake deal" rights to another one of his shorter works, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption from the collection Different Seasons.
Prior to his directing career, Darabont was a successful screenwriter with work on genre films that included: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob, The Fly II, an early draft of The Rocketeer, and an unproduced sequel to Commando.[3] Darabont made his feature length directorial debut with Buried Alive, a TV movie with a $2,000,000 budget that aired on the USA Network in 1990. Darabont followed with an extended run as writer for George Lucas's television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
Success [edit]
Darabont became famous after making good on the deal with Stephen King by writing and directing The Shawshank Redemption, for which he was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay at the 1995 Academy Awards. The film was also nominated for six other Academy Awards including Best Picture.[citation needed]
After a five-year hiatus, Darabont returned to the screen with the well-received The Green Mile (starring Tom Hanks), a film he directed, scripted and produced. Like The Shawshank Redemption, this film is based on a Stephen King work. The film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, and Darabont was nominated for his second Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.[citation needed] He followed this with The Majestic (starring Jim Carrey, Laurie Holden and Martin Landau) two years later, in 2001, to considerably less fanfare. Following lukewarm reviews from critics, the film failed at the box-office, recouping only half of its $72 million budget internationally.[4]
Darabont is known to have been a script doctor for Steven Spielberg films such as Saving Private Ryan.[citation needed] In 2002, he penned an early draft of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; while Spielberg reportedly loved it, George Lucas rejected it.[5]
In 2004, he was hired by Tom Cruise to write Mission: Impossible III, but the script was later rewritten by J.J. Abrams, who directed the film.[citation needed]
Also in 2004, Darabont wrote the introduction for the Hellboy novel, Hellboy: Odder Jobs by Christopher Golden.[citation needed]
In 2005, Cemetery Dance Publications published Darabont's novella Walpuski's Typewriter in a limited edition. The story, originally written in his early twenties, first appeared in Jessie Horsting's magazine Midnight Graffiti.[citation needed]
In 2007, Darabont directed The Mist, based on a Stephen King novel (starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden and Jeffrey DeMunn, among others). A horror film unlike his other King adaptations, the film was a modest box-office success and marked a return to critical acclaim for Darabont.[citation needed]
Darabont also has the rights to two other Stephen King novels, The Long Walk and The Monkey, both of which he says he will make eventually.[6]
Darabont appeared in "First Class Jerk", the October 26, 2008, episode of Entourage in which he propositions Vincent Chase to star in a TV show he is executive producing. He appeared in a September 12, 2009, episode where he is now the director of the film about Enzo Ferrari, who Vince is portraying.
According to the Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion series by Titan Books, Darabont—a huge fan of the re-imagined series—was slated to direct "Islanded in a Stream of Stars", the penultimate episode of the show's final season. Due to scheduling conflicts, he was unable to take the job, which fell to series star (and previous helmer) Edward James Olmos.[7]
Darabont executive-produced the first season of The Walking Dead, the AMC series based on Robert Kirkman's comic book of the same name,[8][9] having written and directed the pilot.[10][11] The series features a number of Darabont regulars, including Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden and Melissa McBride. In July 2011, Darabont stepped down from his position as showrunner for the series.[12] Initial reports suggested that he was unable to adjust to the schedule of running a television series,[12] however it was later confirmed that he was fired due to the show's reduced budget and his strained relationship with the executives of AMC.[13]
Darabont is acting as executive producer of a new series for TNT, Lost Angels starring Neal McDonough, Jon Bernthal, Milo Ventimiglia, and Alexa Davalos as female lead.[14] He also directed and wrote the first episode of the series.
At the 2012 Austin Film Festival, Darabont was awarded the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award for his contribution to cinema.[15]
In 2013, Darabont was hired to rewrite the script for the 2014 Godzilla reboot.[16] Darabont stated that he would like to bring the monster back to his origins as a "terrifying force of nature."[17]
Recurring collaborators [edit]
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This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2012) |
In addition to collaborating with actors on films and television projects, he has collaborated with writers, producers, composers, and others. These include Mark Isham, Stephen King, Gregory Nicotero, Rohn Schmidt, David Tattersall, and others. Also, Jeffrey DeMunn appeared in The Blob (1988) and Black Cat Run (1998), both of which Darabont wrote, and Alexa Davalos appeared in an episode of Raines that he directed.
The Woman in the Room (1983 film) and Buried Alive (1990) are not listed due to lack of collaborations. (Although Brian Libby appears in both.)
| Actor | The Shawshank Redemption (1994) |
The Green Mile (1999) |
The Majestic (2001) |
The Mist (2007) |
The Walking Dead (2010) |
Lost Angels (2014) |
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| Jeffrey DeMunn |  |
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| Brian Libby | |
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| William Sadler | |
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| Laurie Holden | |
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| Jon Bernthal | |
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| James Whitmore | |
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| Ron Rifkin | |
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| Alexa Davalos | |
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| Melissa McBride | |
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| Samuel Witwer | |
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| Juan Gabriel Pareja | |
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| Amin Joseph | |
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| Andrew Rothenberg | |
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Filmography [edit]
| Feature films | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Other notes |
| 1981 | Hell Night | production assistant |
| 1982 | The Seduction | transportation captain |
| 1983 | The Woman in the Room | short film, director, writer |
| 1984 | Crimes of Passion | set dresser |
| 1985 | Trancers | art department assistant |
| 1987 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | writer only |
| 1988 | The Blob | writer only |
| 1989 | The Fly II | writer only |
| 1994 | The Shawshank Redemption | writer, director Hochi Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film Humanitas Prize for Best Film Kinema Junpo Reader's Choice Award for Best Foreign Language Film USC Scripter Award (shared with Stephen King) Nominated - Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Directors Guild of America Best Director Nominated - Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Writing |
| Frankenstein | writer only Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Writing (shared with Steph Lady) |
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| 1998 | Saving Private Ryan | uncredited writer |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | writer, director, producer Nominated - Academy Award for Best Picture Nominated - Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Director Nominated - Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay Nominated - Directors Guild of America Award for Best Director Nominated - OFCS Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated - Nebula Award for Best Script Nominated - USC Scripter Award (shared with Stephen King) |
| 2001 | The Majestic | director, producer |
| 2002 | The Salton Sea | producer only |
| 2004 | Collateral | executive producer, uncredited writer |
| 2007 | The Mist | writer, director, producer Saturn Award for Best DVD Special Edition Release 2 disc Special Edition. Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Director Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Horror Film Nominated - Empire Award Best Horror |
| 2014 | Godzilla | writer only |
| Television | ||
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| Year | Show | Other notes |
| 1990 | Buried Alive | TV movie, director and executive producer |
| 1990-1992 | Tales from the Crypt | 2 episodes, writer only |
| 1992-1996 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | 7 episodes, writer only |
| 1998 | Black Cat Run | TV movie, writer only |
| 2007 | Raines | 1 episode, executive producer, director |
| The Shield | 1 episode, director only | |
| 2010-2011 | The Walking Dead | developer, executive producer, writer, director of Days Gone Bye American Film Institute Award for TV Programme of the Year Nominated - Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series Nominated - Writers Guild of America Award for New Series |
| 2013 | Lost Angels | creator, executive producer, writer, director |
| Actor | |||
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| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1997 | The Shining | Ghost | cameo |
| 1998 | Vampires | The Man With Buick | cameo |
| 2005 | King Kong | Gunner | cameo |
| 2008-2009 | Entourage | Himself | Episode: "First Class Jerk" "Security Briefs" |
Awards and nominations [edit]
Frank Darabont has been nominated for 3 Academy Awards and 1 Golden Globe, although he did not win any of these. Over his film career he has won many small awards but has yet to win a major one.
In 1994, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, for The Shawshank Redemption. For that same film he was nominated for his Golden Globe for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture which he also lost. 5 years later, in 1999, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film, and also the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, for his film The Green Mile. Both of his nominated films are based on novels by author Stephen King.
| Year | Result | Award | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Nominated | Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | The Shawshank Redemption |
| 1994 | Nominated | Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | The Shawshank Redemption |
| 1999 | Nominated | Academy Award for Best Film | The Green Mile |
| 1999 | Nominated | Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | The Green Mile |
References [edit]
- ^ "Post Mortem with Mick Garris": Episode 1 -- Frank Darabont http://www.imdb./video/imdb/vi2088081689/
- ^ "Post Mortem with Mick Garris": Episode 1 -- Frank Darabont http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2088081689/
- ^ Action Alliance Message Board - Home
- ^ "The Majestic". Box Office Mojo.
- ^ "Lilja's Library".
- ^ "Why Frank Darabont Told George Lucas ‘You’re Insane’ Over ‘Indiana Jones 4′". DeadlineHollywood. April 18, 2007.
- ^ "TV: Pilot Script Review for Frank Darabont's 'The Walking Dead'!". BloodyDisgusting. January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Frank Darabont Talks The Walking Dead". DreadCentral.
- ^ "Darabont Looks Back to NOTLD for The Walking Dead". DreadCentral.
- ^ "TV: Frank Darabont Directing Only the Pilot Episode of 'The Walking Dead'... For Now". BloodyDisgusting.
- ^ "The Walking Dead: Frank Darabont Only Directing the Pilot?". DreadCentral.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (July 26, 2011). "'WALKING DEAD' SHOCKER: Frank Darabont Steps Down As Showrunner". Deadline. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ Masters, Kim (August 10, 2011). "'The Walking Dead': What Really Happened to Fired Showrunner Frank Darabont". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
- ^ "Frank Darabont Returns To Television With ‘L.A. Noir’ On TNT". Screenrant.com. 2012-01-10. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
- ^ "2012 EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTION TO FILMMAKING AWARDEE – FRANK DARABONT". Austin Film Festival.com.
- ^ {{Cite web|url=http://famousmonsters.com/darabont-joins-godzilla-reboot/%7Ctitle=DARABONT JOINS “GODZILLA” REBOOT|publisher=Famous Monsters of FilmLand}}
- ^ "Frank Darabont Comments on Rewriting GODZILLA as a “Terrifying Force of Nature”". Collider.com. 2013-01-22.
External links [edit]
- Frank Darabont at the Internet Movie Database
- Cemetery Dance Publications, publisher of Darabont's first book
- EW
- Frank Darabont at FEARnet
- Lilja, Hans-Åke. Interview Lilja's Library - The World of Stephen King, February 6, 2007
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