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 Brian Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in New Bedford Massachusetts. A born worker, Helgeland has endeavored to achieve in the following fields: snow shoveler, scrap newspaper collector, dishwasher, nursing home janitor, drug store clerk and unreliable nightshift gas station attendant. Facing unemployment after receiving a degree in English, Helgeland fell back on generations of family tradition and took a site as a 'half-share man' on the fishing vessel Mondego II, working the dredges of a deep sea scalloper over 100 miles offshore for two weeks at a time. Fish School. North Atlantic University. After a year at sea, a chance meeting with a book entitled "A Guide To Film School" changed everything. Ignorant as to the existence of such venerable institutions, he applied to several and was accepted by one. Giving up his now 'full-share man' berth on the fishing vessel Concordia, Helgeland headed west in 1985. After getting his break with several low budget horror films, he made his mark with several spec script sales, the flashiest being "The Ticking Man" which he co-wrote with Manny Coto. Two other specs sales to Warner Bros landed him an exclusive writing deal at what was then the greatest movie studio on earth. That deal resulted in seven produced films starting with two for director (and longtime mentor) Richard Donner and ending with two films for Clint Eastwood. In between came the much lauded "LA Confidential" for which Helgeland won an Academy Award finally living up to his grandmother's nickname for him of 'Golden Boy'.Helgeland's directing career began when Donner gave him an episode of "Tales From The Crypt" to direct. Tired of Helgeland's relentless script note complaints, Donner was eager for him to see how things looked at the trigger end of the gun instead of the barrel. Next up as writer/director was "Payback" which Mel Gibson committed to after leafing through a rough draft version of the script on a Warners ADR stage. Although the director's cut was eventually released, the experience was bittersweet as Paramount demanded a happier ending which Helgeland refused to direct. With the rug pulled out from under him, Helgeland regained momentum with the spec script for "A Knight's Tale". He envisioned the rags to riches story of a peasant determined to prove himself a knight, as a version of his own humble beginnings before moving to Hollywood, but also as the tale of a lowly screenwriter who wants to become a noble director. Columbia Pictures bought the script in a bidding war and mere months later Helgeland found himself in the Czech Republic with Heath Ledger, Paul Bettany and the gang conjuring the story of William Thatcher - aka Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein - in what would become his most fan favorite film.As solely a screenwriter, the great-never-late Tony Scott is the director he felt closest to sensibility-wise, in that both of them believed that any single moment in a film can be ordinary and absurd and funny and tragic all at the same time. They worked on several projects together - produced and unproduced. "Man On Fire" was their crowning achievement. Helgeland also directed and wrote the film "42" with Chadwick Boseman and "Legend" with Tom Hardy. Both were biopics. His most recent film is "Finestkind" with Ben Foster, Toby Wallace and Jenna Ortega. It is full of truth about people he once knew, but crammed with lies about what they got up to. As he likes to say about writing: "It's okay to lie if you reach a higher truth doing so." Helgeland is an admirer of John Huston, Richard Brooks, Walter Hill, Frank Pierson, Curtis Hanson and all screenwriters who knighted themselves into the director's chair.
Bio:
Brian Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in New Bedford Massachusetts. A born worker, Helgeland has endeavored to achieve in the following fields: snow shoveler, scrap newspaper collector, dishwasher, nursing home janitor, drug store clerk and unreliable nightshift gas station attendant. Facing unemployment after receiving a degree in English, Helgeland fell back on generations of family tradition and took a site as a 'half-share man' on the fishing vessel Mondego II, working the dredges of a deep sea scalloper over 100 miles offshore for two weeks at a time. Fish School. North Atlantic University. After a year at sea, a chance meeting with a book entitled "A Guide To Film School" changed everything. Ignorant as to the existence of such venerable institutions, he applied to several and was accepted by one. Giving up his now 'full-share man' berth on the fishing vessel Concordia, Helgeland headed west in 1985. After getting his break with several low budget horror films, he made his mark with several spec script sales, the flashiest being "The Ticking Man" which he co-wrote with Manny Coto. Two other specs sales to Warner Bros landed him an exclusive writing deal at what was then the greatest movie studio on earth. That deal resulted in seven produced films starting with two for director (and longtime mentor) Richard Donner and ending with two films for Clint Eastwood. In between came the much lauded "LA Confidential" for which Helgeland won an Academy Award finally living up to his grandmother's nickname for him of 'Golden Boy'.Helgeland's directing career began when Donner gave him an episode of "Tales From The Crypt" to direct. Tired of Helgeland's relentless script note complaints, Donner was eager for him to see how things looked at the trigger end of the gun instead of the barrel. Next up as writer/director was "Payback" which Mel Gibson committed to after leafing through a rough draft version of the script on a Warners ADR stage. Although the director's cut was eventually released, the experience was bittersweet as Paramount demanded a happier ending which Helgeland refused to direct. With the rug pulled out from under him, Helgeland regained momentum with the spec script for "A Knight's Tale". He envisioned the rags to riches story of a peasant determined to prove himself a knight, as a version of his own humble beginnings before moving to Hollywood, but also as the tale of a lowly screenwriter who wants to become a noble director. Columbia Pictures bought the script in a bidding war and mere months later Helgeland found himself in the Czech Republic with Heath Ledger, Paul Bettany and the gang conjuring the story of William Thatcher - aka Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein - in what would become his most fan favorite film.As solely a screenwriter, the great-never-late Tony Scott is the director he felt closest to sensibility-wise, in that both of them believed that any single moment in a film can be ordinary and absurd and funny and tragic all at the same time. They worked on several projects together - produced and unproduced. "Man On Fire" was their crowning achievement. Helgeland also directed and wrote the film "42" with Chadwick Boseman and "Legend" with Tom Hardy. Both were biopics. His most recent film is "Finestkind" with Ben Foster, Toby Wallace and Jenna Ortega. It is full of truth about people he once knew, but crammed with lies about what they got up to. As he likes to say about writing: "It's okay to lie if you reach a higher truth doing so." Helgeland is an admirer of John Huston, Richard Brooks, Walter Hill, Frank Pierson, Curtis Hanson and all screenwriters who knighted themselves into the director's chair.
Tivia:
Won both his Oscar and a Razzie award the same weekend in 1998: He took Best Screenplay for L.A. Confidential (1997) and Worst Screenplay for Kevin Costner's The Postman (1997). When asked backstage at The Academy Awards about winning both "honors," Helgeland declared he'd like to display them both side-by-side on his mantle to remind him of the Quixotic nature of Hollywood. He then made good on his promise, permitting the founders of The Razzies to present him his Worst Screenplay dis-honor in his production offices as Warner Bros. studios later that year. He was only the fourth person in Razzie history to voluntarily accept one of their statuettes.Was a fisherman in New Bedford, MA, as a short career until he decided to drive cross country to Hollywood.In 1990 he wrote a script called The Ticking Man with Manny Coto which was sold the same year to Largo Entertainment for $1.2m. The plot was about a machine made to look human with a nuclear warhead in its chest. When the script was being auctioned, it was sent to the studios with a ticking alarm clock attached. The film has never been produced.Mother is from Norway. Father is from Brooklyn.Graduated from Loyola Marymount University, in Los Angeles.The November 14, 2003, draft of the screenplay for The Bourne Supremacy (2004) credits Brian Helgeland for a rewrite. He is not credited in the final film.His directing mentor was Richard Donner when they worked together on Conspiracy Theory (1997) and then when Brian started to direct Payback (1999).He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.Father of Martin Helgeland & Ian Helgeland. |
| Name: |
Brian Helgeland |
Type: |
Director,Writer,Producer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Director,Writer,Producer |
| Products for sale: |
Director,Writer,Producer |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 03:19:10 |
| Height: |
6' 1' (1.85 m) |
| Biography: |
Brian Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in New Bedford Massachusetts. A born worker, Helgeland has endeavored to achieve in the following fields: snow shoveler, scrap newspaper collector, dishwasher, nursing home janitor, drug |
| Trivia: |
Won both his Oscar and a Razzie award the same weekend in 1998: He took Best Screenplay for L.A. Confidential (1997) and Worst Screenplay for Kevin Costner's The Postman (1997). When asked backstage at The Academy Awards about winning both "honors," Helgeland declared he'd like to display them both side-by-side on his mantle to remind him of the Quixotic nature of Hollywood. He then made good on his promise, permitting the founders of The Razzies to present him his Worst Screenplay dis-honor in his production offices as Warner Bros. studios later that year. He was only the fourth person in Razzie history to voluntarily accept one of their statuettes.Was a fisherman in New Bedford, MA, as a short career until he decided to drive cross country to Hollywood.In 1990 he wrote a script called The Ticking Man with Manny Coto which was sold the same year to Largo Entertainment for $1.2m. The plot was about a machine made to look human with a nuclear warhead in its chest. When the script was being auctioned, it was sent to the studios with a ticking alarm clock attached. The film has never been produced.Mother is from Norway. Father is from Brooklyn.Graduated from Loyola Marymount University, in Los Angeles.The November 14, 2003, draft of the screenplay for The Bourne Supremacy (2004) credits Brian Helgeland for a rewrite. He is not credited in the final film.His directing mentor was Richard Donner when they worked together on Conspiracy Theory (1997) and then when Brian started to direct Payback (1999).He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.Father of Martin Helgeland & Ian Helgeland. |
| Salaries: |
A Knight's Tale (2001) - $2,500,000 |
| Job title: |
Director,Writer,Producer |
| Others works: |
Provided a DVD commentary for The Omen (1976).
(1992) Elementary - unsold script date estimated |
| Spouse: |
Nancy 'Nan' Helgeland (? - present) (2 children) |
| Parents: |
Aud-Karin Helgeland
Thomas Helgeland |
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