David Scarpa
David Scarpa | |
|---|---|
 Scarpa in 2017 | |
| Born | Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | New York University |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
David Scarpa is an American screenwriter.[1][2][3] He is best known for his collaborations with director Ridley Scott, writing the screenplays for All the Money in the World (2017), about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping, Napoleon (2023), a historical biopic centered on Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gladiator II (2024), a sequel to the 2000 film Gladiator.
Personal life
[edit]Scarpa was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and raised in Tennessee and Connecticut before attending New York University's film program.
He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Career
[edit]Scarpa began writing features. In 2005, he began developing a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Scarpa felt everything about the original film was still relevant, but changed the allegory from nuclear war to environmental damage because "the specifics of [how] we now have the capability to destroy ourselves have changed."[4] Scarpa noted the recent events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 informed his mindset when writing the screenplay.[5] He scrapped Klaatu's speech at the conclusion of the story because "audiences today are [un]willing to tolerate that. People don't want to be preached to about the environment. We tried to avoid having our alien looking out over the garbage in the lake and crying a silent tear [from the 1970s Keep America Beautiful ads]."[6] He served as the co-showrunner for Amazon Prime Video series The Man in the High Castle season 4.
After writing All the Money in the World for director Ridley Scott, he reteamed with the director on two more projects: Napoleon, a historical epic centered on Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gladiator II.[7][8]
Upcoming projects
[edit]He is also writing Cleopatra for Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Denis Villeneuve directing. In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scarpa described the film as being "a two-hour, lean, mean political thriller, full of assassinations, etc.", and that it will be "going the opposite direction from the way we think that movie is going to go."[9][10][11] Scarpa is also writing the HBO miniseries Londongrad, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alexander Litvinenko, who died of polonium-210 poisoning in November 2006.[12]
Writing credits
[edit]Film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Last Castle | Co-written with Graham Yost |
| 2008 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | |
| 2017 | All the Money in the World | |
| 2023 | Napoleon | |
| 2024 | Gladiator II | Also story writer with Peter Craig |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Man in the High Castle | 3 episodes; Also executive producer |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 77th British Academy Film Awards | Outstanding British Film (shared with Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam, Kevin J. Walsh) | Napoleon | Nominated | [13] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Ridley Scott's 'All the Money in the World' Set as Closing Night Film at AFI Fest". Variety. 2017-10-19. Archived from the original on 2023-04-10.
- ^ Deadline.com
- ^ "Hero Complex". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10.
- ^ "Production notes". 20th Century Fox. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
- ^ Matt Mueller (December 2008). "Excellent adventure, or bogus journey?". Total Film. pp. 68–72.
- ^ Scott Brown (November 25, 2008). "The Looming Deluge of Eco-Disaster Flicks". Wired. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 14, 2020). "Ridley Scott Eyes Another Epic: Joaquin Phoenix As Napoleon In 'Kitbag' As Director Today Wraps 'The Last Duel'". Deadline. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 12, 2021). "Ridley Scott Won't Let Age Or Pandemic Slow A Storytelling Appetite That Brought 'House of Gucci' & 'The Last Duel;' Napoleon & More 'Gladiator' Up Next". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 6, 2016). "David Scarpa To Rewrite 'Cleopatra'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (September 27, 2017). "Denis Villeneuve in Talks to Direct Sony's Cleopatra Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (December 22, 2017). "'All The Money in the World' Writer Reveals Patty Jenkins Helped Secret Recasting". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ Petski, Denise (October 28, 2021). "Benedict Cumberbatch To Headline HBO Limited Series About Poisoned KGB Agent Alexander Litvinenko". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- ^ "2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards: The Winners and Nominations". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
External links
[edit]- David Scarpa at IMDb
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