Josh Singer | |
|---|---|
 Singer in 2018 | |
| Born | 1972 (age 52–53) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University Harvard Law School Harvard Business School |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, producer |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Josh Singer (born 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writingThe Fifth Estate (2013),Spotlight (2015),The Post (2017),First Man (2018), andMaestro (2023). He won theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay forSpotlight and was nominated in the same category forMaestro.
Singer was born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, and was raised Jewish. His father was bornJewish, and his motherconverted to Judaism (she herself was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother).[1] Singer attendedUpper Dublin High School inFort Washington, Pennsylvania, where he appeared in musicals and was a member of math club, drama club, video club, and chorus.[2] In high school, he was elected class treasurer, wrote for the school newspaper, and played for the school's baseball team. Singer won many awards, including the Upper Dublin Medal, science competition and literary prizes, and was co-winner of the school district's highest award.[2] In his senior year, he was named classvaledictorian, aPresidential Scholar and aNational Merit Scholar.[2]
Singer graduatedmagna cum laude fromYale University, with distinction in mathematics and economics.[3] At Yale, he was a member and business manager of bothThe Whiffenpoofs andThe Yale Alley Cats. Three to four months prior to going to graduate school, he worked forChildren's Television Workshop (the name, at that time, of the production company for theTV show "Sesame Street",[4]) and then began doing internships. He did an internship for Nickelodeon in New York and an internship for Disney Channel out in L.A., working for Roy Price at Disney TV Animation for four or five weeks. As a result, he developed an interest in script writing.[5] He worked as a business analyst forMcKinsey & Company[6] before obtaining a J.D. fromHarvard Law School and an MBA fromHarvard Business School.[7]
After Singer graduated from Harvard, he was hired by showrunnerJohn Wells to write forThe West Wing.[6]
In 2006 he was nominated for aWGA award.[8]
Singer was hired in 2013 to write a screenplay for aLeonard Bernsteinbiopic, but the film languished indevelopment hell for a decade. Eventually,Bradley Cooper was hired to direct the film, and the pair re-wrote Singer's script; they were eventually nominated for theAcademy Award forBest Original Screenplay.[9] In 2012, Singer wrote the screenplay forThe Fifth Estate.[10] In 2015, he co-wrote the screenplay forSpotlight, for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[11]
In 2011, Singer married the American novelistLaura Dave. They have one son and reside inLos Angeles, California.
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | The Fifth Estate | |
| 2015 | Spotlight | withTom McCarthy; Also executive producer Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—Golden Globe for Best Screenplay |
| 2017 | The Post | withLiz Hannah; Also executive producer Nominated—Golden Globe for Best Screenplay |
| 2018 | First Man | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
| 2023 | Maestro | withBradley Cooper Also executive producer Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| TBA | UntitledBullitt reboot |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–2006 | The West Wing | Editor and writer |
| 2007–2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Producer |
| 2009 | Lie to Me | Supervising producer |
| 2009–2010 | Fringe | |
| 2010–2011 | Co-executive producer | |
| 2023 | The Last Thing He Told Me | Executive producer |
Singer won theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay andIndependent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay[12] forSpotlight in 2015 and was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for the film. He also received a Golden Globe nomination forThe Post in 2018. In 2023 he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay alongsideBradley Cooper for the filmMaestro.
