Steven Zaillian | |
|---|---|
| Born | Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian (1953-01-30)January 30, 1953 (age 72) Fresno, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | San Francisco State University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1977–present[1] |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Zaillian |
| Children | 2 |
Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian[1] (born January 30, 1953) is an Armenian-American screenwriter, film director and producer. He won anAcademy Award, aGolden Globe Award and aBAFTA Award for his screenplaySchindler's List (1993) and has earned Oscar nominations for the filmsAwakenings,Gangs of New York,Moneyball andThe Irishman. He was presented with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2009Austin Film Festival and theLaurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from theWriters Guild of America in 2011. Zaillian is the founder of Film Rites, a film production company.
He also created, wrote and directed the limited seriesThe Night Of (2016) andRipley (2024), the latter for which he won aPrimetime Emmy Award.[2]
Steven Zaillian was born inFresno, California, the son of Jim Zaillian, a radio news reporter. Zaillian is ofArmenian descent.[3][4] He attendedSonoma State University, graduated fromSan Francisco State University in 1975 with a degree in Cinema.[1]
He lives inLos Angeles with his wife, Elizabeth Zaillian; they have two sons together.[5]
Steven Zaillian is known for writing screenplays that often deal with tragedy and drama. Zaillian has written screenplays for many notable films. Zaillian wrote the screenplay for the 1990 filmAwakenings. His most notable work is the 1993 screenplay for the filmSchindler's List, for which he won an Academy Award. TheSchindler’s List screenplay was voted the 49th best screenplay of all time by theWriters Guild of America West, the 32nd best of all time byIMDb, and the 49th best byfilmsite.org. Zaillian directed and wrote the 1993 filmSearching for Bobby Fischer, for which he earned critical and commercial acclaim. Zaillian also wrote and directed the 1998 filmA Civil Action and wrote the screenplays for the filmsGangs of New York in 2002, andAmerican Gangster in 2007. In 2007, in partnership withMandate Pictures, he signed a deal withColumbia Pictures.[6] Zaillian co-wrote the screenplay forMoneyball in 2011 withAaron Sorkin. Zaillian also wrote the screenplay for the 2011 filmThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. His most recent work includes creating, directing, writing, and producing the 2016 Emmy-winningHBO miniseriesThe Night Of and writing the screenplay for the 2019Netflix filmThe Irishman.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Falcon and the Snowman | No | Yes | No |
| 1990 | Awakenings | No | Yes | No |
| 1993 | Schindler's List | No | Yes | No |
| Searching for Bobby Fischer | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Jack the Bear | No | Yes | No | |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | No | Yes | No |
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible | No | Story | No |
| 1998 | A Civil Action | Yes | Yes | Executive |
| 2001 | Hannibal | No | Yes | No |
| 2002 | Gangs of New York | No | Yes | No |
| 2005 | The Interpreter | No | Yes | No |
| 2006 | All the King's Men | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2007 | American Gangster | No | Yes | Executive |
| 2011 | Moneyball | No | Yes | No |
| The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | No | Yes | Executive | |
| 2014 | Exodus: Gods and Kings | No | Yes | No |
| 2018 | Red Sparrow | No | No | Yes |
| 2019 | The Irishman | No | Yes | No |
| 2021 | Those Who Wish Me Dead | No | No | Yes |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Night Of | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2024 | Ripley | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
