Howard A. Rodman | |
|---|---|
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Savage Grace August Joe Gould's Secret Destiny Express The Great Eastern |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Friedberg (m. 1990, died 2009) Mary Beth Heffernan (m. 2017) |
Howard A. Rodman is a screenwriter, author and professor. He is the former President of theWriters Guild of America, West, professor and former chair of the writing division at theUSC School of Cinematic Arts,[1] alumnus ofTelluride Association Summer Program[2] and an artistic director of theSundance Institute Screenwriting Labs.[3]
He is the son of screenwriter Howard Rodman (1920–1985).
In his 20s and early 30s, Rodman was a typist, a legal proofreader, a mail-room clerk, a union organizer (for theCommittee of Interns and Residents) and the guitarist for various lower-Manhattan post-punk bands (Made in USA, Arsenal, Soul Sharks).[4][5] Starting as editor-in-chief ofThe Cornell Daily Sun,[6] Rodman has published scores of articles in venues includingThe New York Times,[7]The Los Angeles Times,[8]Los Angeles Magazine,[9] and theVillage Voice (for which he was a monthly columnist).[10]
His adaptations of Jim Thompson, David Goodis et al. for Showtime'sFallen Angels anthology series[11] were directed bySteven Soderbergh andTom Cruise. The screenplays were published inFallen Angels: Six Noir Tales Told for Television.[12] Rodman then wroteJoe Gould's Secret, which opened the 2000 Sundance festival and was subsequently released by October/USA Films.[13] Rodman's original screenplayF. was selected byPremiere Magazine as one of Hollywood's Ten Best Unproduced Screenplays.[14] Other films includeSavage Grace, starring Julianne Moore, andAugust, with Josh Hartnett, Rip Torn, and David Bowie—both of which had their US premieres at the2008 Sundance Film Festival.[15] They were released in 2008 from IFC and First Look, respectively. Rodman's screenplay forSavage Grace was nominated for a Spirit Award in the Best Screenplay category.[16]
Destiny Express was published in January 1990 byAtheneum Books.[17] It was blurbed byThomas Pynchon, who called it "Daringly imagined and darkly romantic — a moral thriller."[18][19]
Destiny Express is an historical romance. Set inBerlin in March 1933, it explores the stark choices faced by the German filmmaking community – chief among them legendary directorFritz Lang (M;Metropolis), and his acclaimed wife and collaborator,Thea von Harbou. Lang was famously offered the position of head of the Reich's film industry byJoseph Goebbels, and fled on the next train to Paris; von Harbou stayed, and made films for the Nazis.Destiny Express is thus the story of the end of a marriage, set in one of history's most crucial junctures. Other historical figures –Bertolt Brecht,Billy Wilder among them – play significant roles in the novel's intertwined narratives.[20]
The novelThe Great Eastern by Howard A. Rodman was published[21] on June 4, 2019, byMelville House Publishing. In 2020, actorKeegan-Michael Key was quoted inThe New York Times as saying of the book, "It’s great. It’s been my favorite read of the year so far."[22]
In March 2019, the film rights toThe Great Eastern were acquired by the UK film company Great Point Media, and Rodman was commissioned to write the screen adaptation.[23]
Rodman is a Governor of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[33] He founded and chairs the Writers Guild Independent Writers Caucus.[34] He has chaired FilmIndependent's Spirit Awards feature film jury[35] as well as the USC Scripter Awards.[36] He is the president of the USC chapter of theAmerican Association of University Professors,[37] a Fellow of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities;[38][39] a former trustee of the Writers Guild Foundation,[40] vice-chair of the Committee on the Professional Status of Writers;[41] and serves on several nonprofit boards, among them the Franco-American Cultural Fund,[42] and Cornell in Hollywood.[43] He is an alumnus of the Seed Fund Board of theLiberty Hill Foundation,[44] and a former editor ofThe Bill of Rights Journal.[45]
Rodman is also on Los Angeles committee of PEN America.[46]PEN International stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide.[47]
He is a member of theNational Film Preservation Board, which advises Librarian of Congress on the annual selection of films to the National Film Registry. It also advises on national film preservation planning policy.[48]
Rodman is a member ofThe Quill and Dagger Society, founded atCornell University in 1893.
Working with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles,[49] USC,[50] and the Writers Guild,[51] Rodman has conducted public conversations with such writers asTom Wolfe,[52]Ricky Jay, Jeannette Seaver,Vince Gilligan,Geoff Dyer, and LadyAntonia Fraser.[53][50]
In November 2019, he was a member of the jury[54] at the Cannes 1939 Film Festival in Orléans France.[55]
Rodman also contributes to theLos Angeles Review of Books.[56] His latest articles include 'After Hours Capitalism: On Tom Lutz's "Born Slippy"'[57] a review ofTom Lutz’s "Born Slippy",[58] published byRepeater Books and'On the 192nd Anniversary of the Birth of Jules Verne'.
Rodman contributed toBlack Clock literary magazine, published semi-annually byCalArts in association with its MFA Writing Program. Rodman's work was published in issues 4,[59] 5,[59] 10,[59] 13,[60] 19,[61] 20,[62] 21.[61]
Rodman contributed the afterword to 'No Room at the Morgue'[63] byJean-Patrick Manchette, published in 2020 byNew York Review Books.[63]
On October 31, 2013, Rodman was named a Chevalier del'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic.[64] In January 2023 he was promoted from Chevalier to Officier.
In February 2018 he was inducted intoFinal Draft (software)'s Screenwriters Hall of Fame,[65] alongsideRobert Towne,Steven Zaillian,Aaron Sorkin,Nancy Meyers,Paul Schrader,Lawrence Kasdan et al.
In February 2020 Rodman was presented with the USC Associates Award for Artistic Expression, "the highest honor the University bestows on its members for significant artistic impact," by USC Provost Charles Zukoski.[66]
He was married to the writer and media scholarAnne Friedberg,[67] author ofThe Virtual Window.[68] until her death in 2009; they have one son, Tristan Rodman. Their house, the 1957John Lautner "Zahn Residence," has been widely published. Their work with Lautner in restoring it was chronicled in the February 2002 issue ofDwell magazine.[69]
In June 2017, he wed the artist and professorMary Beth Heffernan.
In November 2023, he spoke in solidarity against academic repression of Palestinian activism.[70]
