Richard John Briley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard John Briley (1925-06-25)June 25, 1925 Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 2019(2019-12-14) (aged 94) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (BA), (MA) University of Birmingham (PhD) |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
Richard John Briley[1][2] (June 25, 1925[1][2][3] – December 14, 2019) was an American writer best known for screenplays of biographical films. He won theBest Original Screenplay Oscar at the55th Academy Awards forGandhi (1982).[1][4] As well as film scripts, he wrote for television and theatre, and published several novels.[1]
Briley was born inKalamazoo, Michigan,[1][2][3] and served in theUnited States Army Air Forces, 1943–46, reaching the rank ofcaptain.[1] At theUniversity of Michigan, he gained a BA in 1950 and an MA in English 1951.[1] He married Dorothy Louise Reichart in 1950, and they had four children.[2] He worked inpublic relations forGeneral Motors before rejoining the air force in 1955.[1] He was posted toRAF Northolt airbase atSouth Ruislip near London, where he was director of orientation activities and started writing.[1]
In 1960, he earned a PhD inElizabethan drama from theUniversity of Birmingham, left the air force and became a staff writer withMGM-British inBorehamwood.[1] While with the studio, he wrote the script forChildren of the Damned (1964), effectively a sequel ofVillage of the Damned (1960), but objected to the changes made for the finished film.[5] He left MGM in 1964.[1] He also had an uncredited part in the comedySituation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965).[1][3][6]
Briley's script forPope Joan (1972) attracted the interest ofRichard Attenborough, although Attenborough was ultimately not involved in that project,[7] and the film was critically panned.[8] Several scripts for Attenborough's Gandhi project had been rejected, andRobert Bolt was scheduled to rewrite his own earlier draft when he suffered a stroke.[7] Attenborough then turned to Briley.[7] Briley shifted the focus of the narrative away from the point of view of theBritish in India to that of theIndian independence movement.[7] He originally opposedBen Kingsley in the title role, favouringJohn Hurt, but was later glad that Attenborough had cast Kingsley.[7] Briley envisaged more emphasis on the relationship between Gandhi andJawaharlal Nehru, but Kingsley's towering performance came to dominate the finished film.[7] Briley claims he and Attenborough were personally satisfied with the movie and unconcerned about any critical and commercial success.[7] In the event, Briley's original screenplay won theOscar and theGolden Globe.[1][4][7] Attenborough later said of Briley, "He's a difficult bugger, a bit of a prima-donna, but the bastard's brilliant".[9]
In 1985, Briley began developing a musical aboutMartin Luther King Jr.,[10][11] writing the book and lyrics[10] and acting as co-producer, originally forAmerican Playhouse.[11] He left the project in February 1989 after contract negotiations broke down.[11] A different version opened in London in 1990. Briley attempted to obtain aninjunction, claiming he had paid the King family $200,000 inpersonality rights.[11]
In 1987, Briley again teamed up with Attenborough forCry Freedom, about theSouth African anti-apartheid activistSteve Biko.[9] Briley had disagreements withDonald Woods, the journalist whose books formed the basis of the script.[9] Briley viewed thenonviolence of theBlack Consciousness Movement as principled, whereas Woods felt it was a tactical decision.[9] Although Woods feared Briley lacked an awareness of the complexities of political debate among black South Africans, those shown a preview of the film felt it was realistic.[9]
In 1993, Briley switchedagents fromInternational Creative Management to theWilliam Morris Agency.[12] In 1998, he was a founding partner of "the Film Makers Company", a venture intended to encourage film production inBridgeport, Connecticut, and was planning to relocate to there.[13] He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at theBig Bear Lake International Film Festival in 2000.[14] He died on December 14, 2019, aged 94.[15]
Unproduced scripts on which Briley worked include: adaptations ofHenderson the Rain King,[2][16]Mister God, This Is Anna,[2]White Fang,[2]Man's Fate,[17] and his own novelHow Sleep the Brave;[2] biopics ofFranz Kafka,[16]Genghis Khan – to have been directed byShin Sang-ok,[16]Robert Hunter (Warriors of the Rainbow) – to have been directed byRenny Harlin,[18][19]Tina Modotti (A Fragile Life),[2][20]Beryl Markham (West with the Night), andPope John Paul II;[21]The Cross and the Crescent,[1] aboutFrancis of Assisi and theCrusades;[22] and aminiseries about theItalian Renaissance.[23] Briley's adaptation ofArthur Miller's playThe Crucible was dropped when Miller's son Robert secured production rights; Arthur Miller himself wrote the screenplay forthe 1996 film.[24]
| Name | Year | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The History of Sex[3] | 1999 | television | History Channel documentary |
| The First Stone[2] | 1997 | novel | AJewish American woman is recruited byMossad to marry a rich Saudi Arabian.[30] |
| Mary Sidney – a 20th Century Reappraisal[31] | 1985 | book chapter | In afestschrift for Willem Schrickx |
| The Last Dance[2] | 1978 | novel | A rogue scientist tries to force globaldisarmament by threatening anuclear holocaust.[32][33] |
| So Who Needs Men![2] | 1976 | theatre | bedroom farce set in university lodgings; Briley also directed.[34] |
| The Traitors[2] | 1969 | novel | In theVietnam War, six US soldiers are captured by theViet Cong and indoctrinated by a renegadeGI.[35]Richard Rhodes reviewed the novel in theNew York Times as, "Bitter reality... it all might have happened... the terrible thing is that it ever had to."[36] TheChicago Sun-Times called it, "A magnificent blockbuster of a book. If you can find the time to read only one book this year, letThe Traitors be that book."David Schoenbrun ofCBS said, "It captures the tragedy and comedy, in the classic sense, of that absurd aberration of American history." Shirley K. Sullivan ofKTIB Radio called it, "Unsettling, haunting... a proper shocker," and theSaturday Review of Literature urged, "Read it for his explosive accounts of jungle warfare and his moral passion." Described byPeter S. Prescott as "a sermon masquerading as a novel".[37] UK edition (1971) titledHow Sleep the Brave[2][38] |
| The Airbase[2][6] | 1965 | television | BBC sitcom ; based on his own experiences[1] |
| Seven Bob a Buck,[2] subtitled How to Survive as a Tourist in the USA[39] | 1964 | theatre | "a short-lived, intimaterevue which satirisedAmerican values and attitudes";[40] Briley also acted in it.[41] Televised onBBC2 asSee America First on November 28, 1964. |
| Hits and Misses[2] | 1962 | television | BBCteleplay |
| A biography ofWilliam Herbert, third earl of Pembroke, 1580–1630 | 1961 | dissertation | PhDdissertation[42] |
| Edward Alleyn andHenslowe's Will[43] | 1958 | journal article | inShakespeare Quarterly |
| Of Stake and Stage[44] | 1955 | book chapter | inShakespeare Survey |
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| International | |
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