Kevin Jarre | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Kevin Noel Clark (1954-08-06)August 6, 1954 |
| Died | April 3, 2011(2011-04-03) (aged 56) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, producer, actor |
| Parent(s) | Laura Devon Maurice Jarre (adoptive father) |
Kevin Noel Jarre (August 6, 1954 – April 3, 2011) was an American screenwriter, actor, and film producer. He adopted the last name of his adoptive father,Maurice Jarre.
Jarre was born on August 6, 1954, inDetroit, Michigan, to actressLaura Devon and her second husband, Cleland B. Clark.[1] After his parents' divorced, he lived inWyoming for a time with his father, whom he referred to as Hemingwayesque, and who had combined ranching and fashion photography. He then returned toLos Angeles with his mother, who was married at that time to actorBrian Kelly. In the mid-1960s, Devon subsequently married French composerMaurice Jarre, who adopted Kevin.
He was the step-brother ofJean-Michel Jarre and Stéfanie Jarre.
In the early 1990s, he had dated actressLisa Zane; he had written the role of Josephine Marcus inTombstone with her in mind.[2]
On July 25, 2009, Jarre was arrested inSanta Monica for driving while intoxicated, his bail was set at $5,000.[3]
In the 1960s, Jarre had small acting parts in the TV seriesFlipper. In England, while his father was scoring the filmRyan's Daughter, Kevin became a friend of writer-directorDavid Lean, who encouraged him to take up screenwriting and directing, giving him the booksJames Boswell'sLife of Johnson andAlan Moorehead'sThe Blue Nile andThe White Nile. One of his early scripts was an unproduced screenplay he had written calledEternal War, which was sent to producerPaul Kohner.[4] In the 1980s, he had written a story treatment that eventually becameRambo: First Blood Part II (1985), as Jarre later recalled in an interview in the documentaryTinsel - The Lost Movie About Hollywood:
"I wrote the first draft ofRambo. And I just did it, I was living on dog food at the time and I, you know, I needed a gig and I wanted to finish a spec script I was writing. And you know, they called, Stallone called me in and they had this idea about what they should do in the sequel toFirst Blood and I said, "Well, how about if maybe he searches for POWs in Southeast Asia and back in Vietnam?" He said, "Great, let's do it.""
He had a role in the shortA Hero of Our Time (1985), directed byMichael Almereyda and based onMikhail Lermontov'snovel of the same title, and screened in the 1992Sundance Film Festival. He also appeared in the filmGotham, the only movie directed by Lloyd Fonvielle.
He had a profound interest in history since childhood. He was especially fascinated by theAmerican Civil War, which led to his in-depth research of the54th Massachusetts Regiment which inspired his screenplay forGlory (1989).[5] He played a bit part as a quarrelsome soldier who picks a fight and later, as the 54th regiment heads for battle, yells, "Give 'em hell, 54th!" For his work onGlory, he was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and aWGA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.[6]
He began directingTombstone (1993) from his own screenplay but he was fired a month into shooting and replaced byGeorge P. Cosmatos. Jarre's scenes featuringCharlton Heston are still featured in the finished film.[7][8]
Jarre also wrote the screenplays forThe Mummy (1999)[9][10] andThe Devil's Own (1997).[11][12][13]
Jarre often worked as a script doctor, rewriting scripts, such as the 1990 movie,Navy Seals,[14][15] the 2004 movie,The Alamo,[16][17]Track Down, an unproduced screenplay written by Ron Mita and Jim McClain.,[18] and the 1997 movieThe Jackal (in which Jarre served as a producer), among other films.[19]
In addition to his produced work, Jarre was considered for, or had written several scripts that were never produced, such as a movie about theHell's Angels that would've been directed bySteve De Jarnatt and starredMickey Rourke,[20] an Adventure/Redemption story "of Saint Paul set in modern L.A." that he would’ve directed,[21] an adaptation ofBram Stoker'sDracula,[22][23][24][25] a film about the life and times ofWild Bill Hickok that he would've directed, a remake ofThe Magnificent Seven, a screenplay calledGolden Gate Iron that he co-wrote withDerick Martini, two screenplays titledDead of Summer, andFather and Son (Valhalla's Wake),[26][27] a Civil War suspense story aboutWard Hill Lamon, the friend and bodyguard ofU.S. PresidentAbraham Lincoln,[28][29] a script idea calledHot Springs,[30] andBlood Mark, a screenplay co-written withDesmond Nakano.[31]
The screenplays ofThe Devil's Own,[32]Tombstone,[33] andThe Mummy[34] were published as novels in 1997, 1994, and 1999 respectively.
Jarre died on April 3, 2011, inSanta Monica, California, of heart failure, at the age of 56.[35]
| Year | Film | Credit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Rambo: First Blood Part II | Story by | |
| 1988 | The Tracker | Written by | TV movie fromHBO, also known asDead or Alive in some countries |
| 1989 | Glory | Screenplay by | |
| 1990 | Navy Seals | Screenplay by | Co-wrote screenplay withChuck Pfarrer,Gary Goldman,Angelo Pizzo, &Alvin Sargent |
| 1993 | Judgment Night | Screenplay by, Written by | Co-wrote screenplay withLewis Colick & Jere Cunningham |
| Tombstone | Written by, Directed by | Director of theCharlton Heston scenes, Uncredited | |
| 1997 | The Devil's Own | Screenplay by, Story by | Co-wrote screenplay with David Aaron Cohen,Vincent Patrick,Terry George, &Robert Mark Kamen |
| The Jackal | Producer, Screenplay by | Uncredited Revision | |
| 1999 | The Mummy | Story by, Executive Producer | Co-wrote story with Lloyd Fonvielle andStephen Sommers |
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | Screenplay by | Uncredited Revision |
| 2004 | The Alamo | Screenplay by | Uncredited Revision |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | A Hero of our Time | The Hero | Short |
| 1988 | Gotham | Tim | TV movie fromShowtime |
| 1989 | Glory | 10th Connecticut Soldier | (uncredited) |
