James Toback
Encyclopedia
James Lee Toback is an American screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

 and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

.

Early life

Toback was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. His mother, Selma Judith (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Levy), was a President of The League of Women Voters and a moderator of political debates on NBC. His father, Irwin Lionel Toback, was a stockbroker and former Vice-President of Dreyfus & Company. Toback graduated from The Fieldston School in 1963 and from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

, magna cum laude, in 1966.

Career

After graduating from Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, Toback worked as a journalist. An assignment from Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

on football player Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...

 led to collaboration on Jim: The Author's Self-Centered Memoir of the Great Jim Brown.

In the early 1970s Toback taught creative writing at the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...

. He drew on this experience when he wrote the screenplay for The Gambler
The Gambler (1974 film)
The Gambler is a 1974 feature film starring James Caan, Lauren Hutton, and Paul Sorvino.The film is loosely based on the short novel The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and was filmed at a time when leading actor James Caan was battling his own addiction to cocaine...

.

In 1974, Toback's screenplay The Gambler
The Gambler (1974 film)
The Gambler is a 1974 feature film starring James Caan, Lauren Hutton, and Paul Sorvino.The film is loosely based on the short novel The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and was filmed at a time when leading actor James Caan was battling his own addiction to cocaine...

was produced. Much of the film was shot at City College. His directorial début was the 1978 film Fingers
Fingers (1978 film)
Fingers is a 1978 drama film directed by James Toback.-Synopsis:The film features Harvey Keitel as a pianist who also works for his loan shark father as a "collector"...

, remade twenty-eight years later by Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard is a French film director, the son of Michel Audiard, also a notable screenwriter and film director.He won twice both the César Award for Best Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language, in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped and in 2010 for A Prophet...

 as The Beat That My Heart Skipped
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
The Beat That My Heart Skipped is a 2005 French film directed by Jacques Audiard and starring Romain Duris. It tells the story of Tom, a real estate thug torn between a criminal life and his desire to become a concert pianist. The film premiered on February 17, 2005 at the Berlin Film Festival...

. Toback followed Fingers with Love and Money
Love and Money (film)
Love and Money is a 1982 drama film directed by James Toback and starring Ray Sharkey.-Cast:* Ray Sharkey - Byron Levin* Ornella Muti - Catherine Stockheinz* Klaus Kinski - Frederic Stockheinz* Armand Assante - Lorenzo Prado* King Vidor - Walter Klein...

in 1982. Toback wrote and directed Exposed
Exposed (1983 film)
Exposed is an English-language 1983 film directed and written by James Toback. Nastassja Kinski, Rudolf Nureyev and Harvey Keitel star.-Cast:* Nastassja Kinski as Elizabeth Carlson* Rudolf Nureyev as Daniel Jelline* Harvey Keitel as Rivas...

in 1983, and in 1989, Toback directed the documentary The Big Bang.

Toback wrote the original screenplay for Bugsy
Bugsy
Bugsy is a 1991 American crime-drama film which tells the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel. It stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth, and Bill Graham....

, which won the Golden Globe for Best Picture and was nominated for ten Academy Awards. Toback won the Los Angeles Film Critics' Award for Best Original Screenplay and a similar award from the readers of Premiere Magazine.

In 1998, Toback wrote and directed the comedy Two Girls and a Guy
Two Girls and a Guy
Two Girls and a Guy is a film produced in 1997 by Edward R. Pressman and Chris Hanley. The director was James Toback, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot:...

, and in 2000, he wrote and directed Black and White
Black and White (1999 film)
Black and White is a 1999 American film directed by James Toback, starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gaby Hoffmann, Allan Houston, Jared Leto, Scott Caan, Claudia Schiffer, Brooke Shields and a number of rap musicians, namely members of the Wu-Tang Clan and Onyx .The...

in collaboration with members of Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...

. He then wrote and directed Harvard Man
Harvard Man
Harvard Man is a 2001 feature film written and directed by James Toback. It had only a limited distribution in theatres in July 2002, and received little critical or popular acclaim, although it achieved some success when it was released on video and DVD in October of that year.The film stars...

starring Adrien Grenier in 2002. In 2004, Toback wrote and directed When Will I Be Loved and in 2009, Toback directed Tyson, a documentary about boxer Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

.

The 2006 documentary The Outsider is about Toback and his work.

Personal life

Toback was married to Consuelo Sarah Churchill Vanderbilt Russell, the granddaughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough
John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough , styled Marquess of Blandford until 1934, was a British peer....

.

Filmography

  • The Gambler
    The Gambler (1974 film)
    The Gambler is a 1974 feature film starring James Caan, Lauren Hutton, and Paul Sorvino.The film is loosely based on the short novel The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and was filmed at a time when leading actor James Caan was battling his own addiction to cocaine...

    (1974) - Writer
  • Fingers
    Fingers (1978 film)
    Fingers is a 1978 drama film directed by James Toback.-Synopsis:The film features Harvey Keitel as a pianist who also works for his loan shark father as a "collector"...

    (1978) - Writer/Director
  • Love and Money
    Love and Money (film)
    Love and Money is a 1982 drama film directed by James Toback and starring Ray Sharkey.-Cast:* Ray Sharkey - Byron Levin* Ornella Muti - Catherine Stockheinz* Klaus Kinski - Frederic Stockheinz* Armand Assante - Lorenzo Prado* King Vidor - Walter Klein...

    (1982) -Writer/Director/Producer
  • Exposed
    Exposed (1983 film)
    Exposed is an English-language 1983 film directed and written by James Toback. Nastassja Kinski, Rudolf Nureyev and Harvey Keitel star.-Cast:* Nastassja Kinski as Elizabeth Carlson* Rudolf Nureyev as Daniel Jelline* Harvey Keitel as Rivas...

    (1983) - Writer/Director/Producer
  • The Pick-up Artist
    The Pick-up Artist (film)
    The Pick-up Artist is a 1987 American film written and directed by James Toback. This romantic comedy starred Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr. It was rated PG-13 by the MPAA.-Plot:...

    (1987) - Writer/Director
  • The Big Bang (1989) - Writer/Director
  • Bugsy
    Bugsy
    Bugsy is a 1991 American crime-drama film which tells the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel. It stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth, and Bill Graham....

    (1991) - Writer
  • Two Girls and a Guy
    Two Girls and a Guy
    Two Girls and a Guy is a film produced in 1997 by Edward R. Pressman and Chris Hanley. The director was James Toback, who also wrote the screenplay.-Plot:...

    (1997) - Writer/Director
  • Black and White
    Black and White (1999 film)
    Black and White is a 1999 American film directed by James Toback, starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gaby Hoffmann, Allan Houston, Jared Leto, Scott Caan, Claudia Schiffer, Brooke Shields and a number of rap musicians, namely members of the Wu-Tang Clan and Onyx .The...

    (1999) - Writer/Director
  • Harvard Man
    Harvard Man
    Harvard Man is a 2001 feature film written and directed by James Toback. It had only a limited distribution in theatres in July 2002, and received little critical or popular acclaim, although it achieved some success when it was released on video and DVD in October of that year.The film stars...

    (2001) - Writer/Director
  • When Will I Be Loved (2004) - Writer/Director
  • Tyson (2008) - Writer/Director/Producer

Acting Credits

  • Exposed
    Exposed (1983 film)
    Exposed is an English-language 1983 film directed and written by James Toback. Nastassja Kinski, Rudolf Nureyev and Harvey Keitel star.-Cast:* Nastassja Kinski as Elizabeth Carlson* Rudolf Nureyev as Daniel Jelline* Harvey Keitel as Rivas...

    (1983)... Leo Boscovitch
  • Alice
    Alice (1990 film)
    Alice is a 1990 film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Joe Mantegna, Mia Farrow and Alec Baldwin. The film is a loose reworking of Federico Fellini's 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits.-Plot:...

    (1990)... Professor Davis
  • Bugsy
    Bugsy
    Bugsy is a 1991 American crime-drama film which tells the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel. It stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth, and Bill Graham....

    (1991)... Gus Greenbaum
  • Black and White
    Black and White (1999 film)
    Black and White is a 1999 American film directed by James Toback, starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gaby Hoffmann, Allan Houston, Jared Leto, Scott Caan, Claudia Schiffer, Brooke Shields and a number of rap musicians, namely members of the Wu-Tang Clan and Onyx .The...

    (1999)... Arnie Tishman
  • Death of a Dynasty
    Death of a Dynasty
    Death of a Dynasty is a comedy film first screened in 2003. It is a satire of the hip hop music industry centered around Roc-A-Fella Records, and stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Capone and Damon Dash. It also features cameo appearances by musicians, actors and celebrities such as Jay-Z, Mariah Carey,...

    (2003)... Lyor Cohen
  • When Will I Be Loved (2004)... Professor Hassan Al-Ibrahim Ben Rabinowitz

External links

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