Jane Goldman
Encyclopedia
Jane Lauretta Anne Goldman (born 11 June 1970) is an English screenwriter, author, model and television presenter. Between 2003 and 2004 she fronted her own paranormal
series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on the channel Living.
, London, the daughter of Amanda and Stuart Goldman, a property develper. Her father was Jewish and her mother Buddhist. She first became romantically involved with TV presenter Jonathan Ross
when she was a 16-year-old pop columnist for the Daily Star newspaper, and married him in 1988, when she was 18. They have since had three children: Betty Kitten (named after Bettie Page
and Kitten Natividad
) born July 1991, Harvey Kirby (named after comic book artist Jack Kirby
) born March 1994 and Honey Kinny born February 1997. The family lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb
, London.
Goldman wrote the novel Dreamworld, four non-fiction books for young adults, and the non-fiction, two-volume series The X-Files Book of the Unexplained, about the American television show. Goldman appears as a character in author Neil Gaiman
's short story "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" (1996).
She eventually made the jump to script writing, and was a part of the writing team for David Baddiel
's short-lived sitcom, Baddiel's Syndrome
. She was the co-writer of the screenplay for Stardust, based on Gaiman's novel, for which she won the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. After Stardust Goldman became a frequent collaborator of director Matthew Vaughn
, co-writing and producing his next movies, the comic book adaptations Kick-Ass
and X-Men: First Class
. Kick-Ass has caused controversy with the character of a child assassin, Hit-Girl. Goldman defends this character by stating, "It's not a movie for kids, it's not something kids should see. Obviously no little kid could go around doing this." She also scripted 2011 drama-thriller The Debt starring Helen Mirren
, and is currently adapting a screenplay from Susan Hill
's novel The Woman in Black
.
In June 2008 she was named Film-Maker of the Year at Glamour magazine's Women of the Year awards.
She wrote a monthly column in Total Guitar, where she was taught to play guitar by a professional musician.
topics in her series, Jane Goldman Investigates. She has individual episodes about several aspects of the paranormal, including ghost
s, clairvoyance
, astrology
and dowsing
. She takes a very hands-on approach, attempting to perform many of the tasks she's investigating, such as tarot card-reading and astrology. She dedicates one month to each topic, begins meeting with experts in each field and at the end of each month is given a final test to see how well she has grasped the subject matter.
Goldman also looks at the scientific
side of each subject and conducts experiments to further her investigation. For example, she set up an experiment with rune readings to see if people could pick their specific reading out of a group of many. While most of her shows are light-hearted and fun, a few delve into darker aspects of the paranormal, such as voodoo curse
s and poltergeist
s.
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on the channel Living.
Personal life
Goldman was born in HammersmithHammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London, the daughter of Amanda and Stuart Goldman, a property develper. Her father was Jewish and her mother Buddhist. She first became romantically involved with TV presenter Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
when she was a 16-year-old pop columnist for the Daily Star newspaper, and married him in 1988, when she was 18. They have since had three children: Betty Kitten (named after Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
and Kitten Natividad
Kitten Natividad
Kitten Natividad is a Mexican American film actress and exotic dancer, noted for her 44-inch chest and appearances in cult films by her ex-partner, director Russ Meyer.-Early years:...
) born July 1991, Harvey Kirby (named after comic book artist Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
) born March 1994 and Honey Kinny born February 1997. The family lives in Hampstead Garden Suburb
Hampstead Garden Suburb
-Notable Residents :*Theo Adams*Martin Bell*Sir Victor Blank*Katie Boyle*Constantine, the last King of Greece*Greg Davies*Richard & Judy Finnigan*David Matthews*Michael Ridpath*Claudia Roden*Jonathan Ross*Sir Donald Sinden*Marc Sinden...
, London.
Career
Goldman worked as a staff writer on the multi-format computer games magazine Zero, circa 1990–1992.Goldman wrote the novel Dreamworld, four non-fiction books for young adults, and the non-fiction, two-volume series The X-Files Book of the Unexplained, about the American television show. Goldman appears as a character in author Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's short story "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch" (1996).
She eventually made the jump to script writing, and was a part of the writing team for David Baddiel
David Baddiel
David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, novelist and television presenter.-Early life:Baddiel was born in New York, and moved to England when he was four months old. His father, Colin Brian Baddiel, was a Welsh research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after...
's short-lived sitcom, Baddiel's Syndrome
Baddiel's Syndrome
Baddiel's Syndrome is a British television comedy series that originally aired on Sky One in 2001. It centered around a therapy-attending architect played by David Baddiel.-Cast:*David Baddiel as David...
. She was the co-writer of the screenplay for Stardust, based on Gaiman's novel, for which she won the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. After Stardust Goldman became a frequent collaborator of director Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch and directing the films Layer Cake , Stardust and Kick-Ass...
, co-writing and producing his next movies, the comic book adaptations Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass (film)
Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman...
and X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics starring the X-Men.-Publication history:The original series was an eight-issue limited series. It began in September 2006 and ended in April 2007. It was written by Jeff Parker and penciled by Roger Cruz...
. Kick-Ass has caused controversy with the character of a child assassin, Hit-Girl. Goldman defends this character by stating, "It's not a movie for kids, it's not something kids should see. Obviously no little kid could go around doing this." She also scripted 2011 drama-thriller The Debt starring Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
, and is currently adapting a screenplay from Susan Hill
Susan Hill
Susan Hill is an English author of fiction and non-fiction works. Her novels include The Woman in Black, The Mist in the Mirror and I'm the King of the Castle for which she received the Somerset Maugham Award in 1971....
's novel The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black
The Woman in Black is a 1983 thriller fiction novel by Susan Hill about a menacing spectre that haunts a small English town.It was adapted into a stage play by Stephen Mallatratt...
.
In June 2008 she was named Film-Maker of the Year at Glamour magazine's Women of the Year awards.
She wrote a monthly column in Total Guitar, where she was taught to play guitar by a professional musician.
Jane Goldman Investigates
Goldman takes on several paranormalParanormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
topics in her series, Jane Goldman Investigates. She has individual episodes about several aspects of the paranormal, including ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s, clairvoyance
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
, astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
and dowsing
Dowsing
Dowsing is a type of divination employed in attempts to locate ground water, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, gravesites, and many other objects and materials, as well as so-called currents of earth radiation , without the use of scientific apparatus...
. She takes a very hands-on approach, attempting to perform many of the tasks she's investigating, such as tarot card-reading and astrology. She dedicates one month to each topic, begins meeting with experts in each field and at the end of each month is given a final test to see how well she has grasped the subject matter.
Goldman also looks at the scientific
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
side of each subject and conducts experiments to further her investigation. For example, she set up an experiment with rune readings to see if people could pick their specific reading out of a group of many. While most of her shows are light-hearted and fun, a few delve into darker aspects of the paranormal, such as voodoo curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
s and poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
s.
Film credits
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 2007 in film This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007... |
Stardust | co-writer (screenplay) |
| 2010 2010 in film The year 2010 saw many new films released worldwide. 2010 saw a dramatic increase and prominence in the use of 3D-technology in filmmaking and film releases after the success of Avatar in the format, with releases such as Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Jackass 3D, all animated films and... |
Kick-Ass Kick-Ass (film) Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman... |
co-writer (screenplay), co-producer |
| 2011 2011 in film The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :... |
The Debt | co-writer (screenplay and story) |
| 2011 2011 in film The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :... |
X-Men: First Class X-Men: First Class X-Men: First Class is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics starring the X-Men.-Publication history:The original series was an eight-issue limited series. It began in September 2006 and ended in April 2007. It was written by Jeff Parker and penciled by Roger Cruz... |
co-writer (screenplay) |
| 2011 2011 in film The year 2011 is notable for containing the release of the most film sequels in a single year, at 27 sequels. The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2011.- Highest-grossing films :... |
The Woman in Black The Woman in Black (2011 film) The Woman in Black is an upcoming 2012 supernatural thriller film directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman, and is based on Susan Hill's novel of the same name. It is produced by Hammer Film Productions. The film will star Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Sophie Stuckey,... |
Writer (screenplay) |
| 2012 2012 in film The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2012... |
Kick Ass 2 | co-writer (screenplay), co-producer |
External links
- Review on DooYoo