John Patrick Shanley
Encyclopedia
John Patrick Shanley is an American playwright
, screenwriter
, and director
. He also contributed articles on the performing arts to The New York Times
among other publications.
, New York City
, to a telephone operator mother and a meat-packer father. He is a graduate of New York University
, and is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre
. He was also a United States Marine.
For his script for the 1987 film, Moonstruck
, Shanley won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
.
In 1990, Shanley directed his script of Joe Versus the Volcano
. Shanley also wrote two songs for the movie: "Marooned Without You" and "The Cowboy Song."
In 2002 Shanley was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame.
In 2005, Shanley's play Doubt: A Parable was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
and the Drama Desk Award
and Tony Award
for Best Play. Doubt: A Parable, is featured in The Fourth Wall, a book of photographs by Amy Arbus
in which Shanley also wrote the foreword.
In 2008, Shanley directed a film version of Doubt starring Meryl Streep
, Philip Seymour Hoffman
and Amy Adams
and Viola Davis
. Today, Shanley resides in New York.
Nominations
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, 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 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:...
. He also contributed articles on the performing arts to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
among other publications.
Life and career
Shanley was born in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, 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...
, to a telephone operator mother and a meat-packer father. He is a graduate of New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, and is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ensemble Studio Theatre
The Ensemble Studio Theatre is a membership-based, developmental theatre located in New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays.-Overview:...
. He was also a United States Marine.
For his script for the 1987 film, Moonstruck
Moonstruck
Moonstruck is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It stars Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis....
, Shanley won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
.
In 1990, Shanley directed his script of Joe Versus the Volcano
Joe Versus the Volcano
Joe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and—in three roles—Meg Ryan. The film is writer Shanley's directorial debut and the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan....
. Shanley also wrote two songs for the movie: "Marooned Without You" and "The Cowboy Song."
In 2002 Shanley was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame.
In 2005, Shanley's play Doubt: A Parable was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
and the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
and Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Play. Doubt: A Parable, is featured in The Fourth Wall, a book of photographs by Amy Arbus
Amy Arbus
Amy Arbus is a New York City based photographer and is the daughter of actor Allan Arbus and photographer Diane Arbus, and the sister of writer and journalist Doon Arbus....
in which Shanley also wrote the foreword.
In 2008, Shanley directed a film version of Doubt starring Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Philip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
and Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams is an American actress and singer. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous...
and Viola Davis
Viola Davis
Viola Davis is an American actress.Known primarily as a stage actress, Davis won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and a Drama Desk Award for her role in King Hedley II . She won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role in the...
. Today, Shanley resides in New York.
Stage
- Welcome to the Moon (1982)
- Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (1983)
- Savage in LimboSavage in LimboSavage In Limbo is a 1984 play by American playwright John Patrick Shanley. The play follows the tragicomic lives of a group of losers who frequent a seedy Bronx bar....
(1984) - The Dreamer Examines His Pillow (1985)
- Italian American ReconciliationItalian American ReconciliationItalian American Reconciliation is a play by John Patrick Shanley. It was first performed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut in 1986...
(1986) - Women of ManhattanWomen of ManhattanWomen of Manhattan is a play written by John Patrick Shanley and originally performed in 1986. It revolves around the lives of three women who are living in Manhattan: one has recently split up with her boyfriend, one is married, and one is considered a "fag hag" by the other two as she often...
(1986) - All For Charity (1987)
- The Big Funk (1990)
- Beggars in the House of Plenty (1991)
- What Is This Everything? (1992)
- Kissing Christine (1995)
- Missing Marisa (1995)
- Four Dogs and a Bone (1993)
- The Wild Goose (1995)
- Psychopathia SexualisPsychopathia Sexualis (play)Psychopathia Sexualis is a 1996 play by American playwright John Patrick Shanley.This play revolves around a struggling New York artist, Arthur, who has a secret involving a certain pair of socks. His best friend, Howard, tries to help him alleviate this problem, by seeing his psychiatrist, Dr....
(1998) - Where's My Money? (2001)
- CelliniCellini (play)Cellini is a 2001 play by American playwright John Patrick Shanley. It is based on the process that the sculptor Benvenuto Cellini went through in order to create his work Perseus with the Head of Medusa. In its 2001 performances, the role of Cellini was played by Reg Rogers and its cast of 27...
(2001) - Dirty StoryDirty StoryDirty Story is a 2003 play by John Patrick Shanley. It allegorically presents the political relationship between Israel and Palestine as a sexual, sadomasochistic relationship between a man and a woman. This turbulent relationship is refereed by a gun toting, cigarette selling American cowboy and...
(2003) - Doubt: A Parable (2004)
- Sailor's Song (2004)
- DefianceDefiance (play)Defiance is a 2005 play by American playwright John Patrick Shanley. The play concerns a colonel who promotes a black officer solely based on race...
(2005) - Romantic Poetry (2007) - cowritten with Henry KriegerHenry KriegerHenry Krieger is an American composer.Krieger wrote the music for the Broadway shows Dreamgirls , The Tap Dance Kid , and Side Show , as well as other works of musical theatre.He was nominated for the Tony Awards for Best Score for both Dreamgirls and Side Show, won a Grammy...
- Pirate (2010)
- Sleeping Demon (2011)
Filmography
- MoonstruckMoonstruckMoonstruck is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It stars Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis....
(1987) - Five Corners (1987)
- The January ManThe January ManThe January Man is a 1989 comedy/thriller film. It was directed by Pat O'Connor from a screenplay by John Patrick Shanley. The film stars Kevin Kline as Nick Starkey, a smart ex-New York City police detective who is lured back into service by his police commissioner brother when a serial killer...
(1989) - Joe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the VolcanoJoe Versus the Volcano is a 1990 comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and—in three roles—Meg Ryan. The film is writer Shanley's directorial debut and the first of three films pairing Hanks and Ryan....
(1990; directed by Shanley) - AliveAlive (1993 film)Alive is a 1993 American movie based upon Piers Paul Read's 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, which details the story of a Uruguayan rugby team who were involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972.The film was...
(1993) - We're Back! A Dinosaur's StoryWe're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (film)We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1993 American animated film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and originally released to theaters on November 24, 1993 for the United States. It was rated G by the MPAA...
(1993) - Congo (1995)
- Live From BaghdadLive from Baghdad (film)Live from Baghdad is a television movie produced in 2002 by HBO. It was directed by Mick Jackson and written by Robert Wiener . The movie was released during the prelude stage of the Iraq War....
(2002) (TV, Emmy nomination) - The Waltz of the Tulips (2006)
- Doubt (2008; directed by Shanley and adapted from his play of the same title)
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1988 Academy Award for Best Screenplay – MoonstruckMoonstruckMoonstruck is a 1987 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It stars Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, and Olympia Dukakis....
- 2005 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding New Play – Doubt: A Parable - 2005 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Drama – Doubt: A Parable - 2005 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Play – Doubt: A Parable - 2005 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play – Doubt: A Parable
- 2005 Drama Critics' Circle Award – Doubt: A Parable
- 2005 Obie AwardObie AwardThe Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for Playwriting – Doubt: A Parable
Nominations
- 2003 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, or Dramatic Special – Live from Baghdad - 2005 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play – Sailor's Song
- 2008 Golden Globe for Best Screenplay – Doubt
- 2008 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay – Doubt
- 2008 Critics' Choice Award for Writer – Doubt