William F. Zorzi
Encyclopedia
William F. Zorzi is an American
journalist and screenwriter. He worked at The Baltimore Sun
for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also written for the HBO
television series The Wire
.
for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also covered the courts and the crime beat. As a reporter Zorzi has been described as tough and cranky and characteristically refused to accept free gifts (including food) from the politicians he was covering. He wrote a weekly column called "The Political Game" for five years in the mid nineties. He left reporting in 1998 and became The Sun's Weekend Metropolitan Editor. He later became Assistant City Editor.
Zorzi had previously worked with television producer David Simon
at The Sun. Zorzi had a brief cameo appearance in the first season
of Simon's HBO crime series The Wire
. He appeared as a reporter in the 2002 episode "The Buys
." Zorzi joined the crew of The Wire as a staff writer for the third season
in 2004. Zorzi was hired to add authenticity to a new political story line. Fellow writer George Pelecanos
commented that he knew that anything he wrote for the political story line would be extensively re-written by Simon and Zorzi. Zorzi was promoted to story editor for the fourth season
in 2006 and made his television writing debut. He wrote the teleplay for the episode "Unto Others
" from a story he co-wrote with producer Ed Burns
. Zorzi and the writing staff won the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2008 ceremony
and the 2007 Edgar Award
for Best Television Feature/Mini-Series Teleplay for their work on the fourth season.
Zorzi returned as an executive story editor and writer for the fifth season
in 2008. He also joined the cast as a fictionalized version of himself. He wrote the teleplay for the episode "Unconfirmed Reports
" from a story he co-wrote with Simon. Zorzi and the writing staff were nominated for the WGA award for Best Dramatic Series a second time at the February 2009 ceremony
for their work on the fifth season but Mad Men
won the award.
Writer
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist and screenwriter. He worked at The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also written for the HBO
Home Box Office
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium network in America . In addition to its U.S...
television series The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
.
Journalism
He worked at The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
for almost twenty years and covered politics for the majority of his career. He has also covered the courts and the crime beat. As a reporter Zorzi has been described as tough and cranky and characteristically refused to accept free gifts (including food) from the politicians he was covering. He wrote a weekly column called "The Political Game" for five years in the mid nineties. He left reporting in 1998 and became The Sun's Weekend Metropolitan Editor. He later became Assistant City Editor.
Television
Zorzi left The Sun in 2002 to develop a script for HBO. The project was to be "about the volatile events surrounding a federal public housing desegregation case in Yonkers, NY." It is still in production.Zorzi had previously worked with television producer David Simon
David Simon
David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns...
at The Sun. Zorzi had a brief cameo appearance in the first season
The Wire (season 1)
The first season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on June 2, 2002, concluded on September 8, 2002, and contained 13 episodes...
of Simon's HBO crime series The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. He appeared as a reporter in the 2002 episode "The Buys
The Buys (The Wire episode)
"The Buys" is the third episode of the first season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by David Simon from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Peter Medak. It originally aired on June 16, 2002....
." Zorzi joined the crew of The Wire as a staff writer for the third season
The Wire (season 3)
The third season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 19, 2004, concluded on December 19, 2004, and contained 12 episodes...
in 2004. Zorzi was hired to add authenticity to a new political story line. Fellow writer George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer...
commented that he knew that anything he wrote for the political story line would be extensively re-written by Simon and Zorzi. Zorzi was promoted to story editor for the fourth season
The Wire (season 4)
The fourth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 10, 2006, concluded on December 10, 2006, and contained 13 episodes...
in 2006 and made his television writing debut. He wrote the teleplay for the episode "Unto Others
Unto Others
"Unto Others" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by William F. Zorzi from a story by Ed Burns & William F. Zorzi, and directed by Anthony Hemingway, it originally aired on October 29, 2006....
" from a story he co-wrote with producer Ed Burns
Ed Burns
Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher...
. Zorzi and the writing staff won the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for Best Dramatic Series at the February 2008 ceremony
Writers Guild of America Awards 2007
The 60th Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2007. Winners were announced on February 9, 2008.-Best Adapted Screenplay:...
and the 2007 Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Television Feature/Mini-Series Teleplay for their work on the fourth season.
Zorzi returned as an executive story editor and writer for the fifth season
The Wire (season 5)
The fifth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it contained 10 episodes...
in 2008. He also joined the cast as a fictionalized version of himself. He wrote the teleplay for the episode "Unconfirmed Reports
Unconfirmed Reports
"Unconfirmed Reports" is the second episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by William F. Zorzi from a story by David Simon & William F. Zorzi and was directed by Ernest Dickerson...
" from a story he co-wrote with Simon. Zorzi and the writing staff were nominated for the WGA award for Best Dramatic Series a second time at the February 2009 ceremony
Writers Guild of America Awards 2008
The 61st Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2008. Winners were announced on February 7, 2009.-Best Adapted Screenplay:...
for their work on the fifth season but Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
won the award.
Teaching
Following production of the fourth season Zorzi spent a year teaching Journalism at the Baltimore Freedom Academy, a public high school in the city. He also helped the school to launch a newspaper.Filmography
Production staff| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Wire The WIRE the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma... |
Executive story editor | Season 5 The Wire (season 5) The fifth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it contained 10 episodes... |
| 2006 | Story editor | Season 4 The Wire (season 4) The fourth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 10, 2006, concluded on December 10, 2006, and contained 13 episodes... |
|
| 2004 | Staff writer | Season 3 The Wire (season 3) The third season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 19, 2004, concluded on December 19, 2004, and contained 12 episodes... |
|
Writer
| Year | Show | Season | Episode title | Episode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Wire | 5 | "Unconfirmed Reports Unconfirmed Reports "Unconfirmed Reports" is the second episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series, The Wire. The episode was written by William F. Zorzi from a story by David Simon & William F. Zorzi and was directed by Ernest Dickerson... " |
2 | Teleplay by Zorzi, story by Zorzi and David Simon David Simon David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns... |
| 2006 | 4 | "Unto Others Unto Others "Unto Others" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the HBO original series The Wire. Written by William F. Zorzi from a story by Ed Burns & William F. Zorzi, and directed by Anthony Hemingway, it originally aired on October 29, 2006.... " |
7 | Teleplay by Zorzi, story by Zorzi and Ed Burns Ed Burns Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher... |
|
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Work | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... |
Outstanding Dramatic Series | The Wire The WIRE the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma... season 5 The Wire (season 5) The fifth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on January 6, 2008, and concluded on March 9, 2008; it contained 10 episodes... |
Shared with Ed Burns Ed Burns Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher... , Chris Collins Chris Collins (writer) Chris Collins is an American television writer and producer. He has worked on the HBO dramas The Sopranos and The Wire. He was an executive story editor for the Starz drama series Crash. He is a producer and writer for the FX series Sons of Anarchy.-Biography:Collins joined the crew of The Wire in... , Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane is an American author. He has written several award-winning novels, including A Drink Before the War and the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film. Another novel, Gone, Baby, Gone, was also adapted into an Academy... , David Mills David Mills (writer) David Eugene Mills was an American journalist, writer and producer of television programs. He was an executive producer and writer of the HBO miniseries The Corner, for which he won two Emmy Awards, and the creator, executive producer, and writer of the NBC miniseries Kingpin.-Early life:Mills was... , George Pelecanos George Pelecanos George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer... , Richard Price Richard Price Richard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the... and David Simon David Simon David Simon is an American author, journalist, and a writer/producer of television series. He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years. He wrote Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and co-wrote The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood with Ed Burns... |
|
| 2008 | The Wire season 4 The Wire (season 4) The fourth season of the television series The Wire commenced airing in the United States on September 10, 2006, concluded on December 10, 2006, and contained 13 episodes... |
Shared with Ed Burns, Chris Collins, Kia Corthron Kia Corthron Kia Corthron is an American playwright, activist, and television writer. She wrote an episode of The Wire entitled, "Know Your Place", as well as an episode of The Jury called, "Lamentation on the Reservation".-Biography:... , Dennis Lehane, David Mills, Eric Overmyer Eric Overmyer Eric Overmyer is a writer and producer. He has written and/or produced numerous TV shows, including St. Elsewhere, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, The Wire, New Amsterdam, and Treme.-Biography:... , George Pelecanos, Richard Price and David Simon |
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| 2007 | Edgar Award | Best Television Feature/Mini-Series Teleplay | Shared with Ed Burns, Kia Corthron, Dennis Lehane, David Mills, Eric Overmyer, George Pelecanos, Richard Price and David Simon | ||