Craig Mazin

Craig Mazin (born April 8, 1971) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for creating the five-part miniseries Chernobyl, based on the nuclear disaster of the same name in 1986. His work earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special and Outstanding Limited Series.

Craig Mazin
Born (1971-04-08) April 8, 1971
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter
Years active1997–present
Notable work
Chernobyl

Early life

Mazin was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Russian-Jewish family.[1][2] He was raised on Staten Island, New York. He moved to Marlboro Township, New Jersey when he was a teen and attended Freehold High School which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2010.[3]

Mazin graduated magna cum laude with a degree in psychology from Princeton University in 1992. His freshman-year roommate at Princeton was Ted Cruz, now the junior U.S. Senator from Texas and a former Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election year.[4][5] He is highly critical of Cruz as well as his political views, and ridicules him frequently on Twitter.[6]

Career

Mazin began his entertainment career as a marketing executive with Walt Disney Pictures in the mid-1990s, where he was responsible for writing and producing campaigns for studio films.[3]

He made his screenwriting debut with 1997's sci-fi comedy RocketMan, co-written with then-writing partner Greg Erb.[7] He has since written movies such as Senseless, Scary Movie 3, Scary Movie 4 and Identity Thief.

Mazin has directed two films: 2000's low-budget superhero film The Specials, which he also produced, and the 2008 superhero spoof Superhero Movie, which he also wrote.

Since 2006, Mazin has collaborated with director Todd Phillips on several occasions. Mazin co-wrote both Hangover sequels, parts II and III, and executive produced School for Scoundrels.

In 2004, Mazin was elected to the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America, West. He did not seek re-election, and his term expired in September 2006.

Along with fellow former WGA board member Ted Elliott, Mazin ran a website called The Artful Writer, which focused on issues relevant to working screenwriters. It closed in 2011, after seven years.

In 2011, Mazin and fellow screenwriter John August began Scriptnotes, a weekly podcast on the craft of screenwriting and the film industry.[8]

In July 2017, HBO and Sky Television announced Chernobyl, a five-part miniseries from Mazin about the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. The series was filmed in Lithuania and Ukraine.[9] Mazin said that the "lesson of Chernobyl isn’t that modern nuclear power is dangerous. The lesson is that lying, arrogance, and suppression of criticism are dangerous."[10]

In an interview with Decider, Mazin said: "If I came to HBO and said ‘I want to do another season of Chernobyl, except it’s gonna be about another terrible tragedy,’ whether it's Bhopal or Fukushima or something like that, I would imagine they at least would give me polite interest."[11]

Mazin was named as the current scriptwriter for the Lionsgate film adaption of the Borderlands video game series in February 2020,[12] as well as co-writer and co-executive producer for a television series adaption of the video game The Last of Us for HBO in March 2020.[13] The Last of Us adaptation was greenlit by HBO in November 2020.[14] More recently, he signed an overall deal with HBO.[15]

Politics

Mazin supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[16][17]

Filmography
YearTitleCreditNotes
1997RocketManScreenplay, story byScreenplay by Craig Mazin and Greg Erb, story by Oren Aviv, Craig Mazin & Greg Erb
1998SenselessWritten byWith Greg Erb
2000The SpecialsDirector, co-producer
2003Scary Movie 3Written byWritten by Craig Mazin and Pat Proft
2006Scary Movie 4Screenplay, story by, producerScreenplay by Craig Mazin, Jim Abrahams & Pat Proft, story by Craig Mazin
School for ScoundrelsExecutive producer
2008Superhero MovieWritten by, director, producerAlso has a cameo appearance (as a janitor)
2011The Hangover Part IIWritten byWith Scot Armstrong & Todd Phillips
2012The WordsSpecial thanks
2013Identity ThiefScreenplay, storyScreenplay by Craig Mazin, story by Craig Mazin and Jerry Eeten
The Hangover Part IIIWritten byWith Todd Phillips
Free BirdsSpecial thanks
2016The Huntsman: Winter's WarWriterWith Evan Spiliotopoulos
Don't Think TwiceSpecial thanks
2019ChernobylCreator, executive producer, writerTV miniseries
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or a Dramatic Special
2020–present Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet Lou
TBDBorderlandsScreenplay
TBDThe Last of Us[18]Executive Producer, WriterWritten by Mazin and Neil Druckmann
TBDUntitled Pirates of the Caribbean sixth filmScreenplay

References
  1. https://www.indiewire.com/2019/08/chernobyl-craig-mazin-hbo-emmys-1202167548/
  2. https://forward.com/schmooze/330197/ted-cruzs-jewish-college-roomie-remembers-when-with-acid-tongue/
  3. Celano, Clare Marie. "Freehold Hall of Fame inductees to be feted", News Transcript, March 3, 2010. Accessed February 5, 2011. "Screenwriter and author Craig Mazin, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., was 13 when he moved to Marlboro."
  4. http://theslot.jezebel.com/fuckin-craig-mazin-an-appreciation-of-ted-cruzs-colleg-1746278435
  5. Patricia Murphy. "Ted Cruz at Princeton: Creepy, Sometimes Well Liked, and Exactly the Same"
  6. Millstein, Seth (April 16, 2016). "These 17 Craig Mazin Tweets About Ted Cruz Are Some Of The Funniest Of The Campaign". Bustle. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  7. "Interview (Part 1): Craig Mazin – Go Into The Story". Go Into The Story. 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  8. Scriptnotes on iTunes
  9. Littleton, Cynthia (2017-07-26). "HBO Sets 'Chernobyl' Miniseries to Star Jared Harris". Variety. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  10. Towhey, Jessica (June 23, 2019). "Will HBO's 'Chernobyl' Miniseries Impact Perceptions of Nuclear Power?". Inside Sources. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  11. "People are asking the writer of Chernobyl to do a similar show and he has some thoughts". Joe. June 6, 2019.
  12. McNary, Dave (February 20, 2020). "Eli Roth to Direct 'Borderlands' Movie for Lionsgate". Variety. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  13. Otterson, Joe (March 5, 2020). "'The Last of Us' Series in Development at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  14. White, Peter (2020-11-20). "'The Last Of Us': HBO Hands Series Order To Video Game Adaptation From Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
  15. "'Last of Us' EP Craig Mazin Extends HBO Overall Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  16. "The Creator of Chernobyl on Viewers Taking Away the Wrong Lessons". Slate. June 3, 2019.
  17. "Chernobyl: The Show Russiagate Wrote". Jacobin. July 7, 2019.
  18. "'The Last of Us' Series in the Works at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. March 5, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
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