Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Scott Alexander (born June 16, 1963, Los Angeles, California) and Larry Karaszewski (/ˌkærəˈzjuːski/; born November 20, 1961, South Bend, Indiana) are an American screenwriting team. They met at the University of Southern California where they were roommates; they graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts in 1985.[2]
Scott Alexander | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 16, 1963 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Children | 3[1] |
Larry Karaszewski | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 20, 1961 South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC School of Cinematic Arts |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse(s) | Emily Karazewski (m. 1991) |
| Children | 2 |
Biography
Their first success was the popular but critically derided comedy Problem Child (1990). Alexander and Karaszewski claim that their original screenplay was a sophisticated black comedy, but that the studio watered it down into an unrecognizable state.[3]
In 1994, Alexander and Karaszewski persuaded Tim Burton to direct a biopic about Edward D. Wood, Jr., titled Ed Wood. They wrote the screenplay in six weeks.[4]
Ed Wood led to a succession of offbeat biopics, including The People vs. Larry Flynt; Man on the Moon, about the short life of comedian Andy Kaufman; and Auto Focus, chronicling the downfall and subsequent murder of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, which they produced. A script they penned about the life of Robert Ripley of Ripley's Believe It or Not! was at one time attached to Jim Carrey, but like their scripts about The Marx Brothers, The Village People, and Rollen Stewart a.k.a. "Rainbow Man", it has yet to be produced.
They also adapted Stephen King's short story 1408, did uncredited rewrites on Mars Attacks! and Hulk, and worked on a number of family films, such as Agent Cody Banks and the 1997 remake of That Darn Cat. In 2000, they made their directorial debut with Screwed. The film was not well received.
In 2007, they both appeared in the documentary Dreams on Spec, a film looking at the Hollywood creative process from the perspective of the writer.
The duo wrote Tim Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes, a biopic about painter Margaret Keane. They were slated to direct, but vacated later. They were also set to collaborate with Burton on a new stop-motion The Addams Family film, but the project was scrapped in 2013.[5]
In 2014, the team began working on their first television series, American Crime Story, which is a true crime anthology drama. The first season is based on the O. J. Simpson trial.[6] The show won nine Primetime Emmys after it aired on FX in 2016, with Alexander and Karaszewski nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.
Filmography
As screenwriters
| Year | Film | Director | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Problem Child | Dennis Dugan | |
| 1991 | Problem Child 2 | Brian Levant | |
| 1994 | Ed Wood | Tim Burton | Nominated–Saturn Award for Best Writing Nominated–Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| 1996 | The People vs. Larry Flynt | Miloš Forman | Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| 1997 | That Darn Cat | Bob Spiers | |
| 1999 | Man on the Moon | Miloš Forman | |
| 2000 | Screwed | - | Also Directors |
| 2003 | Agent Cody Banks | Harald Zwart | Co-written with Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz |
| 2007 | 1408 | Mikael Håfström | Co-written with Matt Greenberg |
| 2013 | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | Thor Freudenthal | Uncredited |
| 2014 | Big Eyes | Tim Burton | Also Producers Nominated–Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay |
| 2015 | Goosebumps | Rob Letterman | Story only |
| 2019 | Dolemite Is My Name | Craig Brewer |
Television series
| Year | Film | Director | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–94 | Problem Child | Various | TV series Also executive producers |
| 2016–present | American Crime Story | TV series Also executive producers and creators Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series (2016, 2018) Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film (2017, 2019) Producers Guild of America Award for Best Long-Form Television (2017) Producers Guild of America Award for Best Limited Series Television (2019) Writers Guild Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted Nominated–Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special | |
Other credits
- Auto Focus (2002) – Producers
References
- "Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski". Final Draft. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
- "An Evening with Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski". Cinema.usc.edu. November 2, 2010.
- "Money-into-light.com". Money-into-light.com. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- Yahoo.com
- Debruge, Peter (July 17, 2013). "Illumination Chief Chris Meledandri Lines Up Originals for Universal". Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
At the same time, Illumination has scrapped a number of planned movie ideas. "Waldo" and a Tim Burton-helmed, stop-motion The Addams Family are dead. The company abandoned a Woody Woodpecker pic, and couldn't crack "Clifford the Big Red Dog."
- Zuckerman, Esther (January 17, 2015). "Ryan Murphy to tackle O.J. Simpson case with 'American Crime Story'". Entertainment Weekly.