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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Screenwriter of the Month: William Monahan

Screenwriter, William Monahan.
Picture found here.
A Short Biography: 

Born November 3, 1960, William J. Monahan is an American screenwriter and novelist. His second produced screenplay was The Departed, a film that earned him a WGA award and an Academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Monahan attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He moved to New York City and contributed to the alternative weekly newspaper New York Press and the magazines Talk, Maxim, and Spy. In 1997 Monahan won a Pushcart Prize for his short story "A Relation of Various Accidents Observable in Some Animals Included in Vacuo". Monahan was an editor at Spy during the magazine's final years, where he would come in at the close of the monthly issue to rewrite articles and improve jokes.

William Monahan's 
novel Light House.
Picture found here.
Monahan wrote a novel titled Light House: A Trifle, and Warner Bros. optioned the film rights. In 1999 Talk magazine debuted, and Monahan contributed a travelogue on Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the first issue. In 2000 Monahan's first novel, Light House: A Trifle, was finally published, and it garnered critical acclaim; The New York Times proclaimed, "Monahan's cocksure prose gallops along" and BookPage Fiction called Monahan "a worthy successor to Kingsley Amis." In the second half of 2001 Monahan wrote a fictional column at the New York Press under the pseudonym of Claude La Badarian, which ran for 13 weeks. The screenplay adaptation has not been produced. A few years later, he bought back the rights and took the novel off the market.

In 2001, 20th Century Fox bought Monahan's spec script Tripoli, about William Eaton's epic march on Tripoli during the Barbary Wars, in a deal worth mid-six figures in American dollars, with Mark Gordon attached as producer. The script was given to Ridley Scott to direct. Monahan met with Scott to discuss Tripoli, and Scott mentioned his desire to direct a film about knights. Monahan suggested the Crusades as a setting, reasoning that "you've got every conceivable plot imaginable there, which is far more exotic than fiction". Scott was captivated by Monahan's pitch and hired him to write the screenplay for Kingdom of Heaven. Tripoli was eventually shelved, but Monahan retained ownership of the screenplay and therefore the right to consider new offers at a later date. 

Ridley Scott on the set of Kingdom of Heaven.
Picture found here.
Kingdom of Heaven was the first of Monahan's screenplays to be produced into a film. Monahan had negotiated a production write-through contract for Kingdom of Heaven, which allowed him to be present on the movie sets to make modifications to the shooting script during production. It was poorly received by critics when it was released in theaters in 2005. Kingdom was critically reappraised when it was released on DVD in the form of a director's cut that contained an additional 45 minutes of footage previously shot from Monahan's shooting script. Some critics were pleased with the extended version of the film.

Monahan steadily secured work in the film industry throughout the 2000s. Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, hired Monahan to write an adaptation of Hong Kong director Andrew Lau's gangster film Infernal Affairs. Monahan respun Infernal Affairs as a battle between Irish American gangsters and cops in Boston's Southie district, and Martin Scorsese directed the completed screenplay under the title The Departed for Warner Bros. Monahan's work on the film would later earn him two Best Adapted Screenplay awards, from the Writers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

William Monahan hugging
Martin Scorsese with the cast of
The Departed around them
at the 2008 Oscars.
Picture found here.
Monahan's second produced screenplay was The Departed, an adaptation of the Hong Kong action film Infernal Affairs. Jack Nicholson, one of the leads in the film, had an impact on the screenplay. "I had written the role as a post-sexual 68-year-old Irishman. Jack is post-sexual exactly never," Monahan said later. "What Jack did is great. Did he change the words? Not any of the good ones." Monahan received considerable praise from critics when the film was released in theaters in 2006, and was applauded for accurately depicting the city of Boston. Monahan used his intimate knowledge of the way Bostonians talk and act, learned from his youth spent in the many neighborhoods of Boston, to create characters that The Boston Globe described as distinctly indigenous to the city. By the end of 2006, The Departed had won many critics' prizes. Monahan was honored by The Boston Society of Film Critics with the award for best screenplay, by the Chicago Film Critics Association for best adapted screenplay, and by the Southeastern Film Critics Association with another best adapted screenplay award. Monahan took an unusual route for a screenwriter and hired a publicist to run a campaign promoting his screenplay during awards season. Monahan ended up winning two Best Adapted Screenplay awards for The Departed, from the Writers Guild of America and from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He received an award for his writing in film at the US-Ireland Alliance’s second annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring Irish Writing in Film" ceremony.

Poster of original
Confession of Pain.
Picture found here.
In 2006, Monahan negotiated a first-look producing deal with Warner Bros., which gives the studio the first right of first refusal on any films produced by Henceforth, a production company he started. In return Henceforth received the film rights to produce John Pearson's true crime novel The Gamblers, which Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to.

In 2007, Monahan was hired to work on two film projects: an adaptation of the Hong Kong film Confession of Pain and an original rock and roll film, The Long Play. Monahan will executive produce and write the adaptation for Confession of Pain which will be called Nothing in the World. The adaptation of Confession of Pain will be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, for Warner Bros. Pictures. Monahan's other assignment is to rewrite a screenplay about the history of the rock music business called The Long Play. The Long Play is the creation of Mick Jagger, lead singer of The Rolling Stones, and was nurtured at Jagger's production company, Jagged Films. Martin Scorsese became involved while the film project was at Disney but subsequently negotiated a turnaround deal to bring the The Long Play to Paramount.

Monahan's directorial debut was London Boulevard, released in 2010.
(Source #1)
His Movies:

Director's cut
dvd cover of
Kingdom of Heaven .
Picture found here.
- "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) - "It is the time of the Crusades during the Middle Ages - the world shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East. A blacksmith named Balian (Orlando Bloom) has lost his family and nearly his faith. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds. Destiny comes seeking Balian in the form of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a Crusader briefly home to France from fighting in the East. Revealing himself as Balian's father, Godfrey shows him the true meaning of knighthood and takes him on a journey across continents to the fabled Holy City. In Jerusalem at that moment--between the Second and Third Crusades--a fragile peace prevails, through the efforts of its enlightened Christian king, Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), aided by his advisor Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and the military..." Written by Sujit R. Varma (Source here.)

Poster of
The Departed.
Picture found here.
- "The Departed" (2006) - "In South Boston, the state police force is waging war on Irish-American organized crime. Young undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate run by gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). While Billy quickly gains Costello's confidence, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a hardened young criminal who has infiltrated the state police as an informer for the syndicate, is rising to a position of power in the Special Investigation Unit. Each man becomes deeply consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operations he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to both the mob and the police that there's a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin are suddenly in danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy-and each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself. But is either willing to turn on the friends and comrades they've made during their long stints undercover?" Written by Anonymous (Source here.)
- Won for the Boston Society of Film Critics Award 
for "Best Screenplay" of 2006.
- Won the Oscar for "Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay" for 2007, 
based on the 2002 screenplay by Alan Mak and Felix Chong.
- Nominated for a 2007 BAFTA for "Best Writing - Adapted".
- Nominated for the 2007 "Best Writer" Award 
from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. 
- Won the 2007 "Best Screenplay - Adapted" by the 
Central Ohio Film Critics Association.
- Won the Chicago Film Critics Association Award 
for "Best Screenplay - Adapted".
- Won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for 
"Best Motion Picture Screen Play" of 2007.
- Won for the Florida Film Critics Circle Award 
for "Best Screenplay" of 2006.
- Nominated for 2007 Golden Globe 
"Best Screenplay - Motion Picture" award.

Body of Lies poster.
Picture found here.
- "Body of Lies" (2008) - "Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a CIA operative in the Middle East; Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is his control at Langley. Cynicism is everywhere. In Amman, Roger works with Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), Jordan's head of security, whose only dictum is "Don't lie to me." The Americans are in pursuit of a cleric (Alon Aboutboul) who leads a group placing bombs all over Europe. When Hani rebukes Ed's demand that Jordan allow the Americans to use one of Jordan's double agents, Roger and Ed hatch a plan to bring the cleric to them. The plan is complicated by its being a secret from Hani and by Roger's attraction to a local nurse (Golshifteh Farahani). Satellites and cell phones, bodies and lies: modern warfare." Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com> (Source here.)

Edge of Darkness poster.
Picture found here.
- "Edge of Darkness" (2010) - "Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson) is a detective who has spent years working the streets of Boston. When his own daughter (Bojana Novakovic) is killed outside his own home, Craven soon realizes that her death is only one piece of an intriguing puzzle filled with corruption and conspiracy, and it falls to him to discover who is behind the crime." Written by alfiehitchie (Source here.)

London Boulevard
poster.
Picture found here.
- "London Boulevard" (2010) - "Fresh out of prison, Mitchel (Colin Farrell) wants nothing to do with crime, but he accepts a kip from Billy (Ben Chaplin), a marginal grafter, and accompanies Billy on rent-collection trips. He's also old school, wanting revenge on two youths for assaulting a mendicant he's befriended. He's got a strung-out sister to protect, and he's offered a job protecting a famous actress (Keira Knightley) from paparazzi. The plot lines join when Mitchel finds himself attracted to the actress and Billy's Mob boss, Gant (Ray Winstone), finds ways to force Mitchel work for him. He also warns Mitchel off revenge against the assailants of his friend. What are Mitchel's options: is there any way to avoid Gant, protect his sister, and find a path to love?" Written by jhailey@hotmail.com (Source here.)

William Monahan.
Picture found here.
Current & Future Projects:

Monahan made his directoral debut with his film "London Boulevard" which he also produced. His next production where he will write, produce and direct is called "Mojave" which is in pre-production and due out late 2013.

He also helped pen the screenplay of the much anticipated "Sin City" sequel, "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" due out October 4th, 2013. It is being directed by Rob Rodriguez and Frank Miller, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel series. It will star Bruce Willis, Josh Brolin, Alexa Vega, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Mickey Rourke, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, and many others.
(Source #2)

There are two unproduced screenplays which are: Jurassic Park IV and Blood Meridian. Jurassic Park IV based upon the movie franchise Jurassic Park which is based off of the best-selling book Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Blood Meridian is an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 1985 western novel Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West.

Oblivion poster.
Picture found here.
Korean version of
The Chaser.
Picture found here.
There are other projects being produced, among them: Wartime Lies, The Chaser, Oblivion, and Nothing in the World, which was perviously mentioned. Wartime Lies is based upon a semi-autobiographical novel by Louis Begley first published in 1991. The Chaser is an adaptation of a 2008 South Korean crime movie of the same name. Oblivion is an upcoming 2013 science fiction film based on the Radical Comics graphic novel Oblivion by Joseph Kosinski and directed and co-produced by Kosinski. It stars Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Zoë Bell, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The film was initially scheduled to release on July 10, 2013. Since the 3D re-release of Jurassic Park was set for a July 19, 2013 release date, the project was moved forward to April 19, 2013.
(Source #1)
His Tips/Quotes on Screenwriting:

There is an entire article with William Monahan discussing how to create great dialogue, located here. Here's a snippet:

"What you’re doing in essence is fundamentally unnatural. Nobody is doing less natural dialogue than Shakespeare, but he’s the best dialogist that’s ever lived--still is. You don’t want to hear the way that people really talk. Look at me now. I’m not exactly talking in rolling periods or Augustan phrase. I’m just sort of bumbling around. That’s what most people do in real-life conversations. Unless you’re Christopher Hitchens, who speaks in whole paragraphs, or God bless him, used to speak in whole paragraphs. You’re sort of fumbling around for meaning, whereas in written drama, you have to get at it."

There's an interview with Monahan located at Collider.com. It's a very interesting read. Originally, I found it at GoIntoTheStory.BlckLst.com. Here's a quote:

"The thing about this business is that you have to come out of your shell and deal with certain realities of commerce and collaboration and still come up with a masterpiece at the end of it. And you know what? The masterpiece also has to make money. It’s not easy to walk into that set of problems and come out with a work of art at the end of it, but it can be done. As far as getting notes is concerned, I‘ve spent thirty-odd years studying English drama, so I’m personally at a point where I’m post-conscious about craft, but that’s a pricey personal evolution, that’s a thing I chose to do, and you have to remember not everyone’s had time for it, any more than you can expect some other guy off the street to know kung fu or biochemistry. So yeah, there I am, and I sure I know English drama, plus film, and sometimes the other guy knows what somebody at a class told him a screenplay needs, and there’s a difference, but I tell myself what I’d say to my kids or anybody else: when your boss is talking, you listen. The studios catch a lot of crap from the peanut gallery but they’re the guys who pay for the movies and they are rightfully concerned about their investments. I don’t expect an MBA to be Northrop Frye, but I do want to hear his opinions and I’d ask for them were they not given. Do I want to hear “arc” and “journey” and how does someone “change” through the course of the movie? No, I do not. People change in stories about people changing, not in every story. Not every story is A Christmas Carol. You get this crap about “story” because of these chuckleheads out there running script classes, who really prey on confusion about art and people’s genuine desire to learn. It’s shameful what they’ve done to discourse about motion pictures and to film itself. Writers literally get fired in this business because they aren’t providing enough “journey” in a story that doesn’t call for any. There are no general rules to any sort of writing. Each work has its own inherent rules. You discover them. You don’t import them."
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