Brian Helgeland
Brian Helgeland is an American screenwriter, director, and producer known for his diverse contributions to film, particularly in the genres of crime, drama, and biographical narratives. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Norwegian parents, Helgeland initially pursued a premedical path before pivoting to English and eventually filmmaking after a pivotal experience as a commercial fisherman. He began his career in the 1980s, writing horror films before transitioning to more mainstream projects, including the notable works "LA Confidential" and "The Postman," both released in 1997. Helgeland earned critical acclaim for "LA Confidential," winning an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while "The Postman" faced significant criticism, earning him a Razzie for Worst Screenplay in the same year.
His career is marked by a series of successful films, including "Mystic River" and "Man on Fire," showcasing his talent for adapting novels into compelling screenplays. In addition to his screenwriting achievements, Helgeland has also made a name for himself as a director, with significant works including "A Knight's Tale" and "42," the latter chronicling the life of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Helgeland's unique distinction of receiving both an Academy Award and a Razzie in the same year speaks to the varied nature of his work and the complexities of the film industry. He continues to reside in Malibu, California with his family, further contributing to the cinematic landscape through his ongoing projects.
Subject Terms
Brian Helgeland
Screenwriter
- Born: January 17, 1961
- Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island
Contribution: Brian Helgeland is an American screenwriter, director, and producer whose best-known films include LA Confidential (1997), A Knight’s Tale (2001), and Mystic River (2003).
Background
Brian Thomas Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the only child of Aud-Karin and Thomas Helgeland. Both of his parents were born in Norway, although his father was raised primarily in Brooklyn, New York. The Helgelands ultimately settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a coastal city located approximately fifty miles south of Boston.
Helgeland attended New Bedford High School and then went on to study at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where his father had studied when Helgeland was a child. Helgeland was originally a premedical student, but after difficulty with coursework in organic chemistry, he changed his major to English.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in English in 1983, Helgeland worked for a time as a commercial fisherman in New Bedford. In 1985, however, the ship he was working on was caught in a powerful storm. Though the ship survived, the harrowing nature of the experience compelled Helgeland to reevaluate his path, and he decided to pursue a career as a writer. He enrolled in the graduate program at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, earning his master’s degree in film writing in 1987.
Career
Helgeland began his screenwriting career in the burgeoning horror genre, where he began to forge connections with other writers. His early projects include the horror films A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), 976-EVIL (1988), and Highway to Hell (1991).
In 1990 Helgeland and fellow screenwriter Manny Coto sold a script for an action movie entitled The Ticking Man, about a human-looking robot with a nuclear warhead inside. To market the script Helgeland and Coto mailed ticking alarm clocks to various studios before sending them the work. The stunt paid off, and Largo Entertainment purchased the work for $1.2 million dollars. Though the film was ultimately never produced, the payday allowed Helgeland to depart from the horror genre and pursue other projects.
Helgeland cowrote the screenplay for the 1995 action film Assassins, starting Antonio Banderas and Sylvester Stallone. Though the work was critically panned and a commercial failure, it allowed Helgeland the chance to add a feature film to his credits. He then made a brief return to the horror genre, writing and—for the first time—directing a 1996 episode of the acclaimed HBO (Home Box Office) television series Tales from the Crypt.
Helgeland undertook two simultaneous projects near the end of the 1990s that would catapult him to stardom and make him one of Hollywood’s most sought-after writers. First, he teamed with director Curtis Hanson to write and coproduce the noir crime caper LA Confidential (1997), based on James Ellroy’s 1990 novel. At the same time Helgeland was tapped by famed actor and director Kevin Costner to adapt David Brin’s postapocalyptic 1985 novel The Postman for the screen. The disparate receptions for the two films would make Helgeland a Hollywood pioneer.
LA Confidential was critically hailed as a masterpiece and was a box-office sensation, and Helgeland and Hanson won an Academy Award for best screenplay in 1998. Conversely, The Postman, released the same year, was a critically panned commercial disaster. For it Helgeland received Hollywood’s anti-Oscar, the 1998 Razzie Award for worst screenplay. Helgeland proudly displayed both awards side by side in his office.
Helgeland worked with director Richard Donner for 1997’s Conspiracy Theory before making his feature-film directorial debut in 1999 with Payback. In the early 2000s his string of commercially successful scripts continued with hits such as Blood Work (2002) and Man on Fire (2004), as well as Mystic River (2003), adapted from the 2001 Dennis Lehane novel of the same name. He also wrote, directed, and produced the Heath Ledger–Shannyn Sossamon films A Knight’s Tale (2001) and The Order (2003).
After working on a handful of additional films throughout the decade, Helgeland wrote and directed 42 (2013), a biographical film about Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American to play modern Major League Baseball.
Helgeland wrote and directed Legend (2015), about identical twin gangsters who terrorized London in the 1960s. The film won a slew of awards and nominations, including the 2015 British Independent Film Awards for best actor (Tom Hardy) and the nomination for a Saturn Award for best international film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA, in 2016.
Impact
Brian Helgeland has the dubious distinction of being the only screenwriter in Hollywood history to receive both an Academy Award and a Razzie in the same year. Though he broke into the business penning horror films and gained much of his experience in the action genre, Helgeland’s tremendous vision in adapting novels to the big screen has proven to be among his greatest gifts. He received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from his alma mater, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, in 2005.
Personal Life
Helgeland and his wife, Nancy, live in Malibu, California. In 2010 Nancy Helgeland opened Martian Ranch & Vineyard, named for their two sons, Martin and Ian.
Principal Works
LA Confidential, 1997
The Postman, 1997
A Knight’s Tale, 2001
Blood Work, 2002
Mystic River, 2003
Man on Fire, 2004
The Taking of Pelham 123, 2009
42, 2013
Legend, 2015
Bibliography
Brown, Curt. “Helgeland to UMass Grads: Action!” South Coast Today. Dow Jones, 23 May 2005. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.
Helgeland, Brian. “AFF Interview: Brian Helgeland.” Interview by Erin Hallagan. Austin Film Festival. Austin Film Festival, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.
Helgeland, Brian. “Fisherman’s Blue.” Interview by Dylan Callaghan. Writers Guild of America, West. Writers Guild of Amer., West, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.
Helgeland, Brian. “Interview with Writer-Director Brian Helgeland.” Interview by Spence D. IGN. IGN Entertainment, 12 May 2001. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.
Monahan, Mark. “Film-Makers on Film: Brian Helgeland.” Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 6 Sept. 2003. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.
Tarantino, Quentin, and Brian Helgeland. “Screenwriters Are (Obsessive, Creative, Neurotic) People, Too.” Interview by Lynn Hirschberg. New York Times. New York Times, 9 Nov. 2003. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.
Zeitchik, Steven. “How Brian Helgeland Came to Make Jackie Robinson Movie 42.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.