Peter Landesman
| Peter Landesman | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Film director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, novelist, painter |
| Known for | "Concussion" (feature film), The Girls Next Door (article) |
Peter Landesman is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, novelist and painter. He wrote a number of groundbreaking cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and others, including investigations into global arms trafficking, sex trafficking, refugee trafficking, the Rwandan genocide, and the creation and smuggling of forged and stolen art and antiquities. He also reported from the conflicts in Kosovo, Rwanda, and Pakistan and Afghanistan post-9/11.
He wrote and directed his debut 2013 film Parkland and also a 2015 film, titled Concussion, produced by Ridley Scott and to be released by Sony on Christmas Day, 2015.
Career
Landesman wrote his first fiction book The Raven, which was published in 1995, for which he won the American Academy of Arts and Letters Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction.[1]
Landesman's article The Girls Next Door about sex slaves and the trafficking of young and often underage women into and through the United States, was featured as the cover story in the January 24, 2004 issue of New York Times Magazine.[2] Daniel Radosh had a public dispute with Landesman, when Radosh challenged the facts of the article. A series of articles about the dispute by Jack Shafer in the magazine Slate turned the issue of the article's accuracy – and of the legal rights and responsibilities of blogs – into one of the most controversial topics in journalism during the first half of 2004.[3] The details of the expose were famously - almost obsessively - challenged, and ultimately verified and justified. That piece in particular triggered the arrests of dozens of traffickers, the rescue of dozens of girls, inspired new Federal and state legislation on sex trafficking, and triggered a national conversation on sex trafficking in this country. That piece won Landesman his second Overseas Press Club Award, this one for Best Human Rights Reporting.The article was adapted into a film Trade deals with human trafficking out of Mexico and a brother's attempt to rescue his kidnapped and trafficked young sister. The film was released in 2007.[4]
Landesman wrote and directed his debut historical film Parkland, based on the book Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by author Vincent Bugliosi.[5] The film is about the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. James Badge Dale and Zac Efron starred in the film, which was released in 2013.[6]
Landesman also wrote the script of a 2014 thriller film Kill the Messenger, a true story about a journalist Gary Webb, based on two books Kill the Messenger by Nick Schou and Dark Alliance by Webb.[7] The film stars Jeremy Renner and was directed by Michael Cuesta.[7]
Landesman recently wrote and has directed a sports drama film Concussion starring Will Smith, about the Pittsburgh forensics pathologist who uncovered the disease, CTE, in football players, the result of years of concussions and thousands of sub-concussive blows. The pathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu (Smith's character) makes a David v Goliath journey to tell the truth about the dangers of football in the face of withering criticism and pressure from the NFL and mainstream media. The film is scheduled to release on December 25, 2015.[8]
Future projects
In October 2008, Warner Bros. acquired the rights to an action thriller Colombian hostage pitch, and set Landesman to write the script of the film.[9] In June 2011, it was reported that David O. Russell and Brad Pitt were in talks to direct and star in the film, respectively. The film about 15 hostages in the Colombian jungle was titled as The Mission.[10]
In October 2013, Landesman was set to re-write and direct Down by the River, based on a 2002 non-fiction book of same name by Charles Bowden, while Henry Bean wrote the first script.[11]
Bibliography
- 1995 – The Raven – Book
Filmography
- 2013 – Parkland – Director, writer
- 2014 – Kill the Messenger – Writer
- 2015 – Concussion – Director, writer
References
- ↑ Hart, Hugh. "When JFK Flatlined". brownalumnimagazine.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ↑ Landesman, Peter. "The Girls Next Door". New York Times Magazine (January 25, 2004): 9. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ↑ "Assessing Landesman". slate.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ↑ GLEIBERMAN, OWEN (September 26, 2007). "Trade – review". ew.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ↑ Richford, Rhonda (September 6, 2013). "Deauville: 'Parkland's' Peter Landesman on Tackling JFK's Assassination and Moving From Journalism to Film (Q&A)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ↑ Debruge, Peter (September 1, 2013). "Venice Film Review: ‘Parkland’". variety.com. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cunningham, Todd (March 5, 2014). "Jeremy Renner's 'Kill the Messenger' Gets Fall Release Date". thewrap.com. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
- ↑ McNary, Dave (January 27, 2015). "Will Smith's 'Concussion' Drama Set for Christmas Release". variety.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ↑ Fleming, Michael (October 22, 2008). "WB nabs Colombian hostage pitch". variety.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (June 29, 2011). "Warner Bros Mobilizing Colombia Hostage Drama 'The Mission,' Courting David O Russell And Brad Pitt". deadline.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
- ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (October 3, 2013). "‘Parkland’ Helmer Peter Landesman To Direct Scott Stuber-Produced 'Down By The River'". deadline.com. Retrieved February 3, 2015.