Stephen Geller

Stephen Geller (b. Los Angeles, California^[1]) is an American screenwriter and novelist. Most famous for writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, Geller has worked in the film industry in Hollywood and Europe, and recently directed his own independent feature, Mother's Little Helpers.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Geller's father was musician and composer Harry Geller (Hawaii Five-0, The Patty Duke Show) who, in the 1950s, found himself the victim of the Hollywood blacklist.^[2] As a result, Geller spent much of his youth abroad in Europe.

Educated at Dartmouth College^[1] and Yale University, Geller moved to Rome, Italy in 1969-79 to work for the Italian producer, Dino De Laurentiis, where he wrote the screenplay for The Valachi Papers, among other films. Rome became his home for the next sixteen years. He worked in the Italian, French, British and independent film industries. He also commuted to LA, and wrote for every major studio during that period. Eventually, in 1986, he returned to Hollywood, working there for a time, but leaving eventually to found screenwriting programs at Arizona State University, and at the Boston University College of Communication.

His screenwriting credits, in addition to Slaughterhouse-Five, include Ashanti, The Valachi Papers, and Warburg: A Man of Influence.

Aside from screenwriting, he has also published eleven novels and a book on screenwriting, has written several plays, and has directed both theater and film. He currently teaches Shakespeare Appreciation, Satire, and the personal essay at Savannah College of Art and Design. His most recent novel is A Warning of Golems.

Screenplays

The Valachi Papers (co-writer) (1972)
Slaughter-House Five (1972)
Ashanti (1979)
Warburg: A Man of Influence (co-writer) (1992)
Mother's Little Helpers (also directed) (2005)

Novels

She Let Him Continue (1966) (made into the film Pretty Poison (1968)).
Pit Bull (1967)
Joop's Dance (1969)
Feist (2012)
Jews On The Moon (2013)
Jews Beyond Jupiter (2013)
Jews In Black Holes (2013)
Jews and the Theories of String (2013)
Jews at the Table, Vols 1&2 (the previous four novels, set in two editions) (2013)
A Warning of Golems (2013)
Martinis at Dawn (2014)
Jews in the Bosom of the Big Bang (2014)

Nonfiction

Screenwriting: A Method (1985)

Awards

Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, Slaughterhouse-Five;
First Hugo Science-Fiction Film Award, Slaughterhouse-Five.
European Silver Award for best miniseries, Warburg: A Man of Influence
Zoetrope International Internet Film Festival, Cuppa Cabby, Piece O' Pie

Connecticut Governor General's Award, "Water Water Everywhere"

References