Eric R. Roth (born March 22, 1945) is an American screenwriter. He has been nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay: Forrest Gump (1994), The Insider (1999), Munich (2005), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), A Star Is Born (2018), and Dune (2021) — winning for Forrest Gump; he also earned a Best Picture nomination for producing Mank (2020). Roth also worked on the screenplays for the Oscar-nominated films Ali (2001), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).
Eric Roth | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 22, 1945 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Notable work | Forrest Gump The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Dune Killers of the Flower Moon Here |
| Spouse | Anne L. Peters[1] |
| Children | 5, including Vanessa |
| Awards | Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump (1994) Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement (2012) |
Early life and education
editRoth was born in New York City, New York, into a Jewish family, the son of Miriam "Mimi", a teacher, studio executive, and radio writer, and Leon Roth, a university teacher and film producer.[2][3] He grew up in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn in New York.[4] He grew up boxing and would credit some of his later successes to habits learned from the sport.[4]
Roth went to college at the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated in 1966.[5] He later attended UCLA Film School as part of the class of 1973.
Career
editRoth won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump. He is known for writing his scripts in a DOS program without Internet access and distributing the scripts only in hard copy formats.[3][6][7] He followed his Academy Award win by co-writing screenplays for several Oscar-nominated films, including The Insider, Munich, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and A Star Is Born. While writing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he lost both of his parents, and as a result views the film as "my most personal movie."[4][8][9]
Personal life
editRoth lives in Santa Monica, California.[10] He has five children, including documentary filmmaker Vanessa Roth, and filmmakers Geoffrey Roth and Alec Roth; and six grandchildren.
Roth was one of the investors defrauded by Bernard Madoff in a Ponzi scheme via Stanley Chais.[11][12] He stated that his losses were heavy and he has lost his retirement money, although the full extent is unknown. As a result of the fraud and the associated losses, Roth sued the estate of Chais, who died on September 26, 2010.
Filmography
editFilm
editAs writer
Television
edit| Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Strangers in 7A | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 1992 | The Heights | Yes | No | Co-creator |
| 1994 | Jane's House | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 2011–2012 | Luck | Yes | Yes | |
| 2013–2017 | House of Cards | No | Yes | |
| 2016–2018 | Berlin Station | No | Yes | |
| 2018 | The Alienist | No | Yes | |
| 2020 | The Alienist: Angel of Darkness | No | Yes | |
| 2024 | Before | No | Yes |
Accolades
edit| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
| 2000 | The Insider | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Munich | Nominated | |
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Nominated | |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Mank | Best Picture | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dune | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Nominated | |
| 2018 | A Star Is Born | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Dune | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Writer | Nominated |
| 2012 | Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Dune | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2000 | The Insider | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Munich | Nominated | |
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | House of Cards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated |
| 2014 | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | The Alienist | Outstanding Limited Series | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | House of Cards | Best Episodic Drama | Nominated |
| 2015 | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Screenplay - Adapted | Nominated |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Dune | Nominated | |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Nominated |
| Year | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Forrest Gump | Best Adapted Screenplay | Won |
| 2000 | The Insider | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| Paul Selvin Award | Won | ||
| 2009 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2012 | Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement | Won | |
| 2019 | A Star Is Born | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dune | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
| 2024 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ Fleishman, Jeffrey (October 19, 2023). "Screenwriter Eric Roth on 'Killers of the Flower Moon' and a life of big scripts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ "Profile: Eric Roth", filmreference.com
- ^ a b Pfefferman, Naomi (January 26, 2012). "Writer's Guild to Honor 'Extremely' Talented Screenwriter Eric Roth". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Los Angeles. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ a b c Tallal, Jimy (April 11, 2015). "Salon Series Continues with Screenwriter Eric Roth". The Malibu Times. Malibu, California. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ Hildebrand, Romy (February 4, 2022). "DUNE: A NEW FRONTIER FOR SCREENWRITER ERIC ROTH". hfa.ucsb.edu. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
- ^ Tapley, Kristopher (September 22, 2014). "Did You Know: 'Forrest Gump' Screenwriter Eric Roth Uses A DOS Program To Write Scripts". HitFix. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ Renée, V (September 24, 2014). "Oscar-Winning Screenwriter Eric Roth Takes You on a Tour of His Writing Process". No Film School. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ Yamato, Jen (December 22, 2008). "RT INTERVIEW: ERIC ROTH CALLS BENJAMIN BUTTON HIS MOST PERSONAL FILM TO DATE". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ "Interview: Benjamin Button Writer Eric Roth". GamesRadar. January 28, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
- ^ McClain, James (August 23, 2019). "'A Star Is Born' Writer Eric Roth Settles in Santa Monica". Variety.
- ^ Reckard, E. Scott; Abramowitz, Rachel; Eller, Claudia (December 17, 2008). "Hollywood figures snared in Bernard Madoff's alleged fraud". LA Times.
- ^ Standora, Leo (May 2, 2009). "Los Angeles investment manager Stanley Chais sued for funneling cash to Bernie Madoff fund". Daily News. New York.