Bill Condon
Bill Condon | |
---|---|
Born | William Condon October 22, 1955 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
Years active | 1981–present |
Notable work | Gods and Monsters Chicago Kinsey Dreamgirls The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Beauty and the Beast[1] |
Partner | Jack Morrissey |
Awards | Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Gods and Monsters (1998) |
William Condon (born October 22, 1955) is an American director and screenwriter. Condon is known for writing and/or directing numerous successful and acclaimed films including Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, Dreamgirls, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, and Beauty and the Beast.[1] He has received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Gods and Monsters and Chicago, winning for the former.
Early life
Condon was born in
Two films had a significant impact of Condon's early life. At the age of twelve, he found himself drawn to screenplay writing with his first viewing of Bonnie and Clyde.[6] In college he saw Sweet Charity (1969), which led to "a lifelong love affair with movies that are reviled and rejected in their time."[4]
After completing college, Condon worked as a journalist for film magazines, including American Film and Millimeter. In 1981, he won "the world's most difficult film trivia quiz" sponsored by The Village Voice.[7]
Career
His career as a filmmaker began with screenplays for the
His directorial debut was Sister, Sister (1987), an eerie Southern Gothic mystery starring Eric Stoltz and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Test screenings led to major changes to the film, which still proved a critical failure that set back Condon's career.[10]
Condon emerged a few years later directing a series of made-for-TV thrillers, including
In 1994, he directed the television movie The Man Who Wouldn't Die, which was met with mixed reviews.[13] He directed Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), a sequel to Bernard Rose's 1992 horror film. It was a critical and commercial failure.[14] Reminded years later of this phase of his career, Condon said: "It's hard to be lower on the totem pole than being the director for a sequel to a horror movie."[4]
Condon wrote and directed
In 2004 he wrote and directed the film
In 2005, he received the
Condon wrote the screenplay for and directed
Condon was executive producer of the 81st Academy Awards television broadcast that aired on February 22, 2009, working with producer Laurence Mark.[21]
Condon directed both parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2011 and 2012), adapted from the fourth and final novel in The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. He was twice nominated for a Razzie for Worst Director for these films, winning for Part 2.[22]
Condon directed The Fifth Estate (2013), a thriller about WikiLeaks starring Benedict Cumberbatch. He said he chose the project for a change of pace and liked its non-ideological approach to a very complex subject. He saw it "in the great tradition of journalistic thrillers".[23] It received mixed responses from critics and underperformed at the box office.[24]
In late 2013, he directed a revised version of the 1997 stage musical
In 2015, Condon directed Mr. Holmes starring Ian McKellen. Condon noted its similarity to Gods and Monsters, not only because of its lead actor but because "[b]oth movies are about aging and mortality. You have a celebrated man facing the decline of his public image."[27]
Condon directed the 2017 Disney live action film adaptation of the animated 1991 film Beauty and the Beast.[1] A few weeks before the film's scheduled release on March 17, 2017, Condon announced that one character, LeFou, has "a nice, exclusively gay moment", which resulted in an "internet meltdown" of contrasting support and condemnation.[28]
He co-authored the screenplay for
In October 2017, Condon postponed pre-production of a remake of Bride of Frankenstein for Universal Pictures. Deadline Hollywood reported that Condon and David Koepp wanted to rework the script.[30]
Condon is a member of the Independent Feature Projects (IFP) in Los Angeles, a non-profit organization which supports independent films, as well as the Independent Writers Steering Committee, which was initiated by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
In July 2021, Condon signed on to direct a Guys and Dolls movie adaptation by TriStar Pictures.[31] That same year, he co-produced the live stage filming of the Broadway production of Come from Away, which was released to streaming on Apple TV+.[32]
In December 2023, it was announced that Condon would write and direct a film adaptation of the musical version of Kiss of the Spider Woman, with Jennifer Lopez attached to star and co-executive produce.[33]
Personal life
Condon is gay.[34] He is in a long-term relationship with Jack Morrissey.[35][36]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Strange Behavior | No | Yes | No | Also associate producer |
1983 | Strange Invaders | No | Yes | No | Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Writing |
1987 | Sister, Sister | Yes | Yes | No | |
1991 | F/X2 | No | Yes | No | |
1995 | Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh | Yes | No | No | |
1998 | Gods and Monsters | Yes | Yes | No | Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay |
2002 | Chicago | No | Yes | No | Nominated- Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay |
2004 | Kinsey | Yes | Yes | No | |
2006 | Dreamgirls | Yes | Yes | No | |
2007 | Shortcut to Happiness | No | Yes | No | Filmed in 2001 |
2011 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 | Yes | No | No | |
2012 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Yes | No | No | |
2013 | The Fifth Estate | Yes | No | No | |
2015 | Mr. Holmes | Yes | No | No | |
2017 | Beauty and the Beast | Yes | No | No | |
The Greatest Showman | No | Yes | No | ||
2019 | The Good Liar | Yes | No | Yes | |
2021 | Come from Away | No | No | Yes | |
TBA | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Yes | Yes | No | Filming |
TBA | Guys and Dolls | Yes | No | No | In development |
Television
TV movies
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Murder 101 | Yes | No | Yes |
White Lie | Yes | No | No | |
Dead in the Water | Yes | No | No | |
1993 | Deadly Relations | Yes | No | No |
1995 | The Man Who Wouldn't Die | Yes | Yes | No |
2011 | Tilda[37] | Yes | executive | No |
TV series
Year | Title | Director | Executive producer |
Episode |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | The Others | Yes | No | "1112" |
2010 | The Big C | Yes | Yes | "Pilot" |
See also
- List of LGBTQ Academy Award winners and nominees
- Dramatic license
- LGBT culture in New York City
- List of LGBT people from New York City
References
- ^ a b c "Disney taps Bill Condon to direct a live-action 'Beauty and the Beast'". Entertainment Weekly. June 4, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
- ^ "Bill Condon". Internet Broadway Database (The Broadway League). Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ "Director Bill Condon is Ready For His Close-up on Broadway". The New York Observer. November 14, 2014. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Lui, Claire (March–April 2006). "The Outsider on the Inside". Columbia College Today. Columbia University. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ Huttner, Jan Lisa (November 19, 2004). "Kinsey: The Really Good Films Interview with director and screenwriter Bill Condon". Films42.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
- ^ Condon in Elder, Robert K. (2011). The Film That Changed My Life. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. p. 44.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (December 31, 2008). "A Hollywood Party, and You're Invited". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (October 16, 1981). "A Taste of the 50s in 'Strange Behavior'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
Mr. Condon appears in the film, rather sportingly, as the first kid in Galesville to be hideously murdered by some unidentified demon.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (September 16, 1983). "Monster Power in 'Strange Invaders'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ "Sister Sister DVD (1987)". BBC News. October 28, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ "Best Mystery TV Episode Edgar Award Winners and Nominees – Complete Lists". Mystery.net. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ Terry, Clifford (May 10, 1991). "Effects Aside, 'Fx 2' Isn't As Special As The First". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
... there are instances when Bill Condon`s script just doesn`t make sense.
- ^ Jicha, Tom (May 28, 1995). "'The Man Who Wouldn't Die' Should". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ "Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh". Time Out. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
Atrocious.
- ^ Weinraub, Bernard (March 26, 1999). "At the Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ "Complete list of Oscar winners". The Guardian. March 24, 2003. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
- ^ "Celebrity Watch". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. May 6, 2003. p. 53.
I had the extreme pleasure of presenting the Edgar Award for best motion picture screenplay to Chicago's Bill Condon at the Hyatt Thursday night.
- ^ Scott, A.O. (November 12, 2004). "Where Darkness Ruled, He Shone a Bright Light". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (April 19, 2005). "GLAAD to Honor Minnelli and Condon at Los Angeles Awards April 30". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
- ^ Gans, Andrew (January 23, 2007). "Oscar Nominations Announced; "Dreamgirls" Receives Eight Noms, Excluding Best Picture". Playbill. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ Brown, Patricia Leigh (February 12, 2009). "The Little Gold Man in a New Blue World". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ Crouch, Aaron (February 23, 2013). "'Twilight' Wins 7 Razzie Awards Including Worst Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ "After 'Twilight,' WikiLeaks: Director Richard Condon on 'Fifth Estate.'". Star Tribune. October 17, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ Herzfeld, Laura (November 1, 2013). "Bill Condon on 'Fifth Estate' disaster: Assange just 'wore out his welcome'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (June 20, 2014). "A Grandeur That Eclipses the Grotesque". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ Healy, Patrick (December 12, 2014). "Theater Owner Pushes 'Side Show' to Close". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ Farber, Stephen (July 11, 2015). "The clues to 'Mr. Holmes' director Bill Condon's varied career". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks (March 1, 2017). "'Beauty and the Beast' Director Talks of 'Exclusively Gay' Moment". The New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
'LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston. He's confused about what he wants. It's somebody who's just realizing that he has these feelings.'
- ^ Siegel, Tatiana (October 24, 2013). "Bill Condon to Rewrite Fox's P.T. Barnum Musical Starring Hugh Jackman". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 5, 2017). "Bride Of Frankenstein Back to the Lab As Pre-Production Is Postponed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 6, 2017.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (July 7, 2021). "'Guys And Dolls' Adaptation At TriStar Taps Bill Condon To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ "Filmed Version of 'Come from Away' Musical Set at Entertainment One". The Hollywood Reporter. February 2, 2021.
- ^ "Jennifer Lopez Attached to Star in 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' Musical Film From 'Dreamgirls' Director Bill Condon (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. December 7, 2023.
- ^ Ferber, Lawrence. "Bill Condon – Gay and Lesbian Travel". Passport Magazine. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ Kilday, Gregg (March 2, 2017). "'Beauty and the Beast' Director on How 'La La Land' Is Bringing Musicals Back". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
Condon and his longtime partner Jack Morrissey, who works with him as his co-producer, divide their time between New York (where Condon edits his films) and Los Angeles.
- ^ Teeman, Tim (November 18, 2014). "Can Condon's Freak Show Win Broadway?". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael; Rice, Lynette (August 23, 2010). "Backstage drama erupts at HBO's showbiz-themed 'Tilda' as showrunner exits". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
External links
- Bill Condon at IMDb
- Works by Bill Condon at Open Library