Welcome to the Official Website of Gary L Goldman
Watch the video to learn about me and Gary De’Snake
*Gary Wrote Zootopia in 1999
My Work
Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
My first professional screenplay, an original vision co-written with David Weinstein. Still original after all these years. The remake is currently in development with Dwayne Johnson at 20th Century Fox.
Navy Seals (1990)
I rewrote an original screenplay by Chuck Pfarrer, the actual leader of SEAL Team 6. Chuck’s screenplay was primarily about the SEAL training program. I made it more about the lives of the team members and their mission.
Total Recall (1990)
My first Philip K. Dick adaptation. The screenplay by Ron Shusett and Dan O’Bannon had almost gone into production several times over a period of ten years. I was brought on by Paul Verhoeven to tailor the screenplay for Arnold Schwarzenegger and improve the ending. Paul and I added the layer that the whole adventure might be a memory implant gone wrong. – Biggest movie opening ever --- up to that point.
Basic Instinct (1993)
I was the script doctor on Joe Eszterhas’ original screenplay. It was easy to diagnose problems, but hard to fix them in a way that did not diminish the screenplay’s overall brilliance. In the end, we didn’t change any more than we had to, and that was the right decision. Basic Instinct was the #1 international box office champion in the year of its release.
Minority Report (2002)
I optioned the Philip K. Dick short story with the intention of directing it. The project instead morphed into an intended sequel for Total Recall at Carolco with the original team of Verhoeven, Arnold, and Ron Shusett. Later, Ron and I, as executive producers, set up the project with director Jan de Bont and Arnold at 20th Century Fox. Ron and I co-wrote the first three drafts, along with a writer who called the short story to my attention, and we shaped the project in significant ways that remained in the finished film.
Next (2007)
I optioned the Philip K. Dick short story, “The Golden Man,” and wrote the screenplay on spec. Co-producer Jason Koornick and I attached Nicolas Cage to star, and we set up the movie at Revolution Studios.
About Me
Gary Goldman has written or executive produced a number of successful Hollywood films. He was the final writer of TOTAL RECALL (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, directed by Paul Verhoeven) and Verhoeven’s script doctor on BASIC INSTINCT (starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone), which was the highest grossing film worldwide in the year of its release. Gary optioned the short story “MINORITY REPORT” by Philip K. Dick and then, together with Ron Shusett, wrote the first three drafts of the screenplay and executive produced the film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise. Gary similarly developed NEXT, released in April, 2007, which is based on another Philip K. Dick short story, “The Golden Man.” Gary optioned the property, wrote the screenplay, and them teamed with Nicolas Cage and Saturn Films for the production. Goldman’s work in science fiction explores the themes of identity, free will, and self-definition.
A native of New Orleans, Gary received a B.A. in English Literature from Brandeis University, 1975, magna cum laude. In 1973, he spent his junior year abroad in Jerusalem, where he read Holocaust diaries with the goal of making movies on the subject. After the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Gary volunteered as an orderly in the operating rooms at Hadassah Hospital. Goldman studied filmmaking at NYU and the UCLA graduate program of film production. He directed two award-winning documentaries: DEGAS IN NEW ORLEANS, which was invited to the Cannes Film Festival (1978), and YES, MA’AM, a precursor to THE HELP, about race relations in New Orleans, which won first prize at the American Film Festival in New York (1980). A protégé of novelist Walker Percy, Gary started his feature film career as apprentice to the French director, Louis Malle, on PRETTY BABY. He followed this with a two-year term as production and development executive with producers Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver, at Paramount. Gary then sat down (with his partner David Weinstein) to write his first screenplay, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, starring Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall, directed by John Carpenter.
Gary has worked for every major film studio and collaborated on projects with directors James Cameron, Ridley Scott, David Fincher, and comic book legend Stan Lee. Gary was the first writer/producer to adapt the “X-Men” comic book franchise for the screen. Gary has lectured or taught at the University of Southern California, Northwestern University, Chapman University, and the Wolf Institute in Berlin.
Reach Me At:
GaryGoldmanGary@gmail.com
AGENT
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