Gregory Allen Howard
Encyclopedia
Gregory Allen Howard is an American
screenwriter
best known for writing the screenplay for Remember The Titans
, a Disney
movie about an undefeated high school football team credited with healing the racial divide in Alexandria, Virginia
in 1971.
in 1962, but his family moved around often due to his stepfather's career in the Navy
. Between the ages of 5 and 15, his family moved ten times eventually settling in Vallejo, California
. After attending college at Princeton University
, graduating with a degree in American history
, Howard briefly worked at Merrill Lynch
on Wall Street
before moving to Los Angeles
in his mid twenties to pursue a writing career.
and working on the 1990 short-lived FOX
series True Colors
. Howard also wrote a stage play, Tinseltown Trilogy, that garnered him awards and a major agent. Tinseltown Trilogy weaves together three interconnected one-act plays that focus on three men in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve
.
Howard was then selected for the assignment to write an original screenplay for the biopic
of boxer Muhammed Ali, widely hailed as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). Having finished the first draft, and then moving back to his native Virginia, Howard discovered the story of the 1971 TC Williams
Titans. Studio delays and rewrites meant that his first feature film, Ali
, was not released until after his next script, Remember the Titans.
Remember the Titans was a spec script
written by Gregory Allen Howard after he discovered the unique story of the integrated high school football team that the town of Alexandria, Virginia credited for the town's positive race relations. Having based the script on extensive research, including discussions with Coaches Herman Boone
and Bill Yoast
, Howard initially encountered difficulty in getting his script produced. Eventually Jerry Bruckheimer
agreed to produce the film. Starring Denzel Washington
and Will Patton, Remember the Titans become a box office hit, grossing over $100 million domestically.
, a sports drama released in 2006 that focused on Texas Western coach Don Haskins
leading the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA
national championship in 1966.
Howard has also been working on the script for a film project with Morgan Freeman
based on the 761st Tank Battalion, the first black armored unit to see combat in World War II
. Howard has also written the screenplay for the film Factor X, which will be produced by Ridley Scott
and star Eric Bana
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
best known for writing the screenplay for Remember The Titans
Remember the Titans
Remember the Titans is a 2000 American sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. Inspired by real events, the plot was conceived from a screenplay written by Gregory Allen Howard. The film starts as a new coach of the Titans, a football team previously coached by the...
, a Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
movie about an undefeated high school football team credited with healing the racial divide in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
in 1971.
Early life
Gregory Allen Howard was born in Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
in 1962, but his family moved around often due to his stepfather's career in the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Between the ages of 5 and 15, his family moved ten times eventually settling in Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
. After attending college at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, graduating with a degree in American history
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
, Howard briefly worked at Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
before moving to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in his mid twenties to pursue a writing career.
Career
Over the next few years Howard worked as a freelance writer and on a number of television shows, including being a story editor for Where I LiveWhere I Live
Where I Live is an American sitcom that premiered in 1993 as part of ABC's TGIF lineup. The series was created and executive produced by Michael Jacobs and Ehrich Van Lowe.-Synopsis:...
and working on the 1990 short-lived FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
series True Colors
True Colors (TV series)
True Colors is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from September 2, 1990 to April 12, 1992 for a total of 45 episodes. The series was created by Michael J...
. Howard also wrote a stage play, Tinseltown Trilogy, that garnered him awards and a major agent. Tinseltown Trilogy weaves together three interconnected one-act plays that focus on three men in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
.
Howard was then selected for the assignment to write an original screenplay for the biopic
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
of boxer Muhammed Ali, widely hailed as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time). Having finished the first draft, and then moving back to his native Virginia, Howard discovered the story of the 1971 TC Williams
T. C. Williams High School
T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, named after former superintendent Thomas Chambliss Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s...
Titans. Studio delays and rewrites meant that his first feature film, Ali
Ali (film)
Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...
, was not released until after his next script, Remember the Titans.
Remember the Titans was a spec script
Spec script
A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or studio....
written by Gregory Allen Howard after he discovered the unique story of the integrated high school football team that the town of Alexandria, Virginia credited for the town's positive race relations. Having based the script on extensive research, including discussions with Coaches Herman Boone
Herman Boone
Herman Boone is a former American high school football coach, most famous for coaching at T. C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington in the 2000 film Remember the Titans....
and Bill Yoast
Bill Yoast
William "Bill" Yoast is an American high school football coach best known for being featured in the 2000 film Remember the Titans. He was portrayed by veteran actor Will Patton.Yoast grew up in Florence, Alabama...
, Howard initially encountered difficulty in getting his script produced. Eventually Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
agreed to produce the film. Starring Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
and Will Patton, Remember the Titans become a box office hit, grossing over $100 million domestically.
Recent projects
Since the release of Remember the Titans and Ali, Howard has been working on a number of other projects. He was an uncredited writer for Glory RoadGlory Road (film)
Glory Road is an American sports film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story dealing with the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which the late Don Haskins – played by Josh Lucas – head coach of the Texas Western College led a team...
, a sports drama released in 2006 that focused on Texas Western coach Don Haskins
Don Haskins
Donald Lee Haskins, nicknamed "The Bear" , was an American collegiate basketball coach and player. He played for three years under legendary coach Henry Iba at Oklahoma A&M...
leading the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
national championship in 1966.
Howard has also been working on the script for a film project with Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
based on the 761st Tank Battalion, the first black armored unit to see combat in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Howard has also written the screenplay for the film Factor X, which will be produced by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
and star Eric Bana
Eric Bana
Eric Bana is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper...
.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Film or series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Black Reel Awards Black Reel Awards The Black Reel Awards began in 2000 and were designed to annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films... |
Won | Theatrical - Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted) | Remember the Titans |
| 2002 | Nominated | Theatrical - Best Screenplay (Original or Adapted) | Ali |