J. F. Lawton
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Frederick Lawton (also known as J. F. Lawton), born on August 11, 1960 in Riverside, California
, is an American screenwriter
, film producer
and film director
. Screen credits include Pretty Woman
, Mistress, Blankman
, Under Siege
, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
, The Hunted
, Chain Reaction
, DOA: Dead or Alive
, Jackson
, V.I.P.
and under the assumed name JD Athens Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
and Pizza Man
.
. He is the son of author and novelist Harry Lawton
and Georgeann Leona Lawton (née
Honegger), a pianist. The couple met in Berkeley
while attending the University of California
. Later they moved to Riverside
, where Harry was hired as a reporter for The Press-Enterprise.
As a child, he suffered from severe dyslexia
making school life very difficult. It took him many years of practice, hard work and patience to control his learning disabilities. Despite the challenge, he decided to become a writer like his father anyway. Harry Lawton
, independently of his son's disability, always made sure to give him as much incentive as possible. To this day he credits his father for always being supportive of him and his mother for going the extra mile to help him overcome his obstacles.
When Lawton was still in elementary school, his father's novel, Willie Boy: A Desert Manhunt, was made into a film starring Robert Redford
. During the making of Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
, Harry Lawton
would take J.F. to the set, exposing him to the process of filmmaking. From that moment on, fascinated, he determined that he would become a screenwriter. Always curious, Lawton would observe his surroundings and write about them, although due to his dyslexia, it would take him double the time to put his stories down on paper.
In high school, he continued to write short stories, plays and scripts. After graduating from John W. North High School
in Riverside
, he enrolled at California State University
in Long Beach
to study Filmmaking
. There he wrote, directed and edited two short films, The Artist and Renaissance. The first was a sci-fi thriller placed in the future in which the main character kills his victims, takes their pictures and exposes them in his art exhibitions. The second, Renaissance, was a short horror film where the protagonist, a sadistic sexual predator, dominates and kills his victim every night, but revives her the next morning to only start the vicious cycle all over again. Both short films won several awards in the college circuit.
native moved to Los Angeles
settling himself in Hollywood, more precisely near Hollywood Boulevard
and Western Avenue
, one of the toughest corners in Los Angeles
at the time. Living among prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, junkies and the homeless, the setting gave Lawton a wide range of inspiration for his stories. He wrote a number of screenplays while working at several post-productions companies.
During that time he met the famous producer Charles Band who got interested in one of his screenplays. The result,Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
was a take-off of both Joseph Conrad
's Heart of Darkness
and Francis Ford Coppola
's feature Apocalypse Now
. Shot in less than two weeks in his hometown of Riverside, California
, the film, starring his longtime friend Bill Maher
, Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed
and sex symbol Adrienne Barbeau
became a cult favorite and late-night cable staple.
After Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
, Lawton also wrote and directed Pizza Man
, a political satire about a delivery man investigating a comical government conspiracy. Talk show host Bill Maher
also stars in Pizza Man
along with comedian Annabelle Gurwitch
. In both movies, he used the pseudonym JD Athens.
in the late 1980s. Executives at Touchstone Pictures
, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, got interested in getting the movie made. He changed the title to Pretty Woman
, and with over $400 million dollars in worldwide box
office, the movie became the largest grossing live-action film in Disney history. Directed by Garry Marshall
, with Richard Gere
and Julia Roberts
, the film is a story about Vivian Ward, a prostitute who is hired by a wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis, to be at his beck and call for one week while he is in town on business. Although they come from different backgrounds and lifestyles, both end up developing a relationship based more on genuine love than money and convenience. Pretty Woman
was a huge success and got Lawton nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award
and a British Academy Award for his screenplay. Julia Roberts
won a Golden Globe Award
for her role and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, giving her worldwide acclaim. The movie also gave stardom to mega producer Arnon Milchan
who later went on to produce hits like Under Siege
, Natural Born Killers
, LA Confidential, The Devil's Advocate
, Fight Club
, Unfaithful, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
, etc.
He then executive produced his next original screenplay, Under Siege
, based on his million-dollar spec script Dreadnought. The idea came when Lawton, who had served time in the Coast Guard Reserve, read that the Navy
was retiring the .
Tommy Lee Jones
plays William Strannix, a psychopathic ex-CIA agent who leads a group of mercenaries on a takeover of the American battleship on its final voyage to steal its arsenal of nuclear Tomahawk
Cruise Missiles. The film also stars Steven Seagal
and Gary Busey
. Acclaimed by public and critics, the movie broke box office records and a successful sequel followed Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
.
With Barry Primus
, he co-wrote Mistress, a comedy starring Robert de Niro
, Danny Aiello
, Christopher Walken
and Martin Landau
. The movie is a tale about a Hollywood screenwriter, Marvin Landisman, whose career is going downhill until he meets a has been hustler-producer who tries to help him get his career back. Starring an all-star cast, Mistress was one of the first films produced by Tribeca Productions
, Robert de Niro
’s production company, and it was released in the summer of 1992.
Then came The Hunted
in 1995, a thriller set in Japan starring Christopher Lambert
, John Lone
and Joan Chen
. Written and directed by Lawton, the movie traces Paul Racine, a computer-chip executive from New York in one of his many business trips to Tokyo. Local authorities and a legendary ninja cult get involved in an electric chase after a crime occurs in a hotel room. The Hunted
was released on February 25, 1995 and distributed by Universal Studios
. The score, featuring music by the internationally acclaimed Japanese taiko troupe Kodo
, was especially requested by Lawton.
For Columbia Pictures
he co-wrote Blankman
, a film starring and produced by Damon Wayans
who plays Darryl, a nerdy, comical ghetto superhero with a pure heart ready to fight criminals in his own style. The film also stars Jason Alexander
who previously had worked with Lawton in Pretty Woman
and Greg Kinnear
in the beginning of his
career.
The next film project was Chain Reaction
, an action thriller starring Morgan Freeman
, Keanu Reeves
and Rachel Weisz
. The movie, filmed in Chicago, Illinois, was released on August 2, 1996 and grossed over $60 million dollars worldwide. In 2005, Keanu Reeves
and Rachel Weisz
teamed up again for Constantine
.
In 2006, Lawton co-wrote for Paramount Pictures
a film based on the huge video game series success DOA: Dead or Alive
starring Eric Roberts
, Jaime Pressly
and supermodel Devon Aoki
.
hit syndicated show V.I.P.
(standing for, and also referred to as, Vallery Irons Protection) through a successful four year run.
The series starred Pamela Anderson
as Vallery Irons, a small-town girl who comes to Southern California
looking for a break when she stumbles into the glamorous role of heading up a Beverly Hills bodyguard agency.
Blending action and humor in a fast-paced adventure series, with Anderson often poking fun at her tabloid image, the show explored the world of the exciting and sometimes treacherous lives of the rich and famous. In November 2001, V.I.P. (the video game) was released on the PlayStation
console.
on the script for The Adventures of Fartman, a fictional superhero character created by Stern for The Howard Stern Show. With two major studios willing to produce, the movie was put into hold due to a MPAA Film Rating System
dispute. Lawton and Stern wanted the movie to be R-rated instead of PG-13. They both thought the content of the film was more suitable for a mature audience.
Although the film was put on hold, Howard Stern
included part of the script written by Lawton in his 1995 bestselling book, Miss America
. The book became number one on the New York Times Best Seller list
within days of its release.
He has also been a guest on The Jason Ellis Show, broadcast by famous professional skate boarder and radio host Jason Ellis
on Faction 28 by Sirius Satellite Radio
.
, a comedy-drama-musical starring Barry Primus
, Charles Robinson
, Steve Guttenberg
, Debra Jo Rupp
and opera singers Ella Lee, Shawnette Sulker and Clamma Dale
. The movie takes place on a single day involving two homeless men surviving on Los Angeles’s Skid Row
. Lawton wrote two songs for the movie, Downtown Birthday and Love Cannot Be. According to his publicist, Jackson
was shot mainly in Downtown Los Angeles, except from one scene shot in Kentucky.
His latest script with South Park
creators, Matt Stone
and Trey Parker
, is in development at Paramount Studios.
and ADHD, Lawton is an avid advocate for both issues. He is also a supporter of PETA
, along with his good friends Bill Maher
and Pamela Anderson
. Environmental issues, human rights
, cancer
, poverty
and 9-11 are very close to his heart.
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, is an American 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:...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. Screen credits include Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
, Mistress, Blankman
Blankman
Blankman is a 1994 superhero parody film starring Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier, who are both of In Living Color fame. The film was directed by Mike Binder and written by Damon Wayans and J. F. Lawton, whose biggest success was writing Pretty Woman.-Plot:Darryl Walker is a clumsy nerdy...
, Under Siege
Under Siege
Under Siege is a 1992 American action film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, on a U.S. Navy battleship...
, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is a 1995 American action film set on board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Los Angeles. Directed by Geoff Murphy, it stars Steven Seagal as the ex-Navy SEAL, Casey Ryback and is the sequel to the 1992 film Under Siege also starring Seagal....
, The Hunted
The Hunted (1995 film)
The Hunted is a 1995 film written and directed by J. F. Lawton, starring Christopher Lambert, John Lone, and Joan Chen. The score features music by the Japanese taiko troupe Kodō.-Plot:...
, Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (film)
Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Brian Cox, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this...
, DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive is a 2006 ensemble martial arts film loosely based on the Tecmo/Team Ninja fighting game series of the same name. Directed by Corey Yuen and written by J. F. Lawton, Adam and Seth Gross....
, Jackson
Jackson (film)
Jackson is a 2008 American comedy-drama-musical film written and directed by J. F. Lawton starring Barry Primus as Donald and Charles Robinson as Sam.-Synopsis:...
, V.I.P.
V.I.P. (TV series)
V.I.P. is an American action/comedy-drama series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F...
and under the assumed name JD Athens Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is a 1989 film starring Shannon Tweed and Bill Maher. The film is a campy send-up of pop culture motifs and societal trends, including feminism , B-movies , and California. It was written by J. F...
and Pizza Man
Pizza Man
Pizza Man is a 1991 comedy film starring Bill Maher and Annabelle Gurwitch; written and directed by J.F. Lawton. The film received a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.-Credited cast:*Bill Maher as Elmo Bunn*Annabelle Gurwitch as The Dame...
.
Early life
Lawton was born on August 11, 1960, in Riverside, CaliforniaRiverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
. He is the son of author and novelist Harry Lawton
Harry Lawton
Harry Wilson Lawton was an American writer, journalist, editor and historian who wrote several books about Native Americans in California...
and Georgeann Leona Lawton (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Honegger), a pianist. The couple met in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
while attending the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
. Later they moved to Riverside
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, where Harry was hired as a reporter for The Press-Enterprise.
As a child, he suffered from severe dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
making school life very difficult. It took him many years of practice, hard work and patience to control his learning disabilities. Despite the challenge, he decided to become a writer like his father anyway. Harry Lawton
Harry Lawton
Harry Wilson Lawton was an American writer, journalist, editor and historian who wrote several books about Native Americans in California...
, independently of his son's disability, always made sure to give him as much incentive as possible. To this day he credits his father for always being supportive of him and his mother for going the extra mile to help him overcome his obstacles.
When Lawton was still in elementary school, his father's novel, Willie Boy: A Desert Manhunt, was made into a film starring Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
. During the making of Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here is a Technicolor movie released in 1969, based on the true story of a Paiute Indian named Willie Boy and his run-in with the law in 1909 in Banning, California, United States....
, Harry Lawton
Harry Lawton
Harry Wilson Lawton was an American writer, journalist, editor and historian who wrote several books about Native Americans in California...
would take J.F. to the set, exposing him to the process of filmmaking. From that moment on, fascinated, he determined that he would become a screenwriter. Always curious, Lawton would observe his surroundings and write about them, although due to his dyslexia, it would take him double the time to put his stories down on paper.
In high school, he continued to write short stories, plays and scripts. After graduating from John W. North High School
John W. North High School
John W. North High School is a distinguished International Baccalaureate high school in Riverside, California, part of the Riverside Unified School District, and the home of the Huskies and the 1995 Division 4 CIF Football Champions. In 2006 and 2007 the North football team won back-to-back CIF...
in Riverside
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, he enrolled at California State University
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
to study Filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
. There he wrote, directed and edited two short films, The Artist and Renaissance. The first was a sci-fi thriller placed in the future in which the main character kills his victims, takes their pictures and exposes them in his art exhibitions. The second, Renaissance, was a short horror film where the protagonist, a sadistic sexual predator, dominates and kills his victim every night, but revives her the next morning to only start the vicious cycle all over again. Both short films won several awards in the college circuit.
Career
After college, the CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
native moved 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...
settling himself in Hollywood, more precisely near Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
and Western Avenue
Western Avenue (Los Angeles)
Western Avenue is a major four lane street slightly west of Downtown Los Angeles and the center portion of Los Angeles County. Besides Sepulveda Boulevard, it is one of the longest north/south streets in Los Angeles...
, one of the toughest corners in 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...
at the time. Living among prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, junkies and the homeless, the setting gave Lawton a wide range of inspiration for his stories. He wrote a number of screenplays while working at several post-productions companies.
During that time he met the famous producer Charles Band who got interested in one of his screenplays. The result,Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is a 1989 film starring Shannon Tweed and Bill Maher. The film is a campy send-up of pop culture motifs and societal trends, including feminism , B-movies , and California. It was written by J. F...
was a take-off of both Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
and Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's feature Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
. Shot in less than two weeks in his hometown of Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
, the film, starring his longtime friend Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
, Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed
Shannon Tweed
Shannon Lee Tweed is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller...
and sex symbol Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Barbeau
Adrienne Jo Barbeau is an American actress and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical Grease, and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter of Maude Findlay in the sitcom Maude...
became a cult favorite and late-night cable staple.
After Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is a 1989 film starring Shannon Tweed and Bill Maher. The film is a campy send-up of pop culture motifs and societal trends, including feminism , B-movies , and California. It was written by J. F...
, Lawton also wrote and directed Pizza Man
Pizza Man
Pizza Man is a 1991 comedy film starring Bill Maher and Annabelle Gurwitch; written and directed by J.F. Lawton. The film received a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.-Credited cast:*Bill Maher as Elmo Bunn*Annabelle Gurwitch as The Dame...
, a political satire about a delivery man investigating a comical government conspiracy. Talk show host Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
also stars in Pizza Man
Pizza Man
Pizza Man is a 1991 comedy film starring Bill Maher and Annabelle Gurwitch; written and directed by J.F. Lawton. The film received a PG-13 rating by the MPAA.-Credited cast:*Bill Maher as Elmo Bunn*Annabelle Gurwitch as The Dame...
along with comedian Annabelle Gurwitch
Annabelle Gurwitch
Annabelle Gurwitch is an American comedic actress. She is best known as the original hostess of TBS's Dinner and a Movie. She is also a noted author and columnist and was most recently the host of Wa$ted! on Planet Green....
. In both movies, he used the pseudonym JD Athens.
Mainstream
Lawton moved to the A-list when his script titled Three Thousand, was accepted by the Sundance InstituteSundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...
in the late 1980s. Executives at Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, got interested in getting the movie made. He changed the title to Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
, and with over $400 million dollars in worldwide box
office, the movie became the largest grossing live-action film in Disney history. Directed by Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
, with Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
and Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
, the film is a story about Vivian Ward, a prostitute who is hired by a wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis, to be at his beck and call for one week while he is in town on business. Although they come from different backgrounds and lifestyles, both end up developing a relationship based more on genuine love than money and convenience. Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
was a huge success and got Lawton nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949...
and a British Academy Award for his screenplay. Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
won a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for her role and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, giving her worldwide acclaim. The movie also gave stardom to mega producer Arnon Milchan
Arnon Milchan
Arnon Milchan is a film producer, Israeli intelligence agent, and arms dealer. Milchan produced many films such as The War of the Roses, Once Upon a Time in America, Pretty Woman, Natural Born Killers, Under Siege, The Devil's Advocate, The Fountain, Unfaithful, L.A. Confidential and many others...
who later went on to produce hits like Under Siege
Under Siege
Under Siege is a 1992 American action film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, on a U.S. Navy battleship...
, Natural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers is a 1994 crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and psychopathic serial killers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media...
, LA Confidential, The Devil's Advocate
The Devil's Advocate (film)
The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 American horror film directed by Taylor Hackford starring Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, and based on a novel by Andrew Neiderman....
, Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...
, Unfaithful, Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005 film)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American romantic comedy action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. The original music score was composed by John Powell...
, etc.
He then executive produced his next original screenplay, Under Siege
Under Siege
Under Siege is a 1992 American action film directed by Andrew Davis and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, on a U.S. Navy battleship...
, based on his million-dollar spec script Dreadnought. The idea came when Lawton, who had served time in the Coast Guard Reserve, read that the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
was retiring the .
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
plays William Strannix, a psychopathic ex-CIA agent who leads a group of mercenaries on a takeover of the American battleship on its final voyage to steal its arsenal of nuclear Tomahawk
BGM-109 Tomahawk
The Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a surface platform. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures...
Cruise Missiles. The film also stars Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...
and Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...
. Acclaimed by public and critics, the movie broke box office records and a successful sequel followed Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is a 1995 American action film set on board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Los Angeles. Directed by Geoff Murphy, it stars Steven Seagal as the ex-Navy SEAL, Casey Ryback and is the sequel to the 1992 film Under Siege also starring Seagal....
.
With Barry Primus
Barry Primus
Barry Primus is an American television and film actor.Primus is primarily an actor, but has also doubled and tripled as writer and director. He worked on stage for the first decade of his career. He gained some experience on TV in shows like The Defenders, East Side/West Side and The Virginian...
, he co-wrote Mistress, a comedy starring Robert de Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
, Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
and Martin Landau
Martin Landau
Martin Landau is an American film and television actor. Landau began his career in the 1950s. His early films include a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest . He played continuing roles in the television series Mission: Impossible and Space:1999...
. The movie is a tale about a Hollywood screenwriter, Marvin Landisman, whose career is going downhill until he meets a has been hustler-producer who tries to help him get his career back. Starring an all-star cast, Mistress was one of the first films produced by Tribeca Productions
TriBeCa Productions
Tribeca Productions, a film and television production company, was co-founded in 1989 by actor Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of TriBeCa...
, Robert de Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
’s production company, and it was released in the summer of 1992.
Then came The Hunted
The Hunted (1995 film)
The Hunted is a 1995 film written and directed by J. F. Lawton, starring Christopher Lambert, John Lone, and Joan Chen. The score features music by the Japanese taiko troupe Kodō.-Plot:...
in 1995, a thriller set in Japan starring Christopher Lambert
Christopher Lambert
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is an American-born French actor who has appeared in French, European and American productions. He is best known for his role as Connor MacLeod, or simply "The Highlander", from the movie and subsequent movie franchise series of the same name...
, John Lone
John Lone
John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
and Joan Chen
Joan Chen
Joan Chong Chen is a Chinese American actress, film director, screenwriter and film producer. She became famous in China for her performance in the 1979 film Little Flower and came to international attention for her performance in the 1987 Academy Award-winning film The Last Emperor...
. Written and directed by Lawton, the movie traces Paul Racine, a computer-chip executive from New York in one of his many business trips to Tokyo. Local authorities and a legendary ninja cult get involved in an electric chase after a crime occurs in a hotel room. The Hunted
The Hunted (1995 film)
The Hunted is a 1995 film written and directed by J. F. Lawton, starring Christopher Lambert, John Lone, and Joan Chen. The score features music by the Japanese taiko troupe Kodō.-Plot:...
was released on February 25, 1995 and distributed by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. The score, featuring music by the internationally acclaimed Japanese taiko troupe Kodo
Kodo (taiko group)
is a professional taiko drumming troupe. Based on Sado Island, Japan, they have had a role in popularizing taiko drumming, both in Japan and abroad...
, was especially requested by Lawton.
For Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
he co-wrote Blankman
Blankman
Blankman is a 1994 superhero parody film starring Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier, who are both of In Living Color fame. The film was directed by Mike Binder and written by Damon Wayans and J. F. Lawton, whose biggest success was writing Pretty Woman.-Plot:Darryl Walker is a clumsy nerdy...
, a film starring and produced by Damon Wayans
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
who plays Darryl, a nerdy, comical ghetto superhero with a pure heart ready to fight criminals in his own style. The film also stars Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
who previously had worked with Lawton in Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
and Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
in the beginning of his
career.
The next film project was Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (film)
Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Brian Cox, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this...
, an action thriller starring 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...
, Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
and Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
. The movie, filmed in Chicago, Illinois, was released on August 2, 1996 and grossed over $60 million dollars worldwide. In 2005, Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
and Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz born 7 March 1970)is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues...
teamed up again for Constantine
Constantine (film)
Constantine is a 2005 American action horror film directed by Francis Lawrence as his directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, and Djimon Hounsou...
.
In 2006, Lawton co-wrote for Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
a film based on the huge video game series success DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive
DOA: Dead or Alive is a 2006 ensemble martial arts film loosely based on the Tecmo/Team Ninja fighting game series of the same name. Directed by Corey Yuen and written by J. F. Lawton, Adam and Seth Gross....
starring Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
, Jaime Pressly
Jaime Pressly
Jaime Elizabeth Pressly is an American actress and model. She is best known for playing Joy Turner on the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl, for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards, winning one, as well as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award...
and supermodel Devon Aoki
Devon Aoki
Devon Edwenna Aoki is an American model and actress.-Early life:Aoki was born in New York City, New York, and grew up in California and London, attending high school at The American School in London...
.
Television
He created and executive produced the Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
hit syndicated show V.I.P.
V.I.P. (TV series)
V.I.P. is an American action/comedy-drama series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F...
(standing for, and also referred to as, Vallery Irons Protection) through a successful four year run.
The series starred Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
as Vallery Irons, a small-town girl who comes to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
looking for a break when she stumbles into the glamorous role of heading up a Beverly Hills bodyguard agency.
Blending action and humor in a fast-paced adventure series, with Anderson often poking fun at her tabloid image, the show explored the world of the exciting and sometimes treacherous lives of the rich and famous. In November 2001, V.I.P. (the video game) was released on the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
console.
Radio
Lawton worked with popular radio host and media personality Howard SternHoward Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
on the script for The Adventures of Fartman, a fictional superhero character created by Stern for The Howard Stern Show. With two major studios willing to produce, the movie was put into hold due to a MPAA Film Rating System
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
dispute. Lawton and Stern wanted the movie to be R-rated instead of PG-13. They both thought the content of the film was more suitable for a mature audience.
Although the film was put on hold, Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
included part of the script written by Lawton in his 1995 bestselling book, Miss America
Miss America (book)
Miss America is the second book by American radio and media personality Howard Stern. Released on November 7, 1995 by ReganBooks, it became the fastest-selling title in the publisher's history...
. The book became number one on the New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
within days of its release.
He has also been a guest on The Jason Ellis Show, broadcast by famous professional skate boarder and radio host Jason Ellis
Jason Ellis
Jason Ellis is an Australian professional skateboarder, mixed martial artist, radio host, and actor. Ellis hosts The Jason Ellis Show weekdays on Sirius XM Radio channel Faction...
on Faction 28 by Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
.
Future projects
Lawton's recent work includes both writing and directing JacksonJackson (film)
Jackson is a 2008 American comedy-drama-musical film written and directed by J. F. Lawton starring Barry Primus as Donald and Charles Robinson as Sam.-Synopsis:...
, a comedy-drama-musical starring Barry Primus
Barry Primus
Barry Primus is an American television and film actor.Primus is primarily an actor, but has also doubled and tripled as writer and director. He worked on stage for the first decade of his career. He gained some experience on TV in shows like The Defenders, East Side/West Side and The Virginian...
, Charles Robinson
Charles Robinson (actor)
Charles "Charlie" Robinson is a critically acclaimed American theater and television actor. He is best known for his role as Mac Robinson in the NBC sitcom Night Court...
, Steve Guttenberg
Steve Guttenberg
Steven Robert "Steve" Guttenberg is an American actor and comedian. He became well known during the 1980s, after a series of starring roles in major Hollywood films, including Cocoon, Three Men and a Baby, Police Academy, and Short Circuit.-Early life:Guttenberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, the...
, Debra Jo Rupp
Debra Jo Rupp
Debra Jo Rupp is an American film and television actress, perhaps best known for her role as Kitty Forman on the long-running Fox sitcom, That '70s Show...
and opera singers Ella Lee, Shawnette Sulker and Clamma Dale
Clamma Dale
Clamma Dale is an African-American operatic soprano. She is best known for portraying the role of Bess in the highly successful 1976 Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess...
. The movie takes place on a single day involving two homeless men surviving on Los Angeles’s Skid Row
Skid row
A skid row or skid road is a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population. The term originally referred literally to a path along which working men skidded logs. Its current sense appears to have originated in the Pacific Northwest...
. Lawton wrote two songs for the movie, Downtown Birthday and Love Cannot Be. According to his publicist, Jackson
Jackson (film)
Jackson is a 2008 American comedy-drama-musical film written and directed by J. F. Lawton starring Barry Primus as Donald and Charles Robinson as Sam.-Synopsis:...
was shot mainly in Downtown Los Angeles, except from one scene shot in Kentucky.
His latest script with South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
creators, Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
and Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
, is in development at Paramount Studios.
Personal life
Suffering from dyslexiaDyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
and ADHD, Lawton is an avid advocate for both issues. He is also a supporter of PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
, along with his good friends Bill Maher
Bill Maher
William "Bill" Maher, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and...
and Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson is a Canadian-American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P. She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990...
. Environmental issues, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and 9-11 are very close to his heart.
External links
- J. F. Lawton at the TCM Movie Database
- J. F. Lawton at the NY Times
- J. F. Lawton at Allmovie