Lawrence Konner
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Konner has had a long and distinguished career as an American
screenwriter
and television writer. In addition, he has produced a number of award winning documentaries.
, Family
and Remington Steele
. He and his movie-writing partner Mark Rosenthal
first worked together on the motion picture The Legend of Billie Jean
, which garnered a cult following on video. This was followed by the films The Jewel of the Nile
, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
, as well as the updated versions of The Beverly Hillbillies, Mighty Joe Young
and Planet of the Apes
. Other screenplays include Mona Lisa Smile
, Flicka
, and Mercury Rising
.
, Little House on the Prairie
, and Remington Steele
. More recently, he has written episodes of the HBO series The Sopranos
, one of which was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramatic Writing. He was writer and co-executive producer for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Most recently, he has been a writer and co-executive producer of the series Magic City
, which premiers in January 2012 on the Starz channel.
, screened at the Cannes Film Festival
, and won the Special Jury Prize at the USA Film Festival
. In 2003, through his independent company, The Documentary Campaign, Konner produced Persons of Interest, a feature-length documentary about the illegal detentions of thousands of Muslims in the aftermath of September 11, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival
and won the Amnesty International Humanitarian Award. In 2005, Konner produced the award-winning film Zizek!
, a documentary which follows the internationally renowned philosopher Slavoj Žižek
on a worldwide speaking tour.
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:...
and television writer. In addition, he has produced a number of award winning documentaries.
Career
Konner began as a television writer, writing for the shows Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, Family
Family (TV series)
Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...
and Remington Steele
Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
. He and his movie-writing partner Mark Rosenthal
Mark Rosenthal
Mark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
first worked together on the motion picture The Legend of Billie Jean
The Legend of Billie Jean
The Legend of Billie Jean is a 1985 American drama film, directed by Matthew Robbins.-Plot:Billie Jean Davy , a Corpus Christi, Texas high school girl, rides with her younger brother, Binx , on a Honda Elite to a local lake to enjoy a day of swimming and relaxation...
, which garnered a cult following on video. This was followed by the films The Jewel of the Nile
The Jewel of the Nile
The Jewel of the Nile is a 1985 romantic adventure film, and a sequel to the 1984 film Romancing the Stone, with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito reprising their roles...
, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the fourth film in the Superman film series and the last installment to star Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. It is the first film in the series not to be produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, but...
, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
, as well as the updated versions of The Beverly Hillbillies, Mighty Joe Young
Mighty Joe Young (1998 film)
The Music was composed and conduced by James Horner. The Soundtrack was released on December of the year 1998.- Tracklist :...
and Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (2001 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 2001 American science fiction film, based on Pierre Boulle's novel and a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Tim Burton directed the film, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Estella Warren. It tells the...
. Other screenplays include Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile is a 2003 romantic drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles...
, Flicka
Flicka
-Chart performance:...
, and Mercury Rising
Mercury Rising
Mercury Rising is a 1998 American action thriller film starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. Directed by Harold Becker, the movie is based on Ryne Douglas Pearson's 1996 novel originally published as Simple Simon...
.
Television
Konner has been writing and producing television shows for over 35 years. He began writing on such shows as FamilyFamily (TV series)
Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...
, Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
, and Remington Steele
Remington Steele
Remington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
. More recently, he has written episodes of the HBO series The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, one of which was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramatic Writing. He was writer and co-executive producer for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Most recently, he has been a writer and co-executive producer of the series Magic City
Magic City (TV series)
Magic City is an upcoming television drama series starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan scheduled to begin filming in 2011 and premiere on the network Starz in 2012....
, which premiers in January 2012 on the Starz channel.
Documentaries produced and directed by Konner
In 1995, Konner produced and directed a documentary short, One Thing I Know, which premiered at the Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, screened at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, and won the Special Jury Prize at the USA Film Festival
USA Film Festival
-History:Founded in 1971, the USA Film Festival has presented the world, national and regional premieres of thousands of studio and independent feature films and short experimental, animated, documentary and dramatic films....
. In 2003, through his independent company, The Documentary Campaign, Konner produced Persons of Interest, a feature-length documentary about the illegal detentions of thousands of Muslims in the aftermath of September 11, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and won the Amnesty International Humanitarian Award. In 2005, Konner produced the award-winning film Zizek!
Žižek!
Zizek!, sometimes written as Žižek!, is a 2005 American/Canadian documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. Its subject is philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, a prolific author and former candidate for the Presidency of Slovenia in the Council of Presidents of Yugoslavia.Zizek! premiered at...
, a documentary which follows the internationally renowned philosopher Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek
Slavoj Žižek is a Slovenian philosopher, critical theorist working in the traditions of Hegelianism, Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis. He has made contributions to political theory, film theory, and theoretical psychoanalysis....
on a worldwide speaking tour.
Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America
Konner was a member of the Board of Directors of The Writers Guild of America, and a former Creative Director at the Sundance Institute. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Filmography
- FamilyFamily (TV series)Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...
(1976) (TV) - Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the PrairieLittle House is a series of children's books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that was published originally between 1932 and 1943, with four additional books published posthumously, in 1962, 1971, 1974 and 2006.-History:...
(1977) (TV) - Cagney and Lacey (1983) (TV)
- Remington SteeleRemington SteeleRemington Steele is an American television series, co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from 1982 to 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic...
(1984) (TV) - The Legend of Billie JeanThe Legend of Billie JeanThe Legend of Billie Jean is a 1985 American drama film, directed by Matthew Robbins.-Plot:Billie Jean Davy , a Corpus Christi, Texas high school girl, rides with her younger brother, Binx , on a Honda Elite to a local lake to enjoy a day of swimming and relaxation...
(with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) (1985) - The Jewel of the NileThe Jewel of the NileThe Jewel of the Nile is a 1985 romantic adventure film, and a sequel to the 1984 film Romancing the Stone, with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito reprising their roles...
(1985) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) (1985) - Superman IV: The Quest for PeaceSuperman IV: The Quest for PeaceSuperman IV: The Quest for Peace is a 1987 superhero film directed by Sidney J. Furie. It is the fourth film in the Superman film series and the last installment to star Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel. It is the first film in the series not to be produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind, but...
(1987) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - The In CrowdThe In CrowdThe In Crowd may refer to:A generic name probably coined in the swinging sixties to refer to people who went to the best parties*"The 'In' Crowd" , originally performed by Dobie Gray and covered by many other artists, most notably the Ramsey Lewis Trio...
(1988) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Almost GrownAlmost GrownAlmost Grown is an American television drama series about a couple , whose lives are explored during three different places in their lives...
(1988) (TV) (creator with David ChaseDavid ChaseDavid Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
) - Working GirlWorking Girl (TV series)Working Girl is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from April to July 1990. Loosely based on the 1988 film of the same name starring Melanie Griffith, the series stars Sandra Bullock as Tess McGill , in a role that was initially meant for Nancy McKeon.-Synopsis:Tess McGill is a spunky,...
(1990) (TV) - Desperate HoursDesperate HoursDesperate Hours is a 1990 remake of the 1955 William Wyler crime drama of the same title. Both films are based on the novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script for this movie with Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal...
(1990) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Sometimes They Come BackSometimes They Come Back"Sometimes They Come Back" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1974 issue of Cavalier and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.-Setting:...
(1991) (TV) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered CountryStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
(1991) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - For Love or MoneyFor Love or Money-Film and theatre:* For Love or Money, an alternative title for the 1933 film Cash* For Love or Money , a film starring Kirk Douglas* For Love or Money , a 1993 film starring Michael J. Fox...
(1993) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - The Beverly HillbilliesThe Beverly Hillbillies (1993 film)The Beverly Hillbillies is a 1993 20th Century Fox comedy motion picture starring Jim Varney, Diedrich Bader, Erika Eleniak, Cloris Leachman, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman, Lea Thompson, Rob Schneider and Penny Fuller...
(1993) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - One Thing I Know (1995)
- Mercury RisingMercury RisingMercury Rising is a 1998 American action thriller film starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. Directed by Harold Becker, the movie is based on Ryne Douglas Pearson's 1996 novel originally published as Simple Simon...
(1998) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Mighty Joe YoungMighty Joe Young (1998 film)The Music was composed and conduced by James Horner. The Soundtrack was released on December of the year 1998.- Tracklist :...
(1998) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Planet of the ApesPlanet of the Apes (2001 film)Planet of the Apes is a 2001 American science fiction film, based on Pierre Boulle's novel and a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Tim Burton directed the film, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Estella Warren. It tells the...
(2001) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - The SopranosThe SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
(2001) (TV) - Persons of Interest (2003) (producer only)
- Mona Lisa SmileMona Lisa SmileMona Lisa Smile is a 2003 romantic drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Julia Stiles...
(2003) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Zizek!Žižek!Zizek!, sometimes written as Žižek!, is a 2005 American/Canadian documentary film directed by Astra Taylor. Its subject is philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek, a prolific author and former candidate for the Presidency of Slovenia in the Council of Presidents of Yugoslavia.Zizek! premiered at...
(2005) (producer only) - FlickaFlicka-Chart performance:...
(2006) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - The Sorcerer ApprenticeThe Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010 film)The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a 2010 fantasy adventure film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, the team behind the National Treasure franchise...
(2010) (with Mark RosenthalMark RosenthalMark David Rosenthal is an American screenwriter and film director and long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner.-Education:Mark David Rosenthal was born in Philadelphia...
) - Boardwalk Empire (2010)