Neil Landau
Encyclopedia
Neil Landau is an American screenwriter, playwright
, producer, and director. His film and TV credits include the teen comedy "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
”, "Melrose Place", "The Magnificent Seven
", "Doogie Howser, M.D.
", "The Secret World of Alex Mack
", and MTV's "Undressed
”. He has developed numerous one-hour drama TV pilots for several studios and networks including Warner Bros.
, Touchstone
, CBS
, ABC Family
, and Lifetime, and has written movies for Universal Pictures
, Disney, Columbia Pictures
, and 20th Century Fox
.
He is currently re-writing an animated feature based on the popular “Tadeo Jones” comic books for El Toro and Warner Bros. Pictures, for whom he also worked as executive script consultant on the film "Lope
", which was short-listed for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. He is slated as executive script consultant for the upcoming El Toro
/Universal Pictures
film "Bruc".
Neil has also worked internationally as both co-head-writer and executive script consultant on TV and film projects for Sony Pictures Television International (in Russia), Freemantle Media (in Australia), and Intereconomia (in Spain).
Neil recently served as Executive Vice-President of Scripted Development for Amedia Film Group located in Moscow (Russia), working with writers, creative producers, story editors, and studio executives, guiding a slate of original projects including feature films, animation, miniseries, made-for-television movies, one-hour drama series, situation comedies, soap operas, and historical docudramas.
Neil teaches in the MFA in Screenwriting and Producing Programs at both UCLA School of Film & Television and USC School of Cinematic Arts
. He is also a faculty advisor in the MFA in Writing Program at Goddard College
.
His first book, "101 Things I Learned in Film School" (Grand Central Publishing), was published in May, 2010. He is also a contributor to the anthology "WriteNow! Screenwriting" (Tarcher/Penguin); published in September, 2010.
(hired by Lynn Marie Latham
): Breakdown Writer
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, producer, and director. His film and TV credits include the teen comedy "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is a 1991 comedy film directed by Stephen Herek starring Christina Applegate.Applegate stars as a teenager whose mother leaves for a two-month summer vacation in Australia, putting all five siblings in the care of a strict tyrannical elderly babysitter...
”, "Melrose Place", "The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
", "Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D. is an American television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a 16-year-old doctor who also faces the problems of being a normal teenager. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, ABC aired the show from 1989 to 1993 for four seasons totaling 97 episodes.-Plot:Dr....
", "The Secret World of Alex Mack
The Secret World of Alex Mack
The Secret World of Alex Mack is an American television series that ran on Nickelodeon from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, replacing Clarissa Explains It All on the SNICK line-up. It also aired on YTV in Canada and NHK in Japan, and was a popular staple in the children's weekday line-up for...
", and MTV's "Undressed
Undressed
Undressed is an American anthology series that aired on MTV from July 26, 1999 to September 5, 2002. The series was created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé.-Synopsis:...
”. He has developed numerous one-hour drama TV pilots for several studios and networks including Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, Touchstone
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...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
, and Lifetime, and has written movies for Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, Disney, 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...
, and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
He is currently re-writing an animated feature based on the popular “Tadeo Jones” comic books for El Toro and Warner Bros. Pictures, for whom he also worked as executive script consultant on the film "Lope
Lope
Lope is an old Spanish given name, derived from Latin lupus, meaning "wolf". Lope may refer to:*Félix Lope de Vega , Spanish poet;*Lope de Aguirre...
", which was short-listed for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film. He is slated as executive script consultant for the upcoming El Toro
El Toro
El Toro, Spanish for "the bull", may refer to:* El Toro , a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, USA* El Toro , a class of sailing dinghy* El Toro , the highest hill in Minorca, Spain...
/Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
film "Bruc".
Neil has also worked internationally as both co-head-writer and executive script consultant on TV and film projects for Sony Pictures Television International (in Russia), Freemantle Media (in Australia), and Intereconomia (in Spain).
Neil recently served as Executive Vice-President of Scripted Development for Amedia Film Group located in Moscow (Russia), working with writers, creative producers, story editors, and studio executives, guiding a slate of original projects including feature films, animation, miniseries, made-for-television movies, one-hour drama series, situation comedies, soap operas, and historical docudramas.
Neil teaches in the MFA in Screenwriting and Producing Programs at both UCLA School of Film & Television and USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
. He is also a faculty advisor in the MFA in Writing Program at Goddard College
Goddard College
Goddard College is a private, liberal arts college located in Plainfield, Vermont, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Goddard College currently operates on an intensive low-residency model...
.
His first book, "101 Things I Learned in Film School" (Grand Central Publishing), was published in May, 2010. He is also a contributor to the anthology "WriteNow! Screenwriting" (Tarcher/Penguin); published in September, 2010.
Writing
The Young and the RestlessThe Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
(hired by Lynn Marie Latham
Lynn Marie Latham
Lynn Marie Latham is an Emmy Award-winning television writer and producer. Her initial foray into writing for television was as a story editor for the short-lived series Berrenger's in 1985...
): Breakdown Writer
- Monarch CoveMonarch CoveMonarch Cove is a prime time telenovela that premiered on Lifetime Television on November 4, 2006. It ran for 14 episodes, ending on December 16, 2006.-Premise:...
: Script Consultant - Doogie Howser, M.D.Doogie Howser, M.D.Doogie Howser, M.D. is an American television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a 16-year-old doctor who also faces the problems of being a normal teenager. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, ABC aired the show from 1989 to 1993 for four seasons totaling 97 episodes.-Plot:Dr....
- The Secret World of Alex MackThe Secret World of Alex MackThe Secret World of Alex Mack is an American television series that ran on Nickelodeon from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, replacing Clarissa Explains It All on the SNICK line-up. It also aired on YTV in Canada and NHK in Japan, and was a popular staple in the children's weekday line-up for...
- Melrose Place
- The Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent Seven is an American Western film directed by John Sturges, and released in 1960. It is a fictional tale of a group of seven American gunmen who are hired to protect a small agricultural village in Mexico from a group of marauding Mexican bandits...
- UndressedUndressedUndressed is an American anthology series that aired on MTV from July 26, 1999 to September 5, 2002. The series was created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé.-Synopsis:...
(Co-Head WriterHead writerA head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
) - Twice in a LifetimeTwice in a Lifetime (TV series)Twice in a Lifetime is a Canadian mystery/drama series that originally aired from 1999 to 2001. Created by Steve Sohmer, the series aired on CTV in Canada and PAX in the United States.-Synopsis:...
(Supervising Producer)
Awards and nominations
- The Fred Astaire Complex: Grand Prize by the California Media Association
- Etcetera and Intentions: Best Play-L.A. Valley College One-Act Play Festival Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
Award for Drama Excellence - UCLA: Outstanding Instructor of the Year 1994