Steven Zaillian

Steven Zaillian was born on January 30, 1953, in Fresno, California, the son of a radio news reporter. He pursued his education at Sonoma State University before graduating from San Francisco State University in 1975 with a degree in Cinema. Zaillian began his career in the film industry as an editor, working on films such as “Breaker, Breaker” (1976), “Kingdom of the Spiders” (1977), “Starhops” (1978), and “Below the Belt” (1980). He later transitioned into screenwriting, achieving his first produced script with “The Falcon and the Snowman” in 1985.

Zaillian’s career gained significant momentum with the screenplay for “Awakenings” (1990), which earned him a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. In 1993, he made his directorial debut with “Searching for Bobby Fischer.” The same year, his adapted screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” brought him an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a WGA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. His writing credits expanded to include mainstream productions like “Clear and Present Danger” (1994) and providing the story for “Mission: Impossible” (1996). After working as a script doctor on various films, Zaillian returned to directing with “A Civil Action” (1998).

Throughout his career, Zaillian has consistently delivered acclaimed work, earning Oscar nominations for films such as “Gangs of New York,” “Moneyball,” and “The Irishman.” He also created, wrote, and directed the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries “The Night Of” (2016) and the Peabody Award-winning limited series “Ripley” (2024). In 2009, he received the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the Austin Film Festival, followed by the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America in 2011. Zaillian is also the founder of Film Rites, his own film production company.