Lawrence Kasdan

Kasdan was born in Miami Beach, Florida, the son of Sylvia, an employment counselor, and Clarence Kasdan, an electronics-store manager. His older brother is Mark Kasdan, who co-wrote Silverado (1985) and produced Dreamcatcher (2003), and he has two sisters. Kasdan grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia. "I felt very fortunate to have had a regular American childhood in the fifties," he said. "It was a safe place, where you owned the town if you had a bicycle." His parents were both "thwarted writers." His father, who died when Kasdan was 14, had wanted to be a playwright, and his mother claimed to have studied with novelist and playwright Sinclair Lewis at the University of Wisconsin. She sold a few stories to "confessional magazines" in the 1950s, and later bought self-help books and typed up their contents with the dream of writing her own book one day. She also struck up conversations with strangers on the bus, saying it was all "grist for the mill" for future writing. "Looking back on it now," Kasdan wrote, "I wonder if maybe I owe her everything. Whether by nature or nurture, I became a writer." Many of Kasdan's movies were inspired by his "difficult childhood and home life," he wrote. "So, in my work, I've looked for something more stable or explored why growing up in my home was so upsetting." "We didn't have a lot of money and neither did anyone around us, and going to the movies was the happiest thing about my childhood," he said. "Movies weren't very big in Wheeling in those days. We used to call up the theater to ask what time the show began, and they'd say, 'What time can you get here?'" He particularly loved The Great Escape (1963) and The Magnificent Seven (1960), both directed by John Sturges—movies that shaped his ideas of manhood and heroism. "Film made its values tangible for me in the ways that parents, school, Sunday School had not. I wanted to live in the world I found in the movies." In 1963, his brother Mark took him to see David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. They arrived a few minutes late, and Mark insisted that they kill six hours until the next showing. "I thought my brother was crazy. But when the show was over, I knew I had done the right thing. As I stumbled from the theater, having seen the whole movie, I had a new hero. It was not T. E. Lawrence, but David Lean". He graduated from Morgantown High School in 1966. To earn money for college, he worked various jobs at a glass factory and the night shift at a supermarket in Wheeling, scraping meat from butcher machines. He was determined to become a director, and decided the best path was to write screenplays. He got into UCLA's writing program and briefly moved to Los Angeles, but found the experience frustrating and moved back to Ann Arbor, where he worked in a record store and continued writing screenplays. He pursued a master's degree in education at the University of Michigan and graduated in 1971, with plans to support himself as a high-school English teacher until he broke into Hollywood. But he soon discovered that there were no high-school English teaching jobs. "It was almost as hard to get that kind of work as being a movie director," he said. The experience he did have as a student teacher later proved useful on film sets: "You can control an unruly class at almost any level, but the more you yell, the less effective yelling becomes," he said. "That has influenced my approach to directing; for me, being hard is giving someone a look where another director might scream at them." ==Career==

Unable to find a teaching position, Kasdan took a job as an advertising copywriter at the W. B. Doner agency in Detroit—a profession he didn't enjoy but found success in, earning a Clio Award for his first TV commercial, as well as an award from The One Show. His supervisor, Jim Dale, remembered Kasdan "always said he was better at writing for TV than for print, and that was certainly prophetic." Kasdan called his five years in advertising "hellacious", and persisted in writing screenplays at night. Kurland said, although Kasdan had no desire to write for television. He was hired to write a treatment for a low-budget feature for Paramount, but the film was never made. He continued to write screenplays, including what he called an "un-producible historical" movie. The Bodyguard was finally optioned by Warner Bros. in 1977 for $20,000. They wound up with a hundred-page transcript, and Kasdan wrote the screenplay in Spielberg's office while the director was making 1941. It took him six months. Lucas wanted the character to be more like James Bond, so Kasdan had to write a different version of the scene where Brody goes to his house, he said. "George wanted Indy to be a playboy, so Jones was going to answer the door wearing a tuxedo. Then, when Brody went into the house, he would see a beautiful, Harlow-type blonde sipping champagne in Indy's living room. My feeling was that Indiana Jones' two sides (professor and adventurer) made him complicated enough without adding the playboy element." Several elements from Kasdan's earlier Raiders draft found their way in the prequel. Kasdan semi-returned to the franchise in 2007 when he assisted David Koepp in writing some romantic dialogue for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back Lucas initially hired Leigh Brackett, the sci-fi novelist who also wrote screenplays for Howard Hawks—including The Big Sleep (1946)—to write the sequel to Star Wars (1977). But Brackett died in March 1978, while the film was still in pre-production, and Lucas was dissatisfied with her script. He wrote the next draft himself, which established structure and twists close to the final film, but needed dialogue polishing. When Kasdan delivered his script for Raiders, Lucas asked him to rewrite The Empire Strikes Back. Kasdan suggested he read Raiders first, but Lucas reportedly said: "If I hate Raiders, I'll call you up tomorrow and cancel this offer, but basically I get a feeling about people." Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi Kasdan launched his directing career after writing The Empire Strikes Back, and was uninterested in writing another Star Wars movie. But Lucas had supported him on Body Heat as an uncredited producer, so when Lucas asked him to write the screenplay for the third chapter (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), Kasdan felt obliged to repay him. He spent the summer of 1981 co-writing the shooting script with Lucas (based on a story by Lucas). "In both the Star Wars movies it's really George's story," Kasdan said. "I came into Empire after there was already a draft. On Jedi, George had done a draft, which we changed radically. Then he and I really collaborated on the script." Return of the Jedi came out on May 25, 1983, and made $475 million. Lucas had already publicly spoken about making both a prequel and sequel trilogy; the prequels he wrote and directed himself 20 years later, and the Walt Disney Company made episodes 7 through 9 after it purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. In 1981, Kasdan surmised that "they'll probably shoot the before-Luke trilogy next, about young Darth and young Ben. But with George, you can't be sure. For myself, I can only say this will be my last Star Wars movie. On the other hand, you never know. I didn't think I'd be working on this one." opining that Lucas should do the prequels as he wished given the creative clashes Lucas had with him, Kershner and Richard Marquand during the original trilogy's development, despite that Lucas thought it would be great for Kasdan to take a second pass at the screenplays. Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens When Disney bought Lucasfilm with plans to make more Star Wars films, Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm's new president, asked Kasdan to be involved. "I said, 'I don't really want to ... I just feel like I've done this,'" he recalled. "They said, 'We want to do a movie about Han.' That got me. That was the only one that could possibly have gotten me." In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy wrote: "One notably feels the hand of Lawrence Kasdan, who ... co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and, perhaps more significantly, authored Raiders of the Lost Ark, the film this new one most resembles in terms of its incident and exuberance." Kasdan, Abrams, and Arndt won the Saturn Award for Best Writing for The Force Awakens. This marked Kasdan's first win for a Star Wars film, after being nominated for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Despite not working in the following sequels, Kasdan later talked with Abrams, Lucas, and Rian Johnson about the story for the saga's last episode, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Solo: A Star Wars Story Kasdan wrote the screenplay for a Han Solo origin story—the one assignment with Disney and Lucasfilm he initially signed on for—with his son, Jonathan Kasdan, a writer and director. The younger Kasdan had had small roles in his father's movies since The Big Chill, but they had never written a script together. Solo: A Star Wars Story details the character's backstory: how he got his name, how he met Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian, and the beginnings of his internal battle between self-interested scoundrel and hero. Alden Ehrenreich was cast in the role Ford originated. The production was plagued by drama; most notably, the original directors—Phil Lord and Christopher Miller—were fired during the shoot and replaced by Ron Howard. The film opened on May 25, 2018, and made just under $393 million worldwide (the lowest box-office returns for any live-action Star Wars movie to date). Kasdan later attributed Solo's underperformance to Lucasfilm "blowing it", after which he left the Star Wars universe as promised, not responding to any of Lucasfilm's subsequent attempts to woo him back, even sending him a messenger with a new script. Director Body Heat (1981) After writing Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, Kasdan had the cachet to direct his own film. Alan Ladd Jr., the head of 20th Century Fox and a key player on Star Wars, gave Kasdan the deal—but by the time the script was finished Ladd was no longer at Fox. The new president, Sherry Lansing, put many of the existing deals in turnaround, including Kasdan's. Ladd started The Ladd Company in 1979, and offered to produce Body Heat on one condition: that an established director would "sponsor" the untested Kasdan. So Kasdan reached out to George Lucas.) The heat-centric story was originally set in New Jersey, but an actors' strike delayed production until December, so the location was moved to Miami. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards nominated Kasdan for Best Director, and the Writers Guild of America nominated his screenplay for a WGA Award. The Big Chill (1983) participate in the ceremonial puck drop for The Big Chill at the Big House ice hockey game in 2010, flanked by Michigan men's ice hockey co-captain Carl Hagelin and Michigan State men's ice hockey captain Torey Krug While editing Body Heat Kasdan had the idea for a large ensemble film, partly in reaction to the "claustrophobic" experience of working with just two actors in intimate settings. The Big Chill came out on September 30, 1983. It ran in theaters for six months, making more than $56 million on an $8 million budget, and received mostly praise, with some mixed reviews. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: for best original screenplay, best supporting actress (Close), and best picture. The screenplay was nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and it won the WGA Award. Kasdan earned a DGA Award nomination by the Directors Guild of America. He later said: It was a kind of a lightning rod to controversy. I think I was surprised by everything that happened to The Big Chill because it was so personal. It was so much about my life, Barbara's life, and my wife's life that when it became very popular I was surprised. The film earned Oscar nominations for best sound and best original score (composed by Bruce Broughton). Kasdan won the Young Venice Award—Special Mention at the Venice Film Festival. The Accidental Tourist (1988) After making Silverado, Kasdan passed on The Untouchables (1987) because he didn't like the script; it was directed by Brian De Palma. When Kasdan took over, he wrote his own adaptation—ultimately sharing writing credit with Galati. Like many of Kasdan's own stories, this one was "about creating a new family to replace a dysfunctional one," he said. The film earned two Golden Globe nominations (for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Score), a BAFTA nomination (Best Adapted Screenplay), and four Oscar nominations: Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Davis won an Oscar for her supporting role. "I have sometimes been frustrated by the size of my audience, but not on that movie," said Kasdan. "I'm amazed we got as many people in to see it as we did. It was one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had. I'm as proud of The Accidental Tourist as anything I've done." Grand Canyon (1991) Now in his 40s, with his oldest son leaving for college, Kasdan began a screenplay about marriage and parenting. He said: Seeing your children grow throws your own life into relief. They're a daily reminder that you're moving on because they're so clearly coming up from behind. That driving lesson [in Grand Canyon] is about more than the difficulty of making left turns in Los Angeles. Giving your son the wheel is about letting go ... and the threat of disaster in the most mundane actions. The screenplay, which he wrote with his wife, swelled into a larger canvas that dealt with race relations in Los Angeles and the existential crises of the era. On a $20 million budget, Kasdan cast two of his regular actors—Kline and Glover—along with Steve Martin, Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker, and Alfre Woodard. (The actors took smaller salaries in exchange for profit participation.) Kasdan said: At that point we probably should have called the whole thing off, but we didn't. Instead, we reached a kind of compromise script. I had never had that experience before, because everything that I had ever written I had just gone out and shot as is. Here I had this kind of hybrid. It was my script plus elements from his previous script. "It's an epic film on an epic scale," Kasdan said. "It shows the building of the railroad and a span of Wyatt's life. So in many ways it presented the challenges I was looking for. It's a big bite of a movie and there are things in it that are as good as anything I've ever done." Tombstone was in production at the same time, but released on Christmas Eve, 1993—six months before Wyatt Earp. "Tombstone hurt us," said editor Carol Littleton, "because it's a completely different kind of film, and it was a little more hip and it was not quite as serious." Later films (1995–present) '''French Kiss (1995)''' Meg Ryan, who at the time was married to Wyatt Earp star Dennis Quaid, brought Kasdan a script she'd commissioned for herself. Written by Adam Brooks, it was about a woman who overcomes her fear of flying and goes to Paris to confront her cheating fiancé, and in the process falls for a French thief. Kasdan was drawn to the project, he said, because "I wouldn't have to write something new. I'd just done this really difficult movie and I thought, well, I'll go to France with my family for a while. I love France." Kasdan co-wrote the adaptation with William Goldman, screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride. "If you read the book," Kasdan said, "the pain is all over the book." Dreamcatcher was produced by Castle Rock Entertainment and shot in British Columbia. The cast included Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, and Donnie Wahlberg. It came out on March 21, 2003, and made $82 million worldwide. '''Darling Companion (2012)''' Nine years passed between Dreamcatcher and Kasdan's next film, Darling Companion. During that time he adapted a script from Richard Russo's novel The Risk Pool, which he was developing with Tom Hanks as the lead, as well as a few other aborted projects. He eventually decided to make an independent film, based on an incident from his and Meg's own life, when their dog got lost in the mountains of Colorado. Darling Companion was independently financed by his company, Kasdan Pictures, along with Werc Werk Works and Likely Story. Since it was made on a modest $5 million budget, the ensemble cast—which included Kline, Diane Keaton, Richard Jenkins, Dianne Wiest, and Mark Duplass—worked for scale. Kasdan shot the film on digital for the first time, on location in Utah. It came out on April 27, 2012. Projects in development As of 2020, Kasdan is working on a documentary about record label executive Mo Ostin, and the adaptation of a novel called November Road. "Directing is the greatest job in the world, but the process is so hard," he said in 1991. "Each picture is like a child, a huge investment of heart and work. I decided that I want to work a lot while I have the interest in and the energy for it. Then if the time comes when I'm not having fun, I can walk away." • Army of Shadows (1969) • The Battle of Algiers (1966) • Dr. Strangelove (1964) • The Godfather (1972) • The Grapes of Wrath (1940) • Lawrence of Arabia (1962) • Out of the Past (1947) • The Rules of the Game (1939) • Seven Samurai (1954) • The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1947) Producer and onscreen parts Kasdan has produced several films he did not direct: Cross My Heart (1987), Immediate Family (1989)—written by his The Big Chill co-writer Barbara Benedek—''Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1991), Home Fries (1998), The TV Set (2006)—written and directed by Jake Kasdan—and In the Land of Women'' (2007), written and directed by Jonathan Kasdan. He has made several cameo appearances in his own films: as River Phoenix's lawyer in I Love You to Death, a director in Grand Canyon, a gambler in Wyatt Earp, and a man walking a dog in Darling Companion. He played Jack Nicholson's psychiatrist in As Good as It Gets (1997), directed by James L. Brooks. == Filmography ==

Films Filmmaking credits Also uncredited wrote early screenplay for Clash of the Titans (2010). Acting credits Streaming series == Receptions and box office ==

In addition to his four Oscar nominations, Kasdan received the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award in 2001, and the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America in 2006. He has three honorary doctorates: in Humane Letters from the University of Michigan (1983) and from West Virginia University (1999), and in Fine Arts from the American Film Institute (2015). On May 22, 2016, he was honored by the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and ArtsATL.org as the inaugural recipient of their ICON Award for Contributions to the Cinematic Arts in a ceremony held at the Woodruff Arts Center. == Personal life ==

Kasdan has been married to Meg Kasdan (née Mary Ellen Goldman) since November 28, 1971. They met at the University of Michigan, where they were both English majors. Their two sons, Jake Kasdan and Jonathan Kasdan, are both involved in film as actors, writers, producers, and directors. He has three grandchildren. In 2025, Kasdan donated his archives to the University of Michigan, which is incorporating them into their Screen Arts Mavericks and Makers collection. == References ==