Lawrence Edward Kasdan is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter.
He is best known as the co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and
Return of the Jedi.
Kasdan has been confirmed to be co-writer for the upcoming third trilogy of Star Wars.
He has been nominated for four Oscars: twice for Best Original Screenplay for The Big Chill
and Grand Canyon and once for both Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture for The Accidental
Tourist.
He is the father of directors Jake Kasdan and Jon Kasdan, and the father-in-law of musician
Inara George.
Early life Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son
of Sylvia Sarah, an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail
electronics stores.
His brother is the writer/producer Mark Kasdan.
He was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he graduated from Morgantown High School
in 1966.
His family is Jewish.
He graduated from the University of Michigan with an MA in Education, originally planning
on a career as an English teacher.
He won a Hopwood Award for writing during the time of his studies.
He was a student of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.
Career Upon graduation, Kasdan was unable to find
a teaching position, so he became an advertising copywriter, a profession he did not enjoy,
but remained in for five years, first in Detroit and later in Los Angeles where he tried to
interest Hollywood in his screenplays.
Kasdan's introduction into the film business came in the mid-1970s when after being rejected
67 times, his script for The Bodyguard was sold to Warner Bros. as a vehicle for Diana
Ross and Steve McQueen.
The script became stuck in "development hell" and became one of several scripts successively
called "the best un-made film in Hollywood"; it was eventually produced as a 1992 film
starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.
After he sold his screenplay Continental Divide to Steven Spielberg, George Lucas commissioned
Kasdan in 1979 to complete the screenplay for his Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes
Back after the death of Leigh Brackett, who wrote the first draft.
Lucas also commissioned Kasdan to help him write the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost
Ark and Return of the Jedi.
Kasdan made his directing debut in 1981 with Body Heat, which he also wrote.
Kasdan is known for both writing and directing his films, which have ranged from Westerns
and romantic comedies to thought-provoking dramas.
He has received four Academy Award nominations, for screenplays to The Big Chill, Grand Canyon,
and The Accidental Tourist, for which he also earned a nomination for Best Picture.
Grand Canyon won the Golden Bear at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.
He has cast Kevin Kline in six of his films.
From 1994 to 2003, he did a set of films that, in contrast to the hits he did in the 1980s,
failed to break the bank in receipts; among these films were Wyatt Earp and Dreamcatcher,
the latter based on the Stephen King best seller.
1995's French Kiss did gross $100 million.
He made cameo appearances as the lawyer of River Phoenix's character in I Love You To
Death and in James L. Brooks' comedy As Good As It Gets as the fed-up psychiatrist of Jack
Nicholson's novelist.
In 2001 Kasdan was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter
Award.
Kasdan directed the 2012 dramedy Darling Companion, starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline.
Kasdan is also directing the Danielle Steel's book Hotel Vendome which is slated for a 2014
release and will star Cameron Diaz and Lorde.
In October 2013, it was announced that JJ Abrams had taken over screenwriting duties
for Star Wars Episode VII, working alongside Kasdan following the departure of Michael
Arndt.
In 2006, Kasdan received the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers
Guild of America.
Recurring cast members 1Costner's scenes were deleted from the final
film.
Filmography References
External links Lawrence Kasdan at the Internet Movie Database