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John Briley

Richard John Briley[1][2] (June 25, 1925[1][2][3] – December 14, 2019) was an American writer best known for screenplays of biographical films. He won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 55th Academy Awards for Gandhi (1982).[1][4] As well as film scripts, he wrote for television and theatre, and published several novels.[1]

Biography

Briley was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan,[1][2][3] and served in the United States Army Air Forces, 1943–46, reaching the rank of captain.[1] At the University of Michigan, he gained a BA in 1950 and an MA in English 1951.[1] He married Dorothy Louise Reichart in 1950, and they had four children.[2] He worked in public relations for General Motors before rejoining the air force in 1955.[1] He was posted to RAF Northolt airbase at South Ruislip near London, where he was director of orientation activities and started writing.[1]

In 1960, he earned a PhD in Elizabethan drama from the University of Birmingham, left the air force and became a staff writer with MGM-British in Borehamwood.[1] While with the studio, he wrote the script for Children of the Damned (1964), effectively a sequel of Village of the Damned (1960), but objected to the changes made for the finished film.[5] He left MGM in 1964.[1] He also had an uncredited part in the comedy Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965).[1][3][6]

Gandhi

Briley's script for Pope Joan (1972) attracted the interest of Richard Attenborough, although Attenborough was ultimately not involved in that project,[7] and the film was critically panned.[8] Several scripts for Attenborough's Gandhi project had been rejected, and Robert Bolt was scheduled to rewrite his own earlier draft when he suffered a stroke.[7] Attenborough then turned to Briley.[7] Briley shifted the focus of the narrative away from the point of view of the British in India to that of the Indian independence movement.[7] He originally opposed Ben Kingsley in the title role, favouring John Hurt, but was later glad that Attenborough had cast Kingsley.[7] Briley envisaged more emphasis on the relationship between Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, but Kingsley's towering performance came to dominate the finished film.[7] Briley claims he and Attenborough were personally satisfied with the movie and unconcerned about any critical and commercial success.[7] In the event, Briley's original screenplay won the Oscar and the Golden Globe.[1][4][7] Attenborough later said of Briley, "He's a difficult bugger, a bit of a prima-donna, but the bastard's brilliant".[9]

Later life

In 1985, Briley began developing a musical about Martin Luther King Jr.,[10][11] writing the book and lyrics[10] and acting as co-producer, originally for American Playhouse.[11] He left the project in February 1989 after contract negotiations broke down.[11] A different version opened in London in 1990. Briley attempted to obtain an injunction, claiming he had paid the King family $200,000 in personality rights.[11]

In 1987, Briley again teamed up with Attenborough for Cry Freedom, about the South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko.[9] Briley had disagreements with Donald Woods, the journalist whose books formed the basis of the script.[9] Briley viewed the nonviolence of the Black Consciousness Movement as principled, whereas Woods felt it was a tactical decision.[9] Although Woods feared Briley lacked an awareness of the complexities of political debate among black South Africans, those shown a preview of the film felt it was realistic.[9]

In 1993, Briley switched agents from International Creative Management to the William Morris Agency.[12] In 1998, he was a founding partner of "the Film Makers Company", a venture intended to encourage film production in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and was planning to relocate to there.[13] He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival in 2000.[14] He died on December 14, 2019, aged 94.[15]

Unproduced scripts

Unproduced scripts on which Briley worked include: adaptations of Henderson the Rain King,[2][16] Mister God, This Is Anna,[2] White Fang,[2] and his own novel How Sleep the Brave;[2] biopics of Franz Kafka,[16] Genghis Khan – to have been directed by Shin Sang-ok,[16] Tina Modotti (A Fragile Life),[2][17] Beryl Markham (West with the Night), and Pope John Paul II;[18] The Cross and the Crescent,[1] about Francis of Assisi and the Crusades;[19] and a miniseries about the Italian Renaissance.[20] Briley's adaptation of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible was dropped when Miller's son Robert secured production rights; Arthur Miller himself wrote the screenplay for the 1996 film.[21]

Works

Film

Other

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac "John Briley". hollywood.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "John Briley Biography (1925–)". filmreference.com. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "John Briley > Filmography". allmovie. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Clarke, Gerald; Kane, Joseph J.; Simpson, Janice C. (April 25, 1983). "History Crunches Popcorn". Time. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  5. ^ Gilbey, Ryan (December 20, 2019). "John Briley obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Molokai: The Story of Father DamienJohn Briley (I) at IMDb
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Malanowski, Jamie (March 18, 2001). "Shaping Words into an Oscar: Six Writers Who Did". The New York Times. p. 15, Sec.2. Retrieved May 23, 2009.
  8. ^ Rustici, Craig M. (2006). The afterlife of Pope Joan: deploying the Popess legend in early modern England. University of Michigan Press. pp. 153–4. ISBN 0-472-11544-8.
  9. ^ a b c d e Woods, Donald (November 22, 1987). "Filming with Attenborough". The Observer. pp. 19–20.
  10. ^ a b "American Playhouse slates 'King' musical for next year". Jet. 69 (13). Johnson Publishing Company: 64. December 9, 1985. ISSN 0021-5996.
  11. ^ a b c d Cassidy, Suzanne (April 23, 1990). "After Struggle, Musical on Dr. King Is Opening". The New York Times. pp. C11. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  12. ^ "Short Takes". Daily Variety. October 21, 1993.
  13. ^ Mariani, Dominic (June 21, 1998). "The View From Bridgeport: A City as a Backdrop In a Fledgling Film Plan". The New York Times. p. 2, section 14CN. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  14. ^ a b c d e Awards for John Briley (I) at IMDb
  15. ^ Gilbey, Ryan (December 20, 2019). "John Briley obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c Ptacek, Greg (May 24, 1991). "'Gandhi' writer Briley pens 'Khan'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. ^ Archerd, Army (November 14, 1996). "Just for Variety". Daily Variety.
  18. ^ "Pope pic plans Prague scouting". Daily Variety. March 1, 2002.
  19. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (June 6, 2000). "Eagle Pictures takes flight with widened slate". The Hollywood Reporter.
  20. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (April 13, 2000). "Eagle Pics flies in face of indie player status: Italian outfit wields $300 mil war chest". The Hollywood Reporter.
  21. ^ Meyers, Jeffrey (2001). Privileged Moments: Encounters With Writers. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 36. ISBN 0-299-16944-8.
  22. ^ "Kotcheff draws bead on Hitler in 'Populist'". The Hollywood Reporter. November 22, 1996.
  23. ^ Honeycutt, Kirk (August 9, 1996). "Panoptica's slate aims at Canadian, Euro co-prod'n". The Hollywood Reporter.
  24. ^ "1992 Razzies". razzies.com. Golden Raspberry Award Foundation and John Wilson. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  25. ^ "Trans Atlantic ends Todd-AO co-venture". Daily Variety. November 8, 1994.
  26. ^ Briley, John (1997). The First Stone: A Novel. W. Morrow and Co. ISBN 0-688-15235-X. OCLC 35822504.
  27. ^ Briley, John (1985). "Mary Sidney – a 20th Century Reappraisal". In J.P. Vander Motten (ed.). Elizabethan and Modern Studies, presented to Professor Willem Schrickx on the Occasion of his Retirement. Ghent University: Seminarie Voor Engelse en Amerikaanse Literatuur. pp. 47–56. ISBN 90-900114-8-X. OCLC 18879080.
  28. ^ Briley, John (1978). The last dance. London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0-436-06860-5. OCLC 59236063.
  29. ^ Brians, Paul. "Chapter Two The Causes of Nuclear War". Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  30. ^ Lewsen, Charles (October 8, 1976). "Reviews: So Who Needs Men? New London". The Times. p. 11, col F; Issue 59829.
  31. ^ Briley, John (1969). The traitors; a novel. New York City: G. P. Putnam's Sons. OCLC 33480.
  32. ^ New York Times, September 7, 1969
  33. ^ Prescott, Peter S. (2005). "A Genuinely Dreadful Novel". Encounters with American Culture Volume 1: (1963–1972). introduction by Anne L. Prescott. Transaction Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 1-4128-0496-5.
  34. ^ Briley, John (1971). How sleep the brave. London: Corgi. ISBN 0-552-08670-3. OCLC 16213201.
  35. ^ Stephens, Frances (1965). Theatre world annual 1966 : a full pictorial review of the 1964–65 London season (16 ed.). Rockliff. pp. 21, 29, 30. OCLC 221674302.
  36. ^ Benedick, Adam (May 2, 1996). "Obituary: David Kelsey". The Independent. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  37. ^ Gascoigne, Bamber (July 12, 1964). "All the riches of the Incas". The Observer. p. 24.
  38. ^ OCLC 34765036
  39. ^ Briley, John (Summer 1958). "Edward Alleyn and Henslowe's Will". Shakespeare Quarterly. 9 (3). Folger Shakespeare Library with George Washington University: 321–330. doi:10.2307/2867333. JSTOR 2867333.
  40. ^ Briley, John (1955). "Of Stake and Stage". In Allardyce Nicoll (ed.). The Comedies. Shakespeare Survey. Vol. 8. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 106–108. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521816564.011. ISBN 9781139052887.

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