Lawrence Konner
Lawrence Konner is an American screenwriter and television writer of shows such as Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos.
Lawrence Konner | |
---|---|
Born | 1950 (age 69–70) United States |
Occupation | Screenwriter |
Spouse(s) | Ronnie Wenker (divorced) Zoë Heller (separated)[1] |
Children | Jennifer Konner (with Wenker) Jeremy Konner (with Wenker) |
Family | Bruno Heller (brother-in-law) |
Biography
Screenwriter
Konner was raised in a Jewish family.[2] He began his career as a writer for television of the shows Little House on the Prairie, Family and Remington Steele.
Since then he has written episodes of the HBO series The Sopranos, one of which was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramatic Writing. He was writer and co-executive producer for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Most recently, he has been a writer and co-executive producer of the series Magic City, which premiered in January 2012 on the Starz channel.
In collaboration with Konner's movie-writing partner Mark Rosenthal, the two men first worked together on the motion picture The Legend of Billie Jean. This was followed by the films The Jewel of the Nile, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as the rebooted versions of The Beverly Hillbillies, Mighty Joe Young and Planet of the Apes. Other screenplays include Mona Lisa Smile, Flicka, and Mercury Rising.
Documentaries produced and directed by Konner
In 1995, Konner produced and directed a documentary short, One Thing I Know, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Special Jury Prize at the USA Film Festival. In 2003, through his independent company, The Documentary Campaign, Konner produced Persons of Interest, a feature-length documentary about the illegal detentions of thousands of Muslims in the aftermath of September 11, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Amnesty International Humanitarian Award. In 2005, Konner produced the film Zizek!, a documentary which follows the philosopher Slavoj Žižek on a worldwide speaking tour.
Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America
Konner was a member of the Board of Directors of The Writers Guild of America, and a former Creative Director at the Sundance Institute. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Personal life
His first wife was Ronnie Wenker; they had two children Jennifer and Jeremy before divorcing.[3] In 2006, he married jornalist and novelist Zoë Heller in a "minimally" Jewish ceremony;[4] the couple had two daughters and separated in 2010.[1]
Filmography
- Family (1976) (TV)
- Little House on the Prairie (1977) (TV)
- Cagney and Lacey (1983) (TV)
- Remington Steele (1984) (TV)
- The Legend of Billie Jean (with Mark Rosenthal) (1985)
- The Jewel of the Nile (1985) (with Mark Rosenthal) (1985)
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- The In Crowd (1988) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Almost Grown (1988) (TV) (creator with David Chase)
- Working Girl (1990) (TV)
- Desperate Hours (1990) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Sometimes They Come Back (1991) (TV) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- For Love or Money (1993) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- One Thing I Know (1995)
- Mercury Rising (1998) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Mighty Joe Young (1998) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Planet of the Apes (2001) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- The Sopranos (2001) (TV)
- Persons of Interest (2003) (producer only)
- Mona Lisa Smile (2003) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Zizek! (2005) (producer only)
- Flicka (2006) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- The Sorcerer Apprentice (2010) (with Mark Rosenthal)
- Boardwalk Empire (2010)
- The Many Saints of Newark (2021) (with David Chase)
References
- Eden, Richard (December 12, 2010). "Notes on a Scandal author Zoë Heller 'leaves her Hollywood screenwriter husband". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- Haaretz: "Superman, Man of Schlemiel? - Superman, the invention of two U.S. Jews, is a profoundly Jewish character whose film history is entwined with that of American Jewry" by Nathan Abrams June 16, 2013
- Wenker-Konner, Ronnie; Appet, Leah (September 11, 2008). "A Picture of Health: A Stroke in Prime Time". Los Angeles Times.
- McKay, Alastair (January 22, 2007). "Teacher-pupil affairs: That's not the real scandal". Evening Standard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.