Bo Goldman

In 2005, he helped prepare the shooting script for Milos Forman's Goya's Ghosts (2006), produced by Saul Zaentz and starring Natalie Portman and Javier Bardem.

In 2003, Bo Goldman was hired by producer Jerry Weintraub to write the script for "The Colonel and Me". The story follows Weintraub's relationship with Elvis Presley's manager Col. Tom Parker when Weintraub was the tour promoter. Barry Levinson was set to direct with Jack Nicholson set to star.

More recently, Goldman did a page one uncredited rewrite of The Perfect Storm (2000). It was Goldman's script that green lit the movie at Warner Bros. and convinced George Clooney to star in the film, which went on to earn $327,000,000.

He followed this with Harold Becker's City Hall (1996), starring Al Pacino and John Cusack, and then co-wrote Meet Joe Black (1998), starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.

In 1993, following his Oscar nomination for Scent of a Woman (1992), Goldman was still pursuing his directorial debut. In an interview he gave that year, he stated that he had decided on the project to make. It was an original untitled "psychological thriller about a C.I.A. agent" that he had written, but the project stalled in development.

Goldman returned solely to screen-writing with Scent of a Woman (1992), starring Al Pacino. Goldman was honored with his third Academy Award nomination and his third Golden Globe Award.

He did extensive rewrite work on the script for Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy (1990) and was extremely disappointed that he did not receive any credit on the finished film. In fact, a story picture book released by Disney features the film's credits and in those they include written by credits for Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr. and Bo Goldman and Warren Beatty. However, the WGA decided to give credit to Cash & Epps Jr., solely.

In 1989, Bo Goldman was hired by Penny Marshall to write a script based on her mother. At the time, Goldman was working with Warren Beatty on Dick Tracy (1990) and even though Goldman had completed his work on the script, Beatty was furious that Goldman had moved on to another project. The script was titled "Time Step" and was still in the works through the early 1990's but was eventually shelved.

During this period, Goldman first tried his hand at screen-writing, resulting in an early version of Shoot the Moon (1982) which stirred the interest of Hollywood and became his calling card.

After reading Shoot the Moon (1982), Milos Forman asked Goldman to write the screenplay for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). Goldman's first produced film won all five top Academy Awards including Best Screenplay for Goldman.

Goldman's first screenplay, Shoot the Moon (1982), that started it all, was then filmed by Alan Parker, starring Diane Keaton and Albert Finney, the film received international acclaim and was embraced by America's most respected film critics including Pauline Kael and Richard Schickel.

For Shoot the Moon (1982), Goldman earned his third Writers Guild nomination.

Over the next few years, he contributed uncredited work to countless scripts, including Milos Forman's Ragtime (1981), starring James Cagney and Donald O'Connor, The Flamingo Kid (1984), starring Matt Dillon, and Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy (1990).

Bo Goldman has written three separate screenplays that involve Howard Hughes. He was known as the Howard Hughes expert around town for his extensive knowledge from research done about the man. His first script was a biopic of the younger Hughes titled "Sonny", which was the nickname of Howard Hughes. It was never produced, but during his research he came across the story that would become his Oscar winning script for Melvin and Howard (1980). Around this time, Warren Beatty was trying to make his own Howard Hughes movie. He had worked with Elaine May on a version and another with Robert Towne, but neither worked. Sometime in the late '80's, Beatty contacted Goldman about writing a script for him. They worked off and on, on a script, before quitting to work on Dick Tracy (1990). Goldman had grown tired of working with Beatty, and after Beatty ruined Goldman's chances at a credit on Dick Tracy (1990), Goldman refused to work with Beatty again. He turned down the opportunity to continue work on the Howard Hughes script and to work on Bugsy (1991). However, in 2016 Warren Beatty finally debuted his Howard Hughes movie Rules Don't Apply (2016) and in the credits, Bo Goldman is given a shared 'story by' credit with Warren Beatty. Beatty himself continued to rewrite the script over the years which is why he is given the sole 'screenplay by' credit.

He next wrote The Rose (1979), which was nominated for four Academy Awards, followed by his original screenplay, Melvin and Howard (1980), which garnered Goldman his second Oscar, second Writers Guild Award and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Screenplay of the Year.

In 1975, Bo Goldman wrote the script for Universal's "The Legend of King Kong", which was set to go into production in early 1976. However, Paramount and producer Dino De Laurentiis successfully sued Universal to prevent them from making the picture, which would compete with their "King Kong" movie released in 1976.

Goldman tried his hand at directing an adaptation of Susan Minot's novel "Monkeys", and a re-imagining of Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries (1957) (aka "Wild Strawberries") as a vehicle for Gregory Peck, but for budgetary and scheduling reasons, both movies lost their start dates.

There are but a few select screenwriters who are spoken of with the kind of reverence usually reserved for film Directors - Robert Towne, Alvin Sargent and Bo Goldman. Goldman is a screenwriter's screenwriter, and one of the most honored in motion picture history. The recipient of two Academy Awards, a New York Film Critics Award, two Writers Guild Awards, three Golden Globes, additional Academy Award and Writers Guild nominations and, ultimately, the Guild's life achievement Award - The Laurel. Born in New York City, Goldman was educated at Exeter and Princeton where he wrote, produced, composed the lyrics and was president of the famed Triangle show, a proving ground for James Stewart and director Joshua Logan. On graduation, he went directly to Broadway as the lyricist for "First Impressions", based on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", produced by composer Jule Styne and directed by Abe Burrows, starring Hermione Gingold, Polly Bergen and Farley Granger. Moving into television, Goldman was mentored by the redoubtable Fred Coe (the "D. W. Griffith of dramatic television") and became part of the twilight of The Golden Age, associate producing and script editing Coe's prestigious Days Of Wine & Roses - Cliff Robertson & Piper Laurie, "Playhouse 90" Original TV Version (1956)'s, "The Days of Wine and Roses", "A Plot to Kill Stalin" and Horton Foote's "Old Man". Goldman went on to himself produce and write for Public Television on the award-winning NET Playhouse.

"Cuckoo's Nest" was the first film to win the top five awards since Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934). Goldman also received the Writers Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award for his work on the film.