Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  Mississippi Burning is a 1988 American historical crime thriller film directed by Alan Parker that is loosely based on the 1964 murder investigation of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in Mississippi. It stars Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers in fictional Jessup County, Mississippi, who are met with hostility by the town's residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan. Screenwriter Chris Gerolmo began the script in 1985 after researching the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. He and producer Frederick Zollo presented it to Orion Pictures, and the studio subsequently hired Parker to direct the 
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  The writer and director had disputes over the script, and Orion allowed Parker to make uncredited rewrites. The film was shot in a number of locations in Mississippi and Alabama, with principal photography from March to May, 1988. On release, Mississippi Burning was criticized by activists involved in the civil rights movement and the families of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner for its fictionalization of events. Critical reaction was mixed, though the performances of Hackman, Dafoe and Frances McDormand were generally praised. The film grossed $34.6 million in North America against a production budget of $15 million. It received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Cinematography.
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  In 1985, screenwriter Chris Gerolmo discovered an article that excerpted a chapter from the book Inside Hoover's F.B.I., which chronicled the FBI's investigation into the murders of Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner. While writing a draft script, Gerolmo brought it to producer Frederick Zollo, who had worked with him on Miles from Home (1988). Zollo helped Gerolmo develop the original draft before they sold it to Orion Pictures. The studio then began its search for a director. Filmmakers Miloš Forman and John Schlesinger were among those considered to helm the project. In September 1987, Alan Parker was given a copy of Gerolmo's script by Orion's executive vice president and co-founder Mike Medavoy. When Parker 
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content: Gene Hackman as FBI Agent Rupert Anderson (based on John Proctor) ; Willem Dafoe as FBI Agent Alan Ward (based on Joseph Sullivan) ; Frances McDormand as Mrs. Pell (based on Conner Price) ; Brad Dourif as Deputy Sheriff Clinton Pell (based on Cecil Price) ; R. Lee Ermey as Mayor Tilman ; Gailard Sartain as Ray Stuckey, Sheriff of Jessup County (based on Lawrence A. Rainey) ; Stephen Tobolowsky as Clayton Townley (based on Samuel Bowers) ; Michael Rooker as Frank Bailey (based on Alton Wayne Roberts) ; Pruitt Taylor Vince as Lester Cowens (based on Jimmy Snowden) ; Badja Djola as FBI Agent Monk (based on Gregory Scarpa) ; Kevin Dunn as FBI Agent Bird ; Tobin Bell as FBI Agent Stokes ; Frankie Faison as Eulogist ; Geoffrey Nauffts as Goatee (based on Michael Schwerner) ; Rick Zieff as Passenger (based on Andrew Goodman) ; Christopher White as Black Passenger (based on James Chaney) ; Park Overall as Connie ; Darius McCrary as Aaron Williams ; Robert F. Colesberry as Cameraman ; Frederick Zollo as Reporter ; Bob Glaudini as FBI Agent Nash 
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  civil rights activists are Geoffrey Nauffts as "Goatee", a character based on Michael Schwerner; Rick Zieff as "Passenger", based on Andrew Goodman; and Christopher White as "Black Passenger", based on James Chaney. Producers Frederick Zollo and Robert F. Colesberry also make appearances in the film; Zollo briefly appears as a news reporter, and Colesberry appears as a news cameraman who is brutally beaten by Frank Bailey. While scouting locations in Jackson, Mississippi, Parker arranged an open casting call for local actors and extras. He and Colesberry met music teacher Lannie McBride, who appears as a gospel singer in the film.
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  The scene in which Frank Bailey brutally beats a news cameraman was based on an actual event; Parker and Colesberry were inspired by a news outtake found during their research, in which a CBS News cameraman was assaulted by a suspect in the 1964 murder case. Parker also wrote a sex scene involving Rupert Anderson and Mrs. Pell. The scene was omitted during filming after Gene Hackman, who portrays Anderson, suggested to Parker that the relationship between the two characters be more discreet. By January 4, 1988, Parker had written a complete shooting script, which he submitted to Orion executives. Gerolmo did not visit the production during principal photography, due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike.
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  Mississippi Burning held its world premiere at the Uptown Theatre in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 1988, with various politicians, ambassadors and political reporters in attendance. United States Senator Ted Kennedy voiced his support of the film, stating, "This movie will educate millions of Americans too young to recall the sad events of that summer about what life was like in this country before the enactment of the civil rights laws." The film was given a platform release, first being released in a small number of cities in North America before opening nationwide. It opened in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York City on December 9, 1988. Orion was confident that the limited release would help qualify the film for Academy Awards consideration, and generate strong word-of-mouth support from audiences. The film opened in wide release on January 27, 1989, playing at 1,058 theaters, and expanding to 1,074 theatres by its ninth week.
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  mouth. Gerolmo was inspired by Gregory Scarpa, a mob enforcer allegedly recruited by the FBI during their search for Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner. After Parker was hired to direct the film, Gerolmo had completed two drafts. Parker met with Gerolmo at Orion's offices in Century City, Los Angeles, where they began work on a third draft script. Both the writer and director however had repeated disagreements over the focus of the story. To resolve the issue, Orion executives in New York gave Parker one month to make uncredited rewrites before green-lighting the project. Parker made several changes from Gerolmo's original draft. He omitted the Mafia hitman and created the character Agent Monk, a black FBI specialist who kidnaps 
Title: Mississippi Burning
Content:  Following its release, Mississippi Burning became embroiled in controversy over its fictionalization of events. Gerolmo and Parker have admitted taking artistic license with the source material describing it as essentially a. The killing itself, as portrayed in the film, differed from the actual events in several ways. In the film, during the car stop precipitating the murder, the driver is white (presumably either Andrew Goodman or Michael Schwerner), and the black civil rights volunteer (presumably James Chaney) is in the back seat. In reality, James Chaney had been driving the car because he was familiar with the area. The film presents the murders as having been committed at the scene of the 
Title: Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner
Content: Mississippi Burning, by Joel Norst. New American Library, 1988. ISBN: 978-0-451-16049-2 ; The "Mississippi Burning" Civil Rights Murder Conspiracy Trial: A Headline Court Case, by Harvey Fireside. Enslow Publishers. 2002. ISBN: 978-0-7660-1762-7 ; The Mississippi Burning Trial: A Primary Source Account, by Bill Scheppler. The Rosen Publishing Group. 2003. ISBN: 978-0-8239-3972-5 ; Three Lives for Mississippi, by William Bradford Huie. University Press of Mississippi, 1965. ISBN: 978-1-57806-247-8 ; "Untold Story of the Mississippi Murders", by William Bradford Huie, Saturday Evening Post September 5, 1964, No. 30, pp 11–15 ; We Are Not Afraid, by Seth Cagin and Philip Dray. Bantam Books. 1988. ISBN: 0-553-35252-0 ; Witness in Philadelphia, by Florence Mars. Louisiana State University Press. 1977. ISBN: 978-0-8071-0265-7 

Question: Who was the screenwriter for Mississippi Burning?
Answer: Chris Gerolmo.