John Logan (writer)
John David Logan (born September 24, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film and television producer. He is known for his work as a screenwriter for such films as Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" (2000), Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" (2004) and "Hugo" (2011), Tim Burton's "" (2007), and Sam Mendes' "Skyfall" (2012). He is a three-time Academy Award nominee; twice for Best Original Screenplay for "Gladiator" (2000) and "The Aviator" (2004) and once for Best Adapted Screenplay for "Hugo" (2011). He is also a two time Tony Award nominee for Best Play for "Red" in  2010 and Best Book of a Musical for "Moulin Rouge!" in 2021. He also was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie for "RKO 281" in 2000. Early life. Logan was born in San Diego on September 24, 1961. His parents immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland via Canada. The youngest of three children, he has an older brother and sister. Logan grew up in California and Millburn, New Jersey, where he graduated from Millburn High School in 1979. He moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern University, where he graduated  in 1983. Career. Logan was a successful playwright in Chicago for many years before turning to screenwriting. His first play, "Never the Sinner", tells the story of the infamous Leopold and Loeb case. Subsequent plays include "Hauptmann", about the Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and "Riverview", a musical melodrama set at Chicago's famed amusement park. His play "Red", about artist Mark Rothko, was produced by the Donmar Warehouse, London, in December 2009, and on Broadway in 2010, where it received six Tony Awards, the most of any play, including best play, best direction of a play for Michael Grandage and best  featured actor in a play for Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne and Alfred Molina had originated their roles in London and also performed on Broadway, for a limited run ending in late June. Logan wrote "Any Given Sunday" and the television film "RKO 281", before gaining an Academy Award nomination for co-writing (with David Franzoni and William Nicholson) the Best Picture winner "Gladiator" in 2000. He received another nomination for writing "The Aviator" (2004), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. Other notable films written by Logan include "", "The Time Machine", "The Last Samurai", and the Tim Burton musical "", for  which he received a Golden Globe Award. Logan's feature films include "Rango", an animated feature starring Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski; the film adaptation of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus", directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes; "Hugo", an adaptation of the book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret", directed by Martin Scorsese; and the James Bond film "Skyfall", along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade. He wrote the Bond film, "Spectre" (2015). Two plays by Logan premiered in 2013; "Peter and Alice", directed by Michael Grandage and starring Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw opened in London at the Noël Coward  Theatre on March 25, 2013 and "", directed by Joe Mantello and starring Bette Midler, opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on April 24, 2013. He also created the 2014 television series "Penny Dreadful" starring Josh Hartnett, Eva Green and Timothy Dalton, for which he served as sole writer until it concluded with its third season. In November 2015, Logan was reported to have rewritten the script for "". During the audio commentary of "Alien: Covenant", Scott mentions that Logan has already started writing "Alien: Covenant 2". In November 2018, it was announced that Showtime would produce a follow-up to  the 2014 television series "Penny Dreadful" entitled "", which takes place in Los Angeles in 1938. Logan was the creator, executive producer, and sole writer for the show, which premiered in 2020. "Superhero", a new musical by Logan and Tom Kitt, had its world premiere production Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater, with an official opening night on February 28, 2019. In November 2019, it was reported that "Bohemian Rhapsody" producer Graham King is planning to produce a Michael Jackson biopic, with the screenplay written by Logan.