John Logan (writer)

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John David Logan (born September 24, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for his work as a screenwriter for films such as Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), Gore Verbinski’s Rango (2011), Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) and Hugo (2011), Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Sam Mendes' James Bond films Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). He has been nominated for three Academy Awards, and has won a Tony Award and a Golden Globe.

Life and career

Early years and education

Logan's parents emigrated 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.<ref>"Millburn High Students Hear from Tony and Oscar Award-Winning Writer" Template:Webarchive, TAP into Millburn, November 16, 2010. Accessed July 3, 2019. "On November 11, some Millburn High School drama and film students learned firsthand about playwriting and screenwriting from the 2010 Tony Award winner, John Logan. Logan, a 1979 graduate of Millburn High School, was invited back to his alma mater by student Ben Lippman, whose mother Janice was a college classmate of Logan’s at Northwestern University."</ref>

He moved to Chicago to attend Northwestern University, where he graduated in 1983.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Stage

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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>"Time Is Short to See Tony Winners" Template:Webarchive by Patrick Healy, The New York Times, June 14, 2010 (p. C1 2010-06-15 New York ed.). Retrieved 2010-06-14.</ref>

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 I'll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers, directed by Joe Mantello and starring Bette Midler, opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre on April 24, 2013.<ref>Gans, Andrew. Bette Midler Is Showbiz Agent Sue Mengers in I'll Eat You Last, Opening on Broadway April 24" Template:Webarchive Playbill, April 24, 2013</ref>

A re-written version of Never the Sinner had its world premiere in 2004 at the Space Theatre in Adelaide, Australia, by Independent Theatre.<ref name=about/> The company had previously staged the play twice, in 1992 and 1994,<ref name=hist>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and has also staged several of his other plays.<ref name=harris2019/>

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.<ref name="Clement">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Logan's play Double Feature, about filmmaking and the relationship between director and star, opened at the Hampstead Theatre, London, in February 2024.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Film and TV

Logan wrote the 1999 Oliver Stone sports drama Any Given Sunday, which "changed his life".<ref name=about/> He then wrote the television film RKO 281, a historical drama released in the same year.

Logan's feature films include three films released in 2011: 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; and Hugo, an adaptation of the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, directed by Martin Scorsese. He also wrote James Bond films Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015), along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade.

Logan 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. The show aired on Showtime in United States and Sky Atlantic in United Kingdom. In November 2018, it was announced that Showtime would produce a follow-up to the series entitled Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, which takes place in Los Angeles in 1938. Logan was the creator, executive producer, and sole writer for the show, which premiered in 2020.

In November 2015, Logan was reported to have rewritten the script for Alien: Covenant.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the audio commentary of Alien: Covenant, Scott mentions that Logan has already started writing Alien: Covenant 2.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In November 2019, it was reported that Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King was planning to produce a Michael Jackson biopic, with the screenplay written by Logan.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Other notable films written by Logan include Star Trek: Nemesis, The Time Machine, and The Last Samurai.

Logan made his feature directorial debut in 2022 with They/Them, a slasher film released via the streaming service Peacock.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life and other activities

Logan is openly gay.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Template:As of he is a major benefactor of a small independent theatre company in Adelaide, South Australia, run by Rob Croser, called Independent Theatre.<ref name=about>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several of his plays have been produced there, including Never the Sinner (1992, 1994, 2004); Hauptmann (1993); The View from Golgotha (1996); Red (2011; about artist Mark Rothko); Peter and Alice (2014),<ref name=harris2019>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and he has travelled to Adelaide several times to see his plays as well as work on other productions.<ref name=about/>

Works

Selected plays

Logan's plays include:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Div col

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Filmography

Film

Year Title Writer Producer Director
1999 Bats Template:Yes Template:Yes Louis Morneau
Any Given Sunday Template:Yes Template:No Oliver Stone
2000 Gladiator Template:Yes Template:No Ridley Scott
2002 Template:Sortname Template:Yes Template:Yes Simon Wells
Star Trek: Nemesis Template:Yes Template:No Stuart Baird
2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Template:Yes Template:No Tim Johnson
Patrick Gilmore
Template:Sortname Template:Yes Template:No Edward Zwick
2004 Template:Sortname Template:Yes Template:No Martin Scorsese
2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Template:Yes Template:Yes Tim Burton
2011 Rango Template:Yes Template:No Gore Verbinski
Coriolanus Template:Yes Template:Yes Ralph Fiennes
Hugo Template:Yes Template:No Martin Scorsese
2012 Skyfall Template:Yes Template:No Sam Mendes
2014 Jamie Marks Is Dead Template:No Template:Yes Carter Smith
2015 Spectre Template:Yes Template:No Sam Mendes
2016 Genius Template:Yes Template:Yes Michael Grandage
2017 Alien: Covenant Template:Yes Template:No Ridley Scott
2022 They/Them Template:Yes Template:No Himself
2026 Michael Template:Yes Template:No Antoine Fuqua

Television

Year Title Creator Writer Executive Producer Notes
1996 Tornado! Template:No Template:Yes Template:No Television film
1999 RKO 281 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
2014–2016 Penny Dreadful Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Executive producer (27 episodes); writer (24 episodes)
2020 Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes Executive producer (10 episodes); writer (6 episodes)

Accolades

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References

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