David Benioff was
born in New York in 1970. He studied at Dartmouth College, attended the
University of California Irvine Masters in fiction program, and was awarded his
masters degree by Trinity College, Dublin (his thesis was on Samuel Beckett).
He worked as a high school teacher, a disc jockey, and a club bouncer before
turning his novel, “The 25th
Hour”, into a screenplay. The book had previously been turned down by 13
publishers, probably because they thought it was about firemen (well, its
original title was “Fireman Down”). Talent seems to run in the family, as his
father was formerly the head of Goldman Sachs. Actor Tobey Maguire liked “The
25th Hour”, called David Benioff into a meeting, and hired him to
write the adaptation. “25th Hour” was directed by Spike Lee, and
starred Edward Norton. David Benioff’s career then became even more stellar
when he wrote the script for “Troy”,
which starred Brad Pitt. David Benioff earned two million dollars for his next
script, “Stay”,
which went on to star Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts. More scripts are currently
in the works – “Wolverine” (of X-Men fame), “Ender’s Game”, and also the
adaptation of the literary novel “The Kite Runner” for director Sam Mendes. He
has also adapted Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. David Benioff must be
one of the busiest people in the world, as he is also producing the action
adventure flick “Kashmir”, written by Dan Weiss. Benioff has used Dan Weiss as
a sounding board for most of his writing. He is now set to adapt the Danish
film “Brothers” to an American setting. His collection of short stories – “When the
Nines Roll over” – was published in 2004. Not surprisingly, David Benioff
found himself to write the script for “The Infiltrator”, but he will supervise
the screenwriter, on a project where Leonardo DiCaprio joins him as a producer.
David Benioff is married to the actress Amanda Peet.
David Benioff -
visit his homepage, where you can read the opening pages from The 25th
Hour. In this section, Benioff writes in a noirish, pulpy fashion that
will surely appeal to British readers as well as Americans
Read an extract from When the Nines Roll Over
The
Affairs of Each Beast - in this excellent, literary short story,
Benioff imaginatively interweaves an old folk tale into the Chechen conflict
Neversink -
an engaging, and curious David Benioff short story about an extraordinary lover
When
the Nines Roll Over - a David Benioff story in which signing a rock
star has never been so dangerous... Like The 25th Hour, this story
also features a pit bull
'
How we met: David Benioff and Marc Forster –
David Benioff talks to The Independent about his friendship with Marc Forster, director
of “Monster’s Ball”. They have worked together on the movie project “Alpha”. Marc Forster Q & A –
this interview with the director discusses David Benioff’s “Stay”
What's the story on David Benioff - movie insiders
discussed Benioff's movie script, "Stay" in this webpage that is no
longer online. Sounds like the Ray Bradbury story
The Crowd. They say they surprise ending's not so
good, but Benioff doesn't usually cheat the reader with his 'twists in the tail
For
“Hour” writer, rise to fame worth the wait – The LA Times profiles David
Benioff
“25th
Hour travelled fast track to screen – Chris Hicks reveals how “The 25th
Hour” was sold as a movie before the novel was actually published
The 25th Hour -
a review by Joe Hartlaub in the Princeton Review. The only thing that
confuses me about The 25th Hour, not having read the whole book, is: why is a
convicted felon allowed to roam the streets before going to jail?
TNMC
Movie News - reports that The 25th Hour is set to become a movie
Shots – their
interview with David Benioff
Web Access
– David Benioff answers questions from BBC viewers
Chud
– their interview with David Benioff in the wake of the release of “Troy”
Peet
Knew Fiancé was the one before she met him – Amanda Peet tells how she and
David Benioff got it together
Amanda
Peet’s fiancé finally marries her after knocking her up – is how “PR
Inside” reported David Benioff’s marriage to Amanda Peet, and her pregnancy
