Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese is an American screenwriter and film director, best known as the writer of The Fisher King.
Personal life
LaGravenese was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a taxi driver. He is of Italian descent. He graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1980 with a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting.Career
LaGravenese wrote The Fisher King on spec in the late 1980s. It was acquired by Stacey Sher, Lynda Obst, Debra Hill's production company and subsequently directed by Terry Gilliam.In New York City during the early 1980s, billed as "The Double R" comedy duo, in collaboration with playwright Richard O’Donnell, LaGravenese co-penned and consecutively performed in several Off-Off-Broadway productions including Spare Parts, ''Blood-brothers" at The 78th Street Theatre Lab, The Lion Theatre, and West Bank Cafe.
LaGravanese wrote an adaptation for the famously on-and-off version of the musical Gypsy for Barbra Streisand. In 2015, that he'd spent several months working on the script with Streisand. "I had the best time with her. I can’t even tell you. It was like a fantasy come true. I did my first draft and went to her house to do rewrites. She’s so meticulous in the best possible way. We went through it page by page by page."
Filmography
Films
| Year | Film | Director | Notes |
| 1989 | Rude Awakening | David Greenwalt Aaron Russo | |
| 1991 | The Fisher King | Terry Gilliam | Nominated- Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated- Saturn Award for Best Writing |
| 1994 | The Ref | Ted Demme | |
| 1995 | A Little Princess | Alfonso Cuaron | |
| 1995 | The Bridges of Madison County | Clint Eastwood | |
| 1995 | Unstrung Heroes | Diane Keaton | |
| 1996 | The Mirror Has Two Faces | Barbra Streisand | |
| 1998 | The Horse Whisperer | Robert Redford | |
| 1998 | Living Out Loud | Himself | |
| 1998 | Beloved | Jonathan Demme | |
| 2003 | A Decade Under the Influence | Himself | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Himself | Segment Pigalle |
| 2007 | Freedom Writers | Himself | |
| 2007 | P.S. I Love You | Himself | |
| 2010 | Conviction | Tony Goldwyn | |
| 2011 | Water for Elephants | Francis Lawrence | |
| 2013 | Beautiful Creatures | Himself | |
| 2013 | Behind the Candelabra | Steven Soderbergh | Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| 2014 | The Last Five Years | Himself | |
| 2014 | Unbroken | Angelina Jolie | Co-written with the Coen Brothers and William Nicholson |
| 2016 | The Comedian | Taylor Hackford |
Television
He is the creator of The Divide and wrote all but one episode.Announced projects
- In 2009, Showtime was developing an hour-long TV drama series written by LaGravenese about an open marriage.