Craig Borten
| Craig Borten | |
|---|---|
| Born | Pennsylvania, United States |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
Craig Borten is an American screenwriter. Borten was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club.
Biography
Borten grew up in Pennsylvania,[1] attended Syracuse University in New York, and subsequently moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in filmmaking.[2]
After hearing about Ron Woodroof, the original founder of the "Dallas Buyers Club" for the distribution of unapproved HIV medications, in the early 1990s, and interviewing Woodroof in 1992,[3] Borten decided to write a screenplay about Woodroof and his buyers club. He successfully sold the script—titled Dallas Buyers Club—in 1996 with Woody Harrelson attached to play Ron and Dennis Hopper Directing, but shortly afterwards the production company that had bought it dissolved.[4] In 2001, he rewrote the script with Melisa Wallack and they sold it to Universal Studios, with Marc Forster to direct the film and Brad Pitt to star. Again, the production fell through, which Borten described as "a death blow".[4] In 2009, however, Borten and Wallack were able to reclaim their rights to the script and producer Robbie Brenner was able to cast Matthew McConaughey and secure funding for the film's production.[4] The film was released in 2013, more than two decades after Borten met Woodroof, and more than 15 years after selling his first version of the script.[2] Dallas Buyers Club received numerous accolades, including Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.[1]
Borten's next project is a screenplay titled Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, which is a biopic about John D. Rockefeller with Lasse Hallström attached as director.[3] and Chapo at Universal with Peter Berg attached to direct.
References
- 1 2 Nilia, Radhaa. "Exclusive Interview with Oscar Nominated 'Dallas Buyers Club' writer Craig Borten". Splash Magazine. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- 1 2 Zeitchik, Steven (August 16, 2013). "'The Dallas Buyers Club,' the AIDS film no one wanted to make". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- 1 2 Alloway, Meredith (March 4, 2014). "Academy Award Nominated Screenwriter Craig Borten on DALLAS BUYERS CLUB". IndieWire. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- 1 2 3 Ulaby, Neda (February 18, 2014). "Getting 'Dallas Buyers Club' Made Took Tenacity And 'Will'". NPR. Retrieved September 6, 2014.