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IMDbPro

Brian Helgeland

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Brian Helgeland
Legend tells the story of two twins, Reggie and Ronald Kray, and how they became two of the most notorious gangsters in history.
Play trailer1:01
Legend (2015)
13 Videos
52 Photos
Brian Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island and raised in New Bedford Massachusetts. A born worker, Helgeland has endeavored to achieve in the following fields: snow shoveler, scrap newspaper collector, dishwasher, nursing home janitor, drug store clerk and unreliable nightshift gas station attendant. Facing unemployment after receiving a degree in English, Helgeland fell back on generations of family tradition and took a site as a 'half-share man' on the fishing vessel Mondego II, working the dredges of a deep sea scalloper over 100 miles offshore for two weeks at a time. Fish School. North Atlantic University. After a year at sea, a chance meeting with a book entitled "A Guide To Film School" changed everything. Ignorant as to the existence of such venerable institutions, he applied to several and was accepted by one. Giving up his now 'full-share man' berth on the fishing vessel Concordia, Helgeland headed west in 1985. After getting his break with several low budget horror films, he made his mark with several spec script sales, the flashiest being "The Ticking Man" which he co-wrote with Manny Coto. Two other specs sales to Warner Bros landed him an exclusive writing deal at what was then the greatest movie studio on earth. That deal resulted in seven produced films starting with two for director (and longtime mentor) Richard Donner and ending with two films for Clint Eastwood. In between came the much lauded "LA Confidential" for which Helgeland won an Academy Award finally living up to his grandmother's nickname for him of 'Golden Boy'.

Helgeland's directing career began when Donner gave him an episode of "Tales From The Crypt" to direct. Tired of Helgeland's relentless script note complaints, Donner was eager for him to see how things looked at the trigger end of the gun instead of the barrel. Next up as writer/director was "Payback" which Mel Gibson committed to after leafing through a rough draft version of the script on a Warners ADR stage. Although the director's cut was eventually released, the experience was bittersweet as Paramount demanded a happier ending which Helgeland refused to direct. With the rug pulled out from under him, Helgeland regained momentum with the spec script for "A Knight's Tale". He envisioned the rags to riches story of a peasant determined to prove himself a knight, as a version of his own humble beginnings before moving to Hollywood, but also as the tale of a lowly screenwriter who wants to become a noble director. Columbia Pictures bought the script in a bidding war and mere months later Helgeland found himself in the Czech Republic with Heath Ledger, Paul Bettany and the gang conjuring the story of William Thatcher - aka Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein - in what would become his most fan favorite film.

As solely a screenwriter, the great-never-late Tony Scott is the director he felt closest to sensibility-wise, in that both of them believed that any single moment in a film can be ordinary and absurd and funny and tragic all at the same time. They worked on several projects together - produced and unproduced. "Man On Fire" was their crowning achievement. Helgeland also directed and wrote the film "42" with Chadwick Boseman and "Legend" with Tom Hardy. Both were biopics. His most recent film is "Finestkind" with Ben Foster, Toby Wallace and Jenna Ortega. It is full of truth about people he once knew, but crammed with lies about what they got up to. As he likes to say about writing: "It's okay to lie if you reach a higher truth doing so." Helgeland is an admirer of John Huston, Richard Brooks, Walter Hill, Frank Pierson, Curtis Hanson and all screenwriters who knighted themselves into the director's chair.
BornJanuary 17
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 17
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 1 Oscar
    • 34 wins & 22 nominations total

Photos52

Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland at an event for L.A. Confidential (1997)
2015 Austin Film Festival
Brian Helgeland, Emily Browning, and Tom Hardy at an event for Legend (2015)
Brian Helgeland and Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013)
Heath Ledger and Brian Helgeland on the set of A Knight's Tale
Harrison Ford, Brian Helgeland, and Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013)
Harrison Ford and Brian Helgeland in 42 (2013)
Brian Helgeland and Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013)
Finestkind - US Coast Guard Base Cape Cod
Finestkind - The Marsh
On Location, Finestkind 2022
LA Confidential

Known for

Jenna Ortega in Finestkind
Finestkind
  • Director
    Emily Browning and Tom Hardy in Legend (2015)
    Legend
    6.9
    • Director
    • 2015
    Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013)
    42
    7.5
    • Director(directed by)
    • 2013
    Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale (2001)
    A Knight's Tale
    6.9
    • Director(directed by)
    • 2001

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Director

    • Button Man: The Killing Game
      • Director
      • Pre-production
    • Finestkind
      • Director
      • Post-production
    • Emily Browning and Tom Hardy in Legend (2015)
      Legend
      • Director
      • 2015
    • Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013)
      42
      • Director (directed by)
      • 2013
    • Mel Gibson in Payback: Straight Up (2006)
      Payback: Straight Up
      • Director
      • Video
      • 2006
    • Heath Ledger in The Order (2003)
      The Order
      • Director
      • 2003
    • Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale (2001)
      A Knight's Tale
      • Director (directed by)
      • 2001
    • Mel Gibson in Payback (1999)
      Payback
      • Director
      • 1999
    • Tales from the Crypt (1989)
      Tales from the Crypt
      • Director
      • TV Series
      • 1996

    Writer

    • Cleopatra
      • earlier screenplay
      • In Production
    • The Wild Bunch
      • earlier script
      • In Development
    • Finestkind
      • Writer
      • Post-production
    • Mark Wahlberg and Winston Duke in Spenser Confidential (2020)
      Spenser Confidential
      • screenplay by
      • 2020
    • Emily Browning and Tom Hardy in Legend (2015)
      Legend
      • written by
      • 2015
    • Chadwick Boseman in 42 (2013)
      42
      • written by
      • 2013
    • Russell Crowe in Robin Hood (2010)
      Robin Hood
      • screenplay
      • story
      • 2010
    • Matt Damon in Green Zone (2010)
      Green Zone
      • written by
      • 2010
    • Salma Hayek, John C. Reilly, Ray Stevenson, and Chris Massoglia in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009)
      Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
      • screenplay
      • 2009
    • John Travolta and Denzel Washington in The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)
      The Taking of Pelham 123
      • screenplay
      • 2009
    • Mel Gibson in Payback: Straight Up (2006)
      Payback: Straight Up
      • screenplay
      • Video
      • 2006
    • Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning in Man on Fire (2004)
      Man on Fire
      • screenplay
      • 2004
    • Heath Ledger in The Order (2003)
      The Order
      • written by
      • 2003
    • Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins, and Sean Penn in Mystic River (2003)
      Mystic River
      • screenplay
      • 2003
    • Clint Eastwood in Blood Work (2002)
      Blood Work
      • screenplay
      • 2002
    • Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale (2001)
      A Knight's Tale
      • written by
      • 2001
    • Mel Gibson in Payback (1999)
      Payback
      • screenplay
      • 1999
    • Kevin Costner in The Postman (1997)
      The Postman
      • screenplay
      • 1997

    Producer

    • Heath Ledger in The Order (2003)
      The Order
      • producer
      • 2003
    • Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale (2001)
      A Knight's Tale
      • producer (produced by)
      • 2001
    • Kim Basinger, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential (1997)
      L.A. Confidential
      • co-producer
      • 1997
    • Kristy Swanson and Chad Lowe in Highway to Hell (1991)
      Highway to Hell
      • co-producer
      • 1991
    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Videos13

    'Spenser Confidential' Cast Loves to See Mark Wahlberg Get Beat Up
    Interview 2:25
    'Spenser Confidential' Cast Loves to See Mark Wahlberg Get Beat Up
    New Trailer
    Trailer 1:01
    New Trailer
    U.S. Version #2
    Trailer 2:32
    U.S. Version #2
    Green Zone: International Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:29
    Green Zone: International Trailer #1
    The Taking of Pelham 123: Trailer #2
    Trailer 2:34
    The Taking of Pelham 123: Trailer #2
    Highway To Hell
    Trailer 2:13
    Highway To Hell
    L.A. Confidential
    Trailer 2:16
    L.A. Confidential
    Mystic River
    Trailer 0:31
    Mystic River
    Man on Fire
    Trailer 0:35
    Man on Fire
    Conspiracy Theory
    Trailer 0:29
    Conspiracy Theory
    Blood Work
    Trailer 0:31
    Blood Work
    A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
    Trailer 1:31
    A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Height
      • 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
    • Born
      • January 17
      • Providence, Rhode Island, USA
    • Spouse
      • Nancy 'Nan' Helgeland? - present (2 children)
    • Parents
        Aud-Karin Helgeland
    • Other works
      Provided a DVD commentary for The Omen (1976).

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Won both his Oscar and a Razzie award the same weekend in 1998: He took Best Screenplay for L.A. Confidential (1997) and Worst Screenplay for Kevin Costner's The Postman (1997). When asked backstage at The Academy Awards about winning both "honors," Helgeland declared he'd like to display them both side-by-side on his mantle to remind him of the Quixotic nature of Hollywood. He then made good on his promise, permitting the founders of The Razzies to present him his Worst Screenplay dis-honor in his production offices as Warner Bros. studios later that year. He was only the fourth person in Razzie history to voluntarily accept one of their statuettes.
    • Salary
      • A Knight's Tale
        (2001)
        $2,500,000

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