Frank Darabont

FRANK DARABONT

Date of Birth: January 28, 1959

A native of Montebeliard, France, Darabont established himself as a writer after spending his early years in Hollywood as a production assistant and set decorator. With a number of screen credits to his name, he broke into the semi-spotlight when he sold an original screenplay that remained ultimately unproduced.

Not dissuaded, Darabont worked with a co-worker and co-wrote the motion pictures A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors and the 1988 remake of the classic 1950's horror film The Blob (both of which were filmed and released). He then directed the telefilm Buried Alive, which became one of the network's highest-rated features. He also helmed the short film The Woman in the Room, which he adapted from a story by Stephen King.

After penning an episode of Tales from the Crypt, Darabont started writing screenplays for the Young Indiana Jones adventures. At first he wrote solely for the television series, but when the show went belly up, he continued to write for an Young Indiana Jones telefilm, and at least four videos.

In 1994 Darabont first garnered critical and widespread notice when he wrote and directed The Shawshank Redemption. The picture, which received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, was about an unusual but powerful friendship between a level-headed banker convicted of murdering his wife and a seasoned lifer with a knack for acquisitions. For Darabont, the Stephen King adapted movie garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay Adaptation, a Writers Guild nomination and a Directors Guild of America nomination, the Humanitas Prize, the PeENWest Award and the Scriptor Award from University of Southern California for his screenplay.

Following the success of Shawshank, Darabont, who had also penned the not-so-successful Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that year, decided to retreat back into writing for television for a couple of years before returning to the big screen with another blockbuster, The Green Mile (1999). Another film based on a Stephen King book, this time with the powerful screen presence of Tom Hanks, it received nominations (including four Oscars) and awards across the board.

For the start of the 21st century, Darabont took a step away from writing, Stephen King and prison films, and took a chance at a romantic comedy, The Majestic (2001), starring Jim Carrey.

Filmography (director):

The Majestic (2001)
The Green Mile (1999)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) The Woman in the Room (1983)

Filmography (writer):

The Green Mile (1999)
Frankenstein (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Fly II (1989)
The Blob (1988)
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Filmography (producer):

The Salton Sea (2002)
The Majestic (2001)
The Green Mile (1999)