Lawrence Kasdan Biography

Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Kasdan has been confirmed to be co-writer for the upcoming third trilogy of Star Wars.

He is the father of directors Jake Kasdan and Jon Kasdan, and the father-in-law of musician Inara George.

Early life

Kasdan was born in Miami, Florida, the son of Sylvia Sarah (née Landau), an employment counselor, and Clarence Norman Kasdan, who managed retail electronics stores. His brother is the writer/producer Mark Kasdan. He was raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he graduated from Morgantown High School in 1966. His family is Jewish.

He graduated from the University of Michigan with an MA in Education, originally planning on a career as an English teacher. He won a Hopwood Award for writing during the time of his studies. He was a student of Professor Kenneth Thorpe Rowe.

Career

Upon graduation, Kasdan was unable to find a teaching position, so he became an advertising copywriter, a profession he did not enjoy, but remained in for five years (even picking up a Clio Award along the way), first in Detroit and later in Los Angeles where he tried to interest Hollywood in his screenplays.

Kasdan's introduction into the film business came in the mid-1970s when after being rejected 67 times, his script for The Bodyguard was sold to Warner Bros. as a vehicle for Diana Ross and Steve McQueen. The script became stuck in "development hell" and became one of several scripts successively called "the best un-made film in Hollywood"; it was eventually produced as a 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.

After he sold his screenplay Continental Divide to Steven Spielberg, George Lucas commissioned Kasdan in 1979 to complete the screenplay for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back after the death of Leigh Brackett. Lucas then commissioned Kasdan to help him write the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark and the last installment of the Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Kasdan made his directing debut in 1981 with Body Heat, which he also wrote.

Kasdan is known for both writing and directing his films, which have ranged from Westerns and romantic comedies to thought-provoking dramas. He has received four Academy Award nominations, for screenplays to The Big Chill, Grand Canyon, and The Accidental Tourist, for which he also earned a nomination for Best Picture. Grand Canyon won the Golden Bear at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.

He has cast Kevin Kline in six of his films. From 1994 to 2003, he did a set of films that, in contrast to the hits he did in the 1980s, failed to break the bank in receipts; among these films were Wyatt Earp and Dreamcatcher, the latter based on the Stephen King best seller. 1995's French Kiss did gross $100 million.

He made cameo appearances as the lawyer of River Phoenix's character in I Love You To Death and in James L. Brooks' comedy As Good As It Gets as the fed-up psychiatrist of Jack Nicholson's novelist. In 2001 Kasdan was the recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award. Kasdan directed the 2012 dramedy Darling Companion, starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline.Kasdan is also directing the Danielle Steel's book Hotel Vendome which is slated for a 2014 release.

In October 2013, it was announced that JJ Abrams had taken over screenwriting duties for Star Wars Episode VII, working alongside Kasdan following the departure of Michael Arndt.

Kasdan is the father of directors/actors Jake and Jon Kasdan, the father-in-law of Inara George.

Filmography

Year	Title	Notes
1980	Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back	writer
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark	writer
	Body Heat	writer, director
	Continental Divide	writer
1983	Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi	writer
	The Big Chill	writer, director, and executive producer
1985	Silverado	writer, director, and producer
1988	The Accidental Tourist	writer, director, and producer
1990	I Love You to Death	director
1991	Grand Canyon	writer, director, and producer
1992	The Bodyguard	writer and producer
1994	Wyatt Earp	writer, director, and producer
1995	French Kiss	director
1999	Mumford	writer, director, and producer
2003	Dreamcatcher	writer, director, and producer
2012	Darling Companion	writer, director, and producer
2014	Hotel Vendome	writer, director, and producer
2015	Star Wars Episode VII	writer
TBA	Star Wars Episode VIII	producer
TBA	Untitled Star Wars spinoff	writer and producer
TBA	Star Wars Episode IX	writer and producer