Steven Ernest Bernard Zaillian (born January 30, 1953) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a WGA Award, and a Golden Globe Award for his screenplay for the film Schindler's List (1993) and has earned Oscar nominations for the films Awakenings, Gangs of New York, Moneyball and The Irishman. He was presented with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2009 Austin Film Festival and the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement from the Writers Guild of America in 2011. Zaillian is the founder of Film Rites, a film production company.
He also created, wrote and directed the limited series The Night Of (2016) and Ripley (2024), the latter for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.
Early life and education Steven Zaillian was born in Fresno, California, the son of Jim Zaillian, a radio news reporter, and his wife. Zaillian is of Armenian descent. He attended Sonoma State University, and graduated from San Francisco State University in 1975 with a degree in Cinema.
Career Steven Zaillian is known for writing screenplays that often deal with tragedy and drama. Zaillian has written screenplays for many notable films. Zaillian wrote the screenplay for the 1990 film Awakenings. His most notable work is the 1993 screenplay for the film Schindler's List, for which he won an Academy Award. The Schindler’s List screenplay was voted the 49th best screenplay of all time by the Writers Guild of America West, the 32nd best of all time by IMDb, and the 49th best by filmsite.org. Zaillian directed and wrote the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer, for which he earned critical and commercial acclaim. Zaillian also wrote and directed the 1998 film A Civil Action and wrote the screenplays for the films Gangs of New York in 2002, and American Gangster in 2007. In 2007, in partnership with Mandate Pictures, he signed a deal with Columbia Pictures.. Zaillian co-wrote the screenplay for Moneyball in 2011 with Aaron Sorkin. Zaillian also wrote the screenplay for the 2011 film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. His most recent work includes creating, directing, writing, and producing the 2016 Emmy-winning HBO miniseries The Night Of and writing the screenplay for the 2019 Netflix film The Irishman.
Personal life
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Elizabeth Zaillian. They have two sons together.
Filmography Film Year Title Director Writer Producer 1985 1990 Awakenings 1993 Schindler's List Searching for Bobby Fischer Jack the Bear 1994 Clear and Present Danger 1996 Mission: Impossible 1998 2001 Hannibal 2002 Gangs of New York 2005 2006 All the King's Men 2007 American Gangster 2011 Moneyball 2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings 2018 Red Sparrow 2019 The Irishman 2021 Those Who Wish Me Dead
Television Year Title Director Writer ExecutiveProducer Creator Notes 2016 The Night Of 2024 Ripley
Executive producer only Welcome to the Rileys (2010) The Cold Light of Day (2012) The Current War (2017) My Dinner with Hervé (2018)
Editor Breaker! Breaker! (1977) Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) Starhops (1978) Below the Belt (1980)
Awards and nominations Organization Year Category Work Result AACTA International Award 2011 Best Screenplay Moneyball 2019 The Irishman Academy Awards 1990 Best Adapted Screenplay Awakenings 1993 Schindler's List 2002 Best Original Screenplay Gangs of New York 2011Best Adapted Screenplay Moneyball 2019 The Irishman Astra TV Award 2024 Best Directing in a Limited Series or TV Movie Ripley British Academy Film Awards 1993 Best Adapted Screenplay Schindler's List 2002Best Original Screenplay Gangs of New York 2007 American Gangster 2011Best Adapted Screenplay Moneyball 2019 The Irishman Boston Society of Film Critics 2011 Best Screenplay Moneyball Chicago Film Critics Association 1993 Best Screenplay Schindler's List Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2011 Best Adapted Screenplay Moneyball 2019 The Irishman Directors Guild of America 2017Outstanding Directing – Miniseries or TV Film The Night Of (episode: "The Beach") 2024 Ripley Golden Globe Awards 1993 Best Screenplay Schindler's List 2011 Moneyball 2019 The Irishman Primetime Emmy Awards 2017 Outstanding Limited Series The Night Of Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie The Night Of (episode: "The Beach") Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie The Night Of (episode: "The Call of the Wild") 2024 Outstanding Limited or Anthology SeriesRipley Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Writers Guild of America 1990 Best Adapted Screenplay Awakenings 1993 Schindler's List 1998 A Civil Action 2002 Best Original Screenplay Gangs of New York 2011 Best Adapted Screenplay Moneyball The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2017 Television: Long Form – Adapted The Night Of 2019 Best Adapted Screenplay The Irishman Satellite Award 2011 Best Adapted Screenplay Moneyball
References
External links
Writings at One for the Table