John Ridley

Updated on Nov 08, 2023

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Full Name John Ridley IV Children 2 Education New York University Notable work 12 Years a Slave Role Screenwriter		Years active 1993–present Name John Ridley Alma mater New York University Parent(s) John Ridley III

Born October 1965 Milwaukee, Wisconsin US Occupation Screenwriter Film director Novelist Television writer Television director Books Stray Dogs, Everybody Smokes in Hell Awards Academy Award for Best Writing Adapted Screenplay Nominations BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Movies and TV shows 12 Years a Slave, American Crime, Jimi: All Is by My Side, Red Tails, Undercover Brother Similar People Steve McQueen, Solomon Northup, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Timothy Hutton

Oscar winner john ridley on writing 12 years a slave and what s better than an award

John Ridley IV (born October 1965) is an American screenwriter, film director, novelist, and showrunner, known for 12 Years a Slave, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the critically acclaimed anthology series American Crime. His most recent work is the documentary film Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992.

John Ridley 12 YEARS A SLAVE Screenwriter John Ridley Talks History

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Early life

Ridley was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was raised from the age of seven in Mequon, Wisconsin, with an ophthalmologist father, John Ridley, III, and a mother, Terry Ridley, who was a special education teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools. He has two sisters and is the middle sibling.

John Ridley John Ridley Quotes QuotesGram

Ridley graduated from Homestead High School in Mequon, Wisconsin in 1982. He enrolled in Indiana University but transferred to New York University. Ridley is Christian.

Career

Following college, Ridley performed standup comedy in New York City, with appearances on a David Letterman late-night talk show and The Tonight Show. Moving to Los Angeles in 1990, he began writing for such television sitcoms as Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The John Larroquette Show.

John Ridley Announcing OscarWinner John Ridley at MFF 2014

After both writing and directing his film debut, the 1997 crime thriller Cold Around the Heart, he and Oliver Stone co-adapted Ridley's first novel, Stray Dogs (still unpublished when Stone bought the rights) into the 1997 Stone-directed film U Turn, which was released slightly earlier than Cold Around the Heart. Ridley went on to write the novels Love Is a Racket and Everybody Smokes in Hell. His novel Spoils of War was adapted into the 1999 David O. Russell-directed Three Kings. Ridley's original script was rewritten by Russell and Ridley, with Ridley receiving a "story by" credit negotiated among himself, Russell, and the releasing studio, Warner Bros. Ridley then became a writer and a supervising producer on the NBC crime drama Third Watch. His other novels are The Drift, Those Who Walk in Darkness, and A Conversation with the Mann. He also wrote the graphic novel The American Way.

John Ridley John Ridley talks Oscars and Jimi Hendrix pic All Is By My

His work as screenwriter also includes 12 Years a Slave, Red Tails, and Undercover Brother. His script for 12 Years a Slave won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, making Ridley the second African American to win the award, after Geoffrey S. Fletcher (for Precious, based on the novel Push by Sapphire).

As of April 2015, he was developing an ABC television series involving an existing Marvel Comics character.

Novels

Ridley, John. Stray Dogs. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997. ISBN 978-0-345-41345-1

Ridley, John. Love Is a Racket: A Novel. New York: Knopf, 1998. ISBN 978-0-375-40142-8

Ridley, John. Everybody Smokes in Hell. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. ISBN 978-0-375-40143-5

Ridley, John. A Conversation with the Mann: A Novel. New York: Warner Books, 2002. ISBN 978-0-446-52836-8

Ridley, John. The Drift. New York: Knopf, 2002. ISBN 978-0-375-41182-3

Ridley, John. Those Who Walk in Darkness. New York: Warner Books, 2003. ISBN 978-0-446-53093-4

Ridley, John, and Patricia R. Floyd. What Fire Cannot Burn. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books, 2011, 2007. ISBN 978-1-456-10151-0

Graphic novels

Ridley, John, and Ben Oliver. The Authority: Human on the Inside. La Jolla, CA: WildStorm Productions, 2004. 978-1-401-20070-1

Ridley, John. The Razor's Edge: Warblade #5. DC Comics. 2005.

Ridley, John, Georges Jeanty, and Karl C. Story. The American Way. La Jolla, Calif: WildStorm/DC Comics, 2007. ISBN 978-1-401-21256-8

Stage plays

Ridley, John. Ten Thousand Years. 2005 (world premiere).

Essays

Ridley, John. "The Manifesto of Ascendancy for the Modern American Nigger." Esquire, December 2006, Volume 146, Issue 6.

Personal life

Ridley is married to wife Gayle, a former script supervisor. They have two children.

References

John Ridley Wikipedia

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