Occupation Screenwriter Years active 1990–present | Children 3 Name Scott and | |
Born June 16, 1963 (age 60) ( 1963-06-16 ) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Alma mater USC School of Cinematic Arts | ||
the people v o j simpson creators scott alexander and larry karaszewski on recreating true crime
Scott Alexander (born June 16, 1963, Los Angeles, California) and Larry Karaszewski (; born November 20, 1961, South Bend, Indiana) are an American screenwriting team. They met at the University of Southern California where they were roommates; they graduated from the School of Cinematic Arts in 1985.
Contents
- the people v o j simpson creators scott alexander and larry karaszewski on recreating true crime
- Biography
- Other credits
- References
Biography
Their first success was the popular but critically derided comedy Problem Child (1990). Alexander and Karaszewski claim that their original screenplay was a sophisticated black comedy, but that the studio watered it down into an unrecognizable state.
In 1994, Alexander and Karaszewski persuaded Tim Burton to direct a biopic about Edward D. Wood, Jr. They wrote the screenplay in six weeks.
Ed Wood led to a succession of offbeat biopics, including The People vs. Larry Flynt; Man on the Moon, about the short life of comedian Andy Kaufman; and Auto Focus, chronicling the downfall and subsequent murder of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane, which they produced. A script they penned about the life of Robert Ripley of Ripley's Believe It or Not! was at one time attached to Jim Carrey, but like their scripts about The Marx Brothers, The Village People, and Rollen Stewart a.k.a. "Rainbow Man", it has yet to be produced.
They also adapted Stephen King's short story 1408, did uncredited rewrites on Mars Attacks! and Hulk, and worked on a number of family films, such as Agent Cody Banks and the 1997 remake of That Darn Cat. In 2000, they made their directorial debut with Screwed. The film was not well received.
In 2007, they both appeared in the documentary Dreams on Spec, a film looking at the Hollywood creative process from the perspective of the writer.
The duo wrote Tim Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes, a biopic about painter Margaret Keane. They were slated to direct, but vacated later. They were also set to collaborate with Burton on a new stop-motion The Addams Family film, but the project was scrapped in 2013.
In 2014, the team began working on their first television series, American Crime Story, which is a true crime anthology drama. The first season is based on the O. J. Simpson trial. The show won four Primetime Emmys after it aired on FX in 2016, with Alexander and Karaszewski nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special.