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Josh Singer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Josh Singer
Singer in 2018
Born1972 (age 51–52)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Alma materYale University
Harvard Law School
Harvard Business School
Occupation(s)Writer, producer
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children1

Josh Singer (born 1972) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing The Fifth Estate (2013), Spotlight (2015), The Post (2017), First Man (2018), and Maestro (2023). He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Spotlight and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for Spotlight and The Post.

Early life and education

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Singer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised Jewish. His father was born Jewish, and his mother converted to Judaism (she herself was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother).[1] Singer attended Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, where he appeared in musicals and was a member of math club, drama club, video club, and chorus.[2] In high school, he was elected class treasurer, wrote for the school newspaper, and played for the school's baseball team. Singer won many awards, including the Upper Dublin Medal, science competition and literary prizes, and was co-winner of the school district's highest award.[2] In his senior year, he was named class valedictorian, a Presidential Scholar and a National Merit Scholar.[2]

Singer graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, with distinction in mathematics and economics.[3] At Yale, he was a member and business manager of both The Whiffenpoofs and The Yale Alley Cats. Three to four months prior to going to graduate school, he worked for Children's Television Workshop (the name, at that time, of the production company for the TV show "Sesame Street",[4]) and then began doing internships. He did an internship for Nickelodeon in New York and an internship for Disney Channel out in L.A., working for Roy Price at Disney TV Animation for four or five weeks. As a result, he developed an interest in script writing.[5] He worked as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company[6] before obtaining a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.[7]

Career

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After Singer graduated from Harvard, he was hired by showrunner John Wells to write for The West Wing.[6]

In 2006 he was nominated for a WGA award.[8]

Singer was hired in 2008 to write a screenplay for a Leonard Bernstein biopic, but the film languished in development hell for a decade. Eventually, Bradley Cooper was hired to direct the film, and re-wrote Singer's script; the pair were eventually nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[9] In 2012, Singer wrote the screenplay for The Fifth Estate.[10] In 2015, he co-wrote the screenplay for Spotlight, for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.[11]

Personal life

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In 2011, Singer married the American novelist Laura Dave. They have one son and reside in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Notes
2013 The Fifth Estate
2015 Spotlight with Tom McCarthy;
Also executive producer
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—Golden Globe for Best Screenplay
2017 The Post with Liz Hannah;
Also executive producer
Nominated—Golden Globe for Best Screenplay
2018 First Man Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2023 Maestro with Bradley Cooper
Also executive producer
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
TBA Untitled Bullitt reboot

Television

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Year Title Role
2004–2006 The West Wing Editor and writer
2007–2008 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Producer
2009 Lie to Me Supervising producer
2009–2010 Fringe
2010–2011 Co-executive producer
2023 The Last Thing He Told Me Executive producer

Awards and nominations

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Singer won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Spotlight in 2015 and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for the film. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for The Post in 2018. In 2023 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay alongside Bradley Cooper for the film Maestro.

References

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  1. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (June 19, 2016). "Interview: Spotlight writer Josh Singer". Awards Daily.
  2. ^ a b c Holmes, Kristen (May 27, 1990). "Another Feather In Cap Of Former 'Nerd'". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014.
  3. ^ "The Art of Adaptation The Fifth Estate". The writing studio. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  4. ^ (That production company is now called "Sesame Workshop")
  5. ^ Erbland, Kate (November 4, 2015). "How 'Spotlight' Screenwriter Josh Singer Recovered From 'The Fifth Estate' With Another Journalism Film". Indie wire. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Thompson, Anne (October 16, 2013). "Josh Singer Talks Challenges of Tackling WikiLeaks Drama 'The Fifth Estate' --and What He Left Out". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  7. ^ "Native son forges 'West Wing'-Constitution Center ties". The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 26, 2005. p. D05.
  8. ^ Soares, Andre (January 20, 2006). "Writers Guild Awards 2006". Alt Film Guide. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  9. ^ Erbland, Kate (2024-01-10). "10 Years, 3 Directors, 1 Vision: Inside Writer Josh Singer's Long Journey to Make Maestro". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  10. ^ Tullis, Paul (October 21, 2013). ""Fifth Estate" Screenwriter Reveals All". takepart.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  11. ^ Erbland, Kate (November 4, 2015). ""How 'Spotlight' Screenwriter Josh Singer Recovered From 'The Fifth Estate' With Another Journalism Film"". indiewire.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
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