Jim Burnstein

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jim Burnstein is an American screenwriter , film producer, and actor . He also works as a professor at the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan .

life and career

Burnstein, who finished his studies with a Bachelor of Arts in English , attended a law school in his youth and then worked as a freelance journalist and advertising specialist in Birmingham , Michigan . His path to film and his career as a screenwriter came through Ed Asner , who supported him from the beginning and also brought him into contact with other writers. There were also some contracts that Burnstein was offered. Asner also wanted to hire him as a screenwriter for the early 1970s TV show Mary Tyler Moore , but decided against it after reading a few scripts.

During this time he was also in contact with Ray Stark , who died in 2004 , and with the actor Timothy Hutton , with whom he was not able to convince with his scripts either. In 1994 he was hired as a screenwriter for the film Mr. Bill (with Danny DeVito in the lead role), where he also incorporated his work as a teacher at Selfridge Air National Guard Base into the script . In the same film Burnstein had a cameo with his son Gabe, where they could be seen as a spectator at the game of the Tigers behind Danny DeVito. In total, Burnstein had to rewrite the script for Mr. Bill seven times before the film could finally go into production. This process took over ten years.

Immediately after the film was released, Burnstein was brought to his old place of work, the University of Michigan , as a visiting professor in 1995 , where he taught the students. After about two years without any significant work in film and television, the film Mighty Ducks 3 - Now They're Mixing High School was released in 1996 , with Steven Brill , Kenneth Johnson and Jim Burnstein among others who wrote the script. In 1997 Burnstein was also in several episodes of The Wonderful World of Disney , a Walt Disney production resumed in 1997 as a scribe for use.

After his permanent commitment as a professor at the University of Michigan, Burnstein, whose scripts were read by Danny DeVito as well as other international actors such as Tom Hanks , fell short of writing for well-known film and television productions. It wasn't until 2004 that he was named as a screenwriter for the television movie Naughty or Nice . In 2007 he worked for Ruffian - Die Wunderstute , where he again wrote the script. The following year, Burnstein took on the role as producer of the film Ocean of Pearls , his first film in this activity. In addition to his involvement at the University of Michigan, Burnstein is also Vice President of the Michigan Film Office Advisory Council and was a proponent of a film law that came into force in Michigan in 2008, which then significantly influenced and changed film production in the state. Furthermore, Burnstein is still active as a screenwriter for film and television and has already written several other scripts that are even given working titles and are waiting for a producer.

Family / private

Jim Burnstein has three children with his wife Cindy, whereby his son Gabe has already gained a little acting experience and, among other things, has already made a cameo at the side of his father in Mr. Bill .

Filmography

As a screenwriter

As a producer

As an actor

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g An Evening with Jim Burnstein (February 16, 2000 ), accessed October 9, 2010
  2. ↑ review / film; DeVito Gets Lessons From Soldier Students | NY Times article on June 3, 1994 , accessed October 9, 2010
  3. ^ D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996) - Battles on Ice And Campus | NY Times article on October 4, 1996 , accessed October 9, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Burnstein, Jim
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter, film producer, actor and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century