Robert Nelson Jacobs

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Nelson Jacobs (2015)

Robert Nelson Jacobs (born February 24, 1954 ) is an American screenwriter who specializes in adapting literary works to film scripts.

Life

Robert Nelson Jacobs grew up as the son of Harold and Merle Jacobs with his brother Larry Jacobs in Stroudsburg, Monroe County , Pennsylvania . He came into contact with writing and film at an early age. He discovered his love for film at Stroudsburg's Sherman Theater , which was right next to his parents' clothing store, and at The Grand in East Stroudsburg. Jacobs began writing as early as sixth grade when he attended Ramsey Elementary School , and later entered writing competitions with his science fiction stories. During his time at Stroudsburg High School , he became editor of the school newspaper The Mountaineer . Through this work he was able to work briefly as a clerk for the local daily newspaper Pocono Record when he switched from junior high to senior high school . After graduating from high school in 1972, he went to Yale University , where he not only starred in plays, but also wrote his own. His one-act play The Great Neck Escape or My Goethe Is Killing Me , in which Jacobs brought Goethe's Faust to Long Island as a comedy , was performed by the Yale School of Drama . After graduating with honors, including the Curtis Literary Prize , in English, he attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop , which he completed with a Master of Fine Arts .

After publishing a few short stories, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 80s to be able to write screenplays. But he hardly earned any money, so he lived mainly on the support of his parents and his wife. In the meantime he tried to sell scripts with a writing partner, which he more or less succeeded, although none of them was produced. And after he had a few jobs, he got a job as a dramaturge for a film production company, where he was supposed to work as an assistant to sort out the scripts that were not of adequate quality. As a result, he read about three to four scripts a week and saw what a good script would and would not make. After about a year he left the job and was able to sell his own Script Worlds Apart . This science fiction story was about a woman who loses her great college love and finds herself in a parallel universe where she is married to the man and raises a family. Although the book was never made into a film, a strikingly similar film appeared eight years later, Family Man , a comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni . However, the sale brought Jacobs the attention he needed to be a scriptwriter for Tango as early as 1994 ? to be allowed to work.

Due to this success, Jacobs was hired by the Swedish director Lasse Hallström for the respective adaptations of Chocolat - A small bite is enough and ship reports. For his work on Chocolat , Jacobs was nominated for various film awards, including the Oscar and the BAFTA Film Award . The work was so successful that Jacobs has been adapting the novel A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss as a screenplay for Hallström since 2002 .

Jacobs met his wife Hilary Nelson in 1983 during a wedding and married her in 1985, after which he took her last name as his own middle name. He lived with her and their two children for decades in La Cañada Flintridge . Only when the success was sustained did he move with his wife to Pasadena , California.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Works

  • The Great Neck Escape or My Goethe Is Killing Me, play

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Kevin Amerman: The 1972 grad is nominated for writing the adaptation of 'Chocolat' for the big screen on poconorecord.com from February 16, 2001 (English), accessed on July 16, 2011
  2. ↑ Obituaries on poconorecord.com , accessed 16 July 2011
  3. ↑ a b Amy Longsdorf: Stroudsburg native's script sent kudos by "Shipping News' author on mcall.com from January 3, 2002 (English), accessed on July 16, 2011
  4. ↑ a b Amy Long Village: Stroudburg's Robert Nelson Jacobs ADAPTS a gripping family drama for the big screen on mcall.com (English), accessed January 21, 2010 16 July 2011
  5. ↑ a b c d e f Len Righi: Writing "Chocolat 'screenplay stirs Stroudsburg native into the Oscar mix on mcall.com on March 25, 2001 (English), accessed on July 16, 2011
  6. ↑ Debra Eckerling: Author Q&A: Robert Nelson Jacobs, “Extraordinary Measures” on writeonline.com from January 22, 2010, accessed on July 16, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Jacobs, Robert Nelson
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jacobs, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1954