Peter Craig (born November 10, 1969) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for co-writing the screenplays to '' The Town'' (2010), '' The Batman'' (2022), and '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (2022), earning an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for the last.

Early life

Craig grew up in Southern California and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. He is one of two children of Steve Craig and actress

Sally Field Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...

, since divorced. Craig's brother, Eli Craig, is a film director. Peter Craig attended the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

and studied under authors Tobias Wolff and

Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Summers Robinson (born November 26, 1943) is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and th ...

Career

As a novelist, Craig has written ''The Martini Shot'', ''Hot Plastic'', and ''Blood Father''. As a screenwriter, Craig debuted with '' The Town'' (2010), based on the novel ''Prince of Thieves'' by Chuck Hogan, co-writing it with

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globes. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...

and Aaron Stockard. He then adapted the screenplays for '' The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1'' and '' Part 2'' with

Danny Strong Danny Strong (born ) is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. As an actor, Strong is best known for his roles as Jonathan Levinson in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', Doyle McMaster in ''Gilmore Girls'' and Danny Siegel in '' Mad ...

. In 2016, Craig adapted his own novel, ''Blood Father'', into a film of the same name directed by

Jean-François Richet Jean-François Richet (born 2 July 1966) is a French screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He grew up in Meaux, a suburb east of Paris. Select filmography * ''Inner City (1995 film), Inner City'' (1995) – nominated at the 21st Césa ...

, and then adapted the novel ''Horse Soldiers'', Doug Stanton's nonfiction account of the war in Afghanistan, into the film '' 12 Strong'' (2018). In 2021, he wrote the sequel ''

Bad Boys for Life ''Bad Boys for Life'' is a 2020 American buddy cop action comedy film that is the sequel to ''Bad Boys II'' (2003) and the third installment in the ''Bad Boys'' franchise. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their starring roles in the film, ...

'', with Chris Bremner and

Joe Carnahan Joseph Aaron Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor whose films include '' Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane''; '' Narc''; '' Smokin' Aces''; ''The A-Team''; '' The Grey''; and '' Boss Level''. He ...

. In 2022, Craig co-wrote the screenplay '' Top Gun: Maverick'' with Justin Marks, Christopher McQuarrie,

Ehren Kruger Ehren Kruger (born October 5, 1972) is an American film screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing three of the five installments in the original ''Transformers'' film series: '' Revenge of the Fallen'', '' Dark of the Moon'', and ' ...

, and Eric Warren Singer, which earned him a nomination for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

. That same year he co-wrote the screenplay for '' The Batman'' with director Matt Reeves. Craig also co-wrote the screenplay for '' The Mother'' with Andrea Berloff and Misha Green. Directed by

Niki Caro Nikola Jean Caro (born 20 September 1966) is a New Zealand film, television, and music video director and screenwriter. Her 2002 film ''Whale Rider'' was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals. She directe ...

, that film is scheduled for release on Netflix on May 12, 2023. Craig has been nominated for two

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

s and a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Personal life

Craig has been married three times and divorced twice: first to Amy Scattergood, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' food writer, and then to Jennifer DeFrancisco. He has two daughters with Scattergood, and a son with DeFrancisco. He is currently married to Cristina Esposito whom he wed in 2023, a teacher and PhD candidate.

Filmography

Feature films

Television

Acting credits

Novels

* ''The Martini Shot'' ( William Morrow, 1998) * ''Hot Plastic'' ( Hyperion, 2004); (

Hachette Book Group USA Hachette Book Group, Inc. (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardè ...

, 2015) * ''Blood Father'' ( Hyperion, 2005); (

, 2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Peter 1969 births 20th-century American novelists American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Writers from Los Angeles Writers from Portland, Oregon Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Living people Male actors from Los Angeles 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Oregon University of Iowa alumni