Anthony McCarten (born 28 April 1961) is a New Zealand writer and filmmaker. He is best known for writing big-budget

biopics A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

'' The Theory of Everything'' (2014), '' Darkest Hour'' (2017), ''

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

'' (2018), ''

The Two Popes ''The Two Popes'' is a 2019 biographical drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and written by Anthony McCarten, adapted from McCarten's play ''The Pope'' which premiered at Royal & Derngate Theatre in 2019. Predominantly set in the Vati ...

'' (2019), and ''

I Wanna Dance with Somebody "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, '' Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 2, 1987, by Arista Records. It was prod ...

'' (2022). McCarten has been nominated for four

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, including twice for

Best Adapted Screenplay This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

, for ''The Theory of Everything'' and ''The Two Popes''.

Early life

McCarten was born and raised in

New Plymouth, New Zealand New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. Th ...

, and attended

Francis Douglas Memorial College Francis Douglas Memorial College is an all-boys state integrated Catholic school with boarding facilities located in Westown, New Plymouth, New Zealand. The college was founded in 1959 under the leadership of the De La Salle Brothers, a religio ...

. He worked as a reporter for a couple of years on '' The Taranaki Herald'' before studying for an Arts degree at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural o ...

and

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kn ...

, where he studied creative writing with

Bill Manhire William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of Well ...

. After leaving university, McCarten appeared in a production of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

''.

Career

Novels

McCarten is a novelist and author of nine novels. McCarten's novels have been translated into 14 languages. His first novel, ''Spinners'' (Picador, 2000), was voted one of the top ten novels of that year by ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' magazine. McCarten published his second novel, ''The English Harem'', in 2002, which he later adapted for the screen. It was broadcast on ITV in December 2005. In 2007, he wrote his third novel ''Death of a Superhero'', then adapted the screenplay, executive produced the film, and wrote the book of the stage musical. It won the 2008 Austrian Youth Literature Prize and was a finalist for the 2008 German Youth Literature Prize. His fourth novel, ''Show Of Hands'', was published in Europe, and in the US by Simon and Schuster in 2009. McCarten directed the big screen adaptation and the movie had its world premiere at the Montreal World Film Festival, 2008, and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the New Zealand Film Awards. The sequel novel to ''Death of a Superhero'', ''In The Absence Of Heroes'', was published in 2012, and was a finalist for the 2013 New Zealand Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2014 Dublin International IMPAC Literary Award. In 2013 McCarten published ''Brilliance'', about

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

, and his friendship with

J.P. Morgan JP may refer to: Arts and media * ''JP'' (album), 2001, by American singer Jesse Powell * ''Jp'' (magazine), an American Jeep magazine * ''Jönköpings-Posten'', a Swedish newspaper * Judas Priest, an English heavy metal band * ''Jurassic Par ...

. In 2015 he was inducted as a Literary Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Authors. In 2017 McCarten's work of historical non-fiction, ''Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought Us Back From The Brink'' was published, and later was turned into a biopic.

Screenwriting

''Via Satellite'', which McCarten adapted from his own stage play, and directed himself, was invited to several film festivals including London, Cannes, Toronto, Melbourne, Hawaii and Seattle. His follow-up feature as writer/director, ''

Show of Hands Show of Hands is an English acoustic roots/ folk duo formed in 1986 by singer-songwriter Steve Knightley (guitars, mandolin, mandocello, cuatro) and composer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, mandolin, mando ...

'' (2008), premiered at the Montreal International Film Festival and was an official selection for the Shanghai Film Festival 2009. In 2011, his adaptation of his own novel '' Death of a Superhero'' had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, won the 2011 Les Arcs European Film Festival Audience Choice Prize and Young Jury Prize, and the Audience Award and 'Special Mention' of the Jury at the Mamer-en-Mars European Film Festival. It had its US premiere at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. McCarten produced and wrote '' The Theory of Everything'' (2014), concerning the life of Prof. Stephen Hawking, and his first wife, Jane Hawking. He first initiated talks with Jane to acquire the rights to her autobiography, ''Travelling to Infinity'', in 2004, and shortly after began work on the screenplay, which took its inspiration from her book. On 15 January 2015, the film received 5

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations, with McCarten earning two as producer and screenwriter in the categories of Best Picture and

. He won two BAFTA awards for his roles as producer Best British Film and screenwriter

. In 2017, McCarten wrote and co-produced a film about

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, '' Darkest Hour''. It stars

Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy F ...

as Churchill, who has received critical acclaim for his performance. The film received 6

nominations, with McCarten earning one as producer in the category of Best Picture. He was also nominated for two BAFTA awards for his role as producer,

Best British Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

and

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

. McCarten wrote ''

'' (2018), the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

biopic that reached Number 1 at the box office in the US, UK, France, Germany, and all major markets, recording the second biggest opening weekend in history for a musical biography. It became the biggest grossing drama and/or biopic of all time in 2018, winning the 2019 Golden Globe for Best Picture (drama), earning over $900 million at the box office, and was nominated for the 2019 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2019, he wrote the script for ''

'', the film adaptation of his own stage play, ''The Pope''; the film stars

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

and Jonathan Pryce as

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

, and had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival. In April 2020, Deadline.com announced McCarten would be writing the screenplay for an upcoming

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

biopic. He would also serve as producer with Houston's mentor/boss

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 19 ...

, her estate president and music company Primary Wave. Stella Meghie was set to direct the film, ''

''. In September 2021, director

Kasi Lemmons Kasi Lemmons (; born Karen Lemmons, February 24, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She made her directorial debut with ''Eve's Bayou'' (1997), followed by '' Talk to Me'' (2007), ''Black Nativity'' (2013), '' Harriet ...

was brought on to replace Meghie. Production started shortly afterwards at Marina Studios' soundstages in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Theatre

McCarten received early international success with his play '' Ladies Night''. McCarten has written the book for ''A Beautiful Noise'', a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical about

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

which premiered in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in December 2022. He is also the author of the play '' The Collaboration''.

Personal life

McCarten divides his time between London, Los Angeles and Munich. He has three children.

Selected works

Films

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

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Bibliography

*''Spinners'' Random House New Zealand (1999) Harper Perennial (US) (2001) *''The English Harem'' Picador (2002), reprinted (film-tie-in) Alma Books (2006) *''Brilliance'' (2006) Hawthorne Books (US), Alma Books (UK) Random House (NZ) Diogenes (Germany) *''Death of a Superhero'' (2006, 2007) Alma Books *''Show of Hands'' (2008) Diogenes (Germ.), Simon and Schuster (US), Random House (NZ) *''In the Absence of Heroes'' (2012) Random House (NZ), Diogenes (Germ.) *''funnygirl'' (2015) Alma Books (UK), Random House (NZ) Diogenes (Germany) *''Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought Us Back from the Brink'' (2017) Penguin/Viking (UK), HarperCollins (US) *''The Pope: Francis, Benedict, and the Decision That Shook the World'' (2019) Flatiron Books (US)

References

External links

*
Entry in the Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature, Robinson and Wattie ed., 1998
bookcouncil.org.nz

almabooks.co.uk
Anthony McCarten profile
nzonscreen.com
''International Herald Tribune'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarten, Anthony 1961 births Living people New Zealand screenwriters Male screenwriters 20th-century New Zealand dramatists and playwrights People from New Plymouth 20th-century New Zealand novelists 21st-century New Zealand novelists Massey University alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom New Zealand journalists Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners People educated at Francis Douglas Memorial College 20th-century New Zealand male writers 21st-century New Zealand male writers New Zealand male dramatists and playwrights