Paul Albert Attanasio (born November 14, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He has twice been nominated for the

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

, for ''

Quiz Show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, s ...

'' (1994) and ''

Donnie Brasco Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939), is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser ...

'' (1997).

Early life

Paul Attanasio was born in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, New York City, the son of Connie, a real estate broker, and Joseph Attanasio, a commercial consultant. He is the great-grandson of immigrants from

Positano Positano (Campanian: ) is a village and '' comune'' on the Amalfi Coast ( Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. Climate The climate of Positano is very mild, of the Mediterrane ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Amalfi coast The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast. Celebrated worldw ...

. He grew up in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx, and later in

Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,

, where he attended public high school.Bernard Weinraub
"Flawed Characters In the Public Eye, Past and Present"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 12, 1994, retrieved September 4, 2013: "Mr. Attanasio grew up in the Bronx, in Pelham Bay, and his family later moved to Tenafly, N.J. (His father, Joseph, a businessman, had speaking parts in "Quiz Show" and "Disclosure.") After graduating from Harvard in 1981, and then Harvard Law School in 1984, he was hired at the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore." He is a 1981 graduate of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

, where he lived in Currier House, and earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

in 1984.

Career

Attanasio was a film critic for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' from 1984 to 1987.Meredith Berkman
"The Pagemaster"
''Entertainment Weekly'', December 16, 1994, retrieved September 7, 2013. He started writing for television with the CBS sitcom '' Doctor Doctor'' and the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

'' Homicide: Life on the Street'', for which he holds a 'Created by' credit. In 1995 he won a

BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the Briti ...

for his work on ''

''. He later wrote the screenplays for the thriller '' Disclosure'', the gangster thriller ''

'', the science fiction thriller ''

Sphere A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the c ...

'', and the political thrillers '' The Sum of All Fears'' and '' The Good German''. While he was making films, he started Heel & Toe Films, with a first-look production pact at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

on July 17, 1998. In 2000, he returned to television as an executive producer of and writer for the medical drama ''

Gideon's Crossing ''Gideon's Crossing'' is an American medical drama starring Andre Braugher. The series is loosely based on the experience of real-life physician Jerome Groopman and his book '' The Measure of Our Days''. It premiered on October 10, 2000, and ra ...

,'' as well as the pilot for ''R.U.S.H''. On September 10, 2001, the Heel & Toe Films production company had signed a deal with Studios USA. In 2004, Attanasio, alongside his then-wife and business partner Katie Jacobs and David Shore, pitched what would become ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

'', of which he was credited as an executive producer. He also created '' Tommy'' and co-created ''Bull'', which premiered in 2020 and 2016, respectively. In 2017, it was confirmed that he would be writing and executive producing a new

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

series titled ''Tong Wars''.

Personal life

Formerly married to his business partner Katie Jacobs, he is now married to Amanda Benefiel, an artist. With Katie Jacobs, he shares three children, Annabelle, John, and Grace. Attanasio is the brother of Mark Attanasio, a Los Angeles investment manager who is the principal owner of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. In 2013 John, then aged 16, was filmed driving a Chevrolet Camaro his father bought for him as a birthday gift. John is seen shouting homophobic slurs at another driver in the video, and claiming his own vehicle is "a million dollar car" - in reality it was worth under $60,000.

TV appearances

Attanasio was featured in ''The Dialogue'' interview series. In an interview with producer Mike DeLuca, he describes how he went from lambasting movies as a "snotty" ''Washington Post'' film critic to developing rewarding creative partnerships with Oscar-winning directors

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...

Barry Levinson Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...

, and

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direct ...

Filmography

Writer

* ''

'' (1994) * '' Disclosure'' (1994) * ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (1998) * '' The Sum of All Fears'' (2002) * '' The Good German'' (2006)

Creator

* '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) * ''

'' (2000–2001) * ''

'' (2004–2012, uncredited) * ''

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

'' (2016–2022) * '' Tommy'' (2020)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Attanasio, Paul 1959 births Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Film producers from New York (state) American film directors of Italian descent Television producers from New York City American male screenwriters American writers of Italian descent Screenwriters from New York (state) Harvard Law School alumni Harvard College alumni Living people The Washington Post people Writers from the Bronx People from Teaneck, New Jersey Screenwriters from New Jersey Film producers from New Jersey Television producers from New Jersey