Randall Wallace
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Randall Wallace (born July 28, 1949) is an American screenwriter, film director and producer who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the historical drama film ''
Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...
'' (1995). His work on the film earned him a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...
and a
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 ...
in the same category. He has since directed films such as '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1998), '' We Were Soldiers'' (2002), '' Secretariat'' (2010) and '' Heaven Is for Real'' (2014).


Early life and education

Born in
Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...
, he lived in Memphis and Henderson County, Tennessee before moving to Virginia. Wallace began writing stories at the age of seven. He graduated from E.C. Glass High School in
Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...
and attended
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
, where he studied Russian,
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
, and
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He put himself through a graduate year of seminary by teaching
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
. Wallace holds a black belt in
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
.


Career

After managing an animal show at Nashville's Opryland, Wallace moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in singing and songwriting. He began writing short stories, novels and scripts for movies. Wallace was taken under the wing of leading television producer Stephen J. Cannell and spent several years writing for television in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He gained recognition and commercial success by penning the screenplay for ''
Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...
'' (1995), which was inspired by a trip to Scotland to learn more about his Scottish roots. While there, he discovered the legend of the medieval Scottish patriot William Wallace. His shared ancestry with William Wallace, other than a surname, is only a report from a cousin in the army, who was stationed in Europe, that a "Wallace had come from Scotland." ''Braveheart'' became Wallace's first screenplay to be produced, after drawing the interest of
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
, who went on to produce, direct and star in the film. It ended up as one of the most successful films of 1995, earning over $200 million. It was nominated for ten
Academy Awards 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 in ...
, including a
Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...
nomination for Wallace, and won five, including the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. ''Braveheart'' also won one
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
and four
BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...
. Wallace made his directorial debut with his own screenplay in '' The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1998), starring
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
, John Malkovich,
Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...
, Jeremy Irons and Gérard Depardieu. Shortly after, he wrote the screenplay for ''
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
'' (2001), directed by
Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
and starring
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 ...
,
Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...
and Kate Beckinsale. This was followed by Wallace's second film as director '' We Were Soldiers'' (2002), on which Wallace re-teamed with Mel Gibson. It was about the Battle of Ia Drang (1965) during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, based on the memoir by Lieutenant General
Hal Moore Harold Gregory Moore Jr. (February 13, 1922 – February 10, 2017) was a United States Army Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general and author. As a Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel, he commanded the 1st Bat ...
. Wallace directed
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's '' Secretariat'' (2010), the true story of the racehorse that won the Triple Crown in 1973. The film chronicled the struggles and courage of owner Penny Chenery-Tweedy, portrayed by Academy Award-nominated actress Diane Lane. Wallace also wrote the end title song, ''It's Who You Are'', which was released with the ''Secretariat'' soundtrack. Wallace's next directorial project was the religious drama '' Heaven Is for Real'' (2014), based on the story of the same name. In June 2016, Wallace stated that he and Gibson had begun work on a sequel to '' The Passion of the Christ'' (2004), which will focus on the
resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus () is Christianity, Christian belief that God in Christianity, God Resurrection, raised Jesus in Christianity, Jesus from the dead on the third day after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion, starting—or Preexis ...
, and the events surrounding the resurrection.Bond, Paul (June 9, 2016
"Mel Gibson planning ''Passion of the Christ'' sequel (exclusive)".
''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
''. Retrieved October 13, 2019.


Other work

Wallace is the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' bestselling author of seven novels and the lyricist of the hymn " Mansions of the Lord", originally written for ''We Were Soldiers'' and performed as the recessional for President Ronald Reagan's national funeral. In 2008, Wallace wrote several songs with singer/songwriter Richard Marx. One of those songs, "Flame In Your Fire", appears on Marx's album '' Emotional Remains''. In interviews he has acknowledged a deep commitment to Christianity, which he credits as an influence on his approach to filmmaking. He appeared in the seventh season episode 3 "Dramedy" of HBO's comedy series '' Entourage'' as himself. In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Wallace is the founder of Hollywood for
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
and the father of two sons. In 1999, he formed his own company, Wheelhouse Entertainment, which is focused on creating entertainment for worldwide audiences based on the classic values of love, courage and honor. Wallace was the speaker at the Fellowship Foundation National Prayer Breakfast on February 3, 2011. Wallace served as the commencement speaker at the Liberty University graduation ceremony on May 14, 2011.


Bibliography

*1973 – ''Tran Chau Cang'' *1980 – ''The Russian Rose'' *1983 – ''So Late into the Night'' *1990 – ''Blood of the Lamb'' *1992 – ''Where Angels Watch'' *1995 – ''Braveheart'' (
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...
)
*1999 – ''The Man in the Iron Mask'' (novelization) *2001 – ''Pearl Harbor'' (novelization) *2002 – ''We Were Soldiers'' (novelization) *2004 – ''Love and Honor'' *2011 – ''The Touch'' *2015 – ''Living the Braveheart Life: Finding the Courage to Follow Your Heart'' (
non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...
)


Filmography


Television


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Randall 1949 births Living people Film producers from Tennessee American male screenwriters Duke University alumni People from Jackson, Tennessee Writers Guild of America Award winners Film directors from Tennessee Screenwriters from Tennessee American Christians American people of Scottish descent