Angelo Pizzo
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Angelo Pizzo () is an American
screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and film producer, usually working on films based on a true story, and usually about athletics. He is best known for '' Hoosiers'' and '' Rudy.''


Biography


Early life and education

Pizzo grew up in
Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...
, the grandson of a Sicilian immigrant."Angelo Pizzo Induction into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, 2014"
YouTube, November 15, 2014
He graduated from University High School and
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...
, where he received a bachelor's degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. While at IU, Pizzo joined the
Sigma Nu Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1869. Since its founding, Sigma Nu has chartered more than 279 chapters across the United States and Ca ...
fraternity, where he met future collaborator David Anspaugh. Pizzo considered becoming a lawyer, but his father encouraged him to do something he loved. So he enrolled in the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
(USC) School of Cinematic Arts.


Career

Pizzo began his film/television career with Warner Brothers Television in the story development group and then moved to
Time-Life Films Time Life Television was a division of Time Life Films and was the television production and distribution arm of Time Inc. With CBS, they led a partnership to export their shows overseas. Broadcasting Time Life also owned several radio and TV s ...
.Jake Kring-Schreifels
"Twenty-five years ago, an archetypal underdog story about an undersized Notre Dame football player hit theaters—but the movie was born long before that, when two wayward Indiana natives met in college"
''The Ringer'', October 11, 2018
After serving as Vice President of Feature Film Productions there, he worked with former fraternity brother Anspaugh to create ''Hoosiers'', about a small-town
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
high school team winning the state basketball title. ''Hoosiers'' earned two
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 ...
nominations. It was named best sports film of all time by
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
and by
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's expert panel and website users. ''Hoosiers'' also is listed on the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
'
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...
. Later films include '' Rudy'', about a young man who dreams of playing
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...
, and '' The Game of Their Lives'', about the U.S. Soccer Team beating the English team against all odds. Pizzo also was an associate producer on the made-for-TV movies ''Father Figure'' and ''Blinded by the Light.'' Pizzo continues writing screenplays. He also has served on the boards of the Heartland Film Festival, Kinsey Institute, and New Harmony Writers' Project.


Personal life

Pizzo lived in the Los Angeles area for about thirty years. He and his second wife, Greta Lind, settled in
Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...
but moved back to Bloomington in 2004 to raise their sons:Kuchera, Peter Noble
"Filmmaker Angelo Pizzo,"
Indiana Public Radio (June 25, 2006).
Anthony, born in 1994, and Quinn, born in 1997. They divorced in 2010. Pizzo is an avid Indiana University basketball supporter and season ticket holder.


Awards

On the night of the world premiere of ''Hoosiers'' in 1986, Pizzo was named a
Sagamore of the Wabash The Governor of Indiana, Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana can bestow five types of awards: the Sagamore of the Wabash, the Circle of Corydon, the Distinguished Hoosier, the Honorary Hoosier, and the Sachem Award. Given at the Governor's dis ...
."IHS Will Honor Indiana Living Legends at Gala"
press release from the Indiana Historical Society, 2011
This is Indiana's highest civilian honor, given to those who have rendered distinguished service to the state or governor. He was awarded Indiana's Governor's Arts Award in 1995.
Indiana University Honors & Awards
In 2000 Pizzo was given an honorary doctorate from Franklin College (Indiana), Franklin College. He received Indiana University's Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion for Distinguished Achievement in 1996 and the school's College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010. The Indiana Historical Society named Pizzo an Indiana Living Legend in 2011. In 2013 Pizzo was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. He also received the Hall's Silver Medal Award, given in recognition of contributions to Indiana high school basketball by someone other than a high school player or coach. The following year he was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. The Indiana Film Journalists Association gave Pizzo its Hoosier Award in 2015. In 2016 Pizzo was inducted into the Monroe County (Indiana) Sports Hall of Fame and also was given a TXMPA Impact Award from the Texas Motion Picture Alliance.Samantha Calimbahin
"Red Sanders, David Lowery Among Recipients of TXMPA Awards"
''Fort Worth Magazine''


Film credits

*'' Hoosiers'' (1986) — screenwriter, producer *'' Rudy'' (1993) — screenwriter, co-producer *'' The Game of Their Lives'' (2005) — screenwriter, co-producer *'' My All American'' (2015) — screenwriter, director *'' The Hill'' (2023) — screenwriter


References


Further reading

*Hanlon, Steve
"Pizzo brings 'Hoosiers' memories to East Chicago"
''nwi.com'', Northwest Indiana, February 28, 2011
"You Can Go Home Again: Interview with Angelo Pizzo"
''Bloom'' magazine, Bloomington, Indiana, August/September 2006


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzo, Angelo Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male screenwriters Writers from Bloomington, Indiana Indiana University Bloomington alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni American writers of Italian descent Screenwriters from Indiana