Jeffrey D. Nathanson (born October 12, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing two films of the '' Rush Hour'' series, as well as the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

films ''

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...

'', ''

The Terminal ''The Terminal'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Stanley Tucci. The film is about an Eastern European man who is stuck in New York's John F. K ...

'', and '' Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull''.

Early life and education

Nathanson was born in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

. He attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

as an English major from 1983 to 1985. While at UC Santa Barbara, he worked on the school's newspaper, the '' Daily Nexus'', and has stated that the courses he took at UC Santa Barbara led him to want to become a screenwriter. He later enrolled in the screenwriting program at the AFI Conservatory for one year.

Career

He is best known for his work on the '' Rush Hour'' sequels '' Rush Hour 2'' and ''

Rush Hour 3 ''Rush Hour 3'' is a 2007 American Buddy Cop film, buddy cop action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Jeff Nathanson. It is the third installment in the Rush Hour (franchise), ''Rush Hour'' franchise and sequel to ''Rush Hour 2'' ...

'', ''

'', and '' The Last Shot''. He co-wrote a story draft for the film ''

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ''Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' is a 2008 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by David Koepp, based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson. It is the fourth installm ...

'' (2008) with

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

; the film was directed by

. He wrote the screenplay for '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'' (2017), on which he also received a story by co-credit, the latter with Terry Rossio. He wrote the script for the 2019 live-action remake of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'' for Disney, directed by

Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...

. He also wrote its 2024 prequel, '' Mufasa: The Lion King'', directed by Barry Jenkins. On October 3, 2017, it was reported that Nathanson would be penning a script for a biographical film directed by

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour (film series), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...

based on the life of the ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' founder

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

, who will be portrayed by

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 ...

winner

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in Jared Leto filmography, a variety of roles, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Jared Leto, numerous accolade ...

. However the film was put indefinitely on hold and was confirmed that Leto would not portray the ''Playboy'' founder following emergence of sexual harassment allegations against Ratner that November.

Awards and honors

Nathanson was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay

British Academy of Film and Television Arts The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award for his work on ''Catch Me If You Can''.

Film writer credits

Uncredited * ''

Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film based on the comic book series, in turn based on the conspiracy theory. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film series. Direct ...

'' (2012) * '' Wonka''https://directories.wga.org/member/jeffreydnathanson/ (2023) * '' Haunted Mansion'' (2023)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathanson, Jeff Living people 21st-century American male writers AFI Conservatory alumni American male screenwriters Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from Los Angeles Screenwriters from Los Angeles University of California, Santa Barbara alumni 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters Year of birth missing (living people)