Jeremy Leven (born August 16, 1941) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. Born in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, Leven lives in

Woodbridge, Connecticut Woodbridge is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, South Central Connecticut Planning Region. The ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life

Leven was educated at St. John's College in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and

Yale University Medical School The Yale School of Medicine is the medical school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. It is the sixth-oldest m ...

. While at Harvard, he founded a satirical

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

called ''The Proposition'' that ran for 10 years in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

and off-Broadway.

Career

Leven's first novel, ''Creator'', was published in 1980 and released as a film of the same title in 1985. Leven was a practicing neuropsychiatrist, a theme incorporated in his second novel, '' Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S.'', which was published in 1982 and filmed as ''

Crazy as Hell ''Crazy as Hell'' is a 2002 psychological film that is based on the 1982 novel '' Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S.'' by Jeremy Leven and follows Dr. Ty Adams ( Michael Beach), an aggressive and overconfid ...

'' in 2002. His third and most recent novel, '' The Savior and the Singing Machine'', was published in January 2019. Leven wrote and directed ''

Don Juan DeMarco ''Don Juan DeMarco'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Johnny Depp as John Arnold DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and domino mask, DeMarco undergoes psych ...

'' (1994), wrote and produced ''

Alex & Emma ''Alex & Emma'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson. Written by Jeremy Leven, the film is about a writer who must publish a novel in thirty days or face the wrath of loan ...

'' (2003), wrote the screenplays for ''

The Legend of Bagger Vance ''The Legend of Bagger Vance'' is a 2000 American sports fantasy drama film directed by Robert Redford, and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron. The screenplay by Jeremy Leven is based on Steven Pressfield's 1995 book '' The Lege ...

'' (2000), ''

The Notebook ''The Notebook'' is a 2004 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, from a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel Mc ...

'' (2004), '' My Sister's Keeper'' (2009), and ''

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathes ...

'' (2011), and did uncredited writing on ''

The Time Traveler's Wife ''The Time Traveler's Wife'' is the debut novel by American author Audrey Niffenegger, published in 2003. It is a love story about Henry, a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and about Clare, his wife, an a ...

'' (2009). Recently, Leven wrote and directed ''

Girl on a Bicycle ''Girl on a Bicycle'' is a 1977 novel by Leland Bardwell (her first). The novel is set in 1940s Ireland, and deals with the reality of being Protestant and what it means to be an individual caught up in the momentum of historical change. It is ...

'' (2013).

Awards

*"Connie Award" Outstanding Achievement in Film, Connecticut Film Commission 1999 *"Meilleur Sceneriste" (Best Screenwriter) -- European Award conferred by Prince Albert of Monaco 2003 *"Lifetime Achievement - Excellence in Screenwriting", Sedona International Film Festival 2014 *"Special Award for Outstanding Achievement", SunDeis Film Festival,

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

, 2006

References

* ''Contemporary Authors'', Thomson Gale, 2004

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leven, Jeremy 1941 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters Novelists from Connecticut St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni Harvard University alumni University of Connecticut alumni Yale School of Medicine alumni Film directors from Indiana Writers from South Bend, Indiana 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Indiana Screenwriters from Indiana Screenwriters from Connecticut Film producers from Indiana