Jonathan Roberts (born May 10, 1956) is an American screenwriter, television producer and author. He is known for having co-written Disney's 1994 film '' The Lion King''.

Life and career

Born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Roberts studied

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and took a summer graduate program on book and magazine publishing at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

before launching his career. His first written work was on t''he 80s: A Look Back'' and '' The Official Preppy Handbook'', which became a ''

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 ...

'' bestseller. Roberts's first screenplay credit was on '' The Sure Thing'' in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

. He later went on to write for '' Fast Times'', in which he also served as a producer. Roberts then joined

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 story department and worked on the award-winning

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

animated feature ''The Lion King'' with Irene Mecchi and Linda Woolverton. He also co-wrote the screenplays for '' James and the Giant Peach'' and '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' while at Disney. Roberts served as a producer on ''

Beverly Hills 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

'' and '' Head of the Class''.

Filmography

*'' The Sure Thing'' (with Steven L. Bloom) (1985) *'' Fast Times'' (1986) (TV) (also Producer) *'' Once Bitten'' (with David Hines and Jeffrey Hause) (1985) *'' Head of the Class'' (1989–1990) (TV) (co-producer) *''

'' (1991–1992) (TV) (also Co-Producer) *'' Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey'' (1993) (uncredited writer) *'' The Lion King'' (with Irene Mecchi and Linda Woolverton) (1994) *'' James and the Giant Peach'' (with Steven L. Bloom and Karey Kirkpatrick) (1996) *'' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (with Tab Murphy, Irene Mecchi, Bob Tzudiker, and Noni White) (1996) *'' Jack Frost'' (with Steven L. Bloom,

Mark Steven Johnson Mark Steven Johnson (born October 30, 1964) is an American filmmaker. Life and career Johnson began his career writing the Warner Bros. films ''Grumpy Old Men (film), Grumpy Old Men'' and its sequel ''Grumpier Old Men''. Johnson wrote and direc ...

and Jeff Cesario) (1998) *''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

'' (2000) (additional screenplay material) *''

The Emperor's New Groove ''The Emperor's New Groove'' is a 2000 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Mark Dindal and produced by Randy Fullmer, from a screenplay writte ...

'' (2000) (uncredited writer) *'' Monsters, Inc.'' (2001) (additional screenplay material)

Bibliography

*'' The 80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade 1980–1989'' (1979) *'' The Official Preppy Handbook'' (1980) *'' How to California'' (1984)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Jonathan Living people 1956 births Writers from Boston Brown University alumni American non-fiction writers American male screenwriters Animation screenwriters Film producers from Massachusetts American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Massachusetts Walt Disney Animation Studios people