Mark David Rosenthal 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 director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

. He is also the long-time writing partner of Lawrence Konner. The writing team work together on the films ''The Legend of Billie Jean'', ''The Jewel of the Nile'', ''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'', and ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', as well as the screenplays for ''Mona Lisa Smile'', ''Flicka'', and ''Mercury Rising''.

Early life and education

Rosenthal was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He holds a

Doctor of Arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin language, Latin ''artium doctor'') is a List of academic disciplines, discipline-based terminal degree, terminal doctorate, doctoral academic degree, degree that was originall ...

degree from the University of the Pacific.

Screenwriting career

Rosenthal sold the first screenplay he wrote, which came out theatrically as '' The Legend of Billie Jean''. This was followed by such films as ''

The Jewel of the Nile ''The Jewel of the Nile'' is a 1985 American action-adventure romantic comedy film directed by Lewis Teague and produced by Michael Douglas, who also starred in the lead role, reuniting with co-stars Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito, reprising ...

'', ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

'',

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

'', ''

Mona Lisa Smile ''Mona Lisa Smile'' is a 2003 American drama film produced by Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures in association with Red Om Films Productions, directed by Mike Newell, written by Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal, and starring Julia R ...

'', '' Mighty Joe Young'' and ''

The Sorcerer's Apprentice "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" () is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe written in 1797. The poem is a ballad in 14 stanzas. Story The poem begins as an old sorcerer departs his workshop, leaving his apprentice with chores to perform. Tired of ...

''. He also did uncredited work on ''

I, Robot ''I, Robot'' is a fixup collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov. The stories originally appeared in the American magazines '' Super Science Stories'' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' between 1940 and 1950 ...

'' and ''

Eragon ''Eragon'' is the first book in ''The Inheritance Cycle'' by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen. After writing the first draft for ...

''. Rosenthal co-wrote (with Konner) and directed '' The In Crowd'' for Orion Studios.

Other appearances

Rosenthal is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. and was featured in the documentaries ''Tales From The Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories'' and Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, where he details his experiences working on ''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace''.

''Superman IV: The Quest for Peace''

Rosenthal recorded a DVD commentary for '' Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' for the ''Deluxe Edition'' of the film in 2006. He discussed the film's original intentions and deleted scenes. Rosenthal has also described the final film as production company

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...

stabbing star

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...

in the back. According to Rosenthal, Reeve and director Sidney J. Furie begged Cannon Films to film a sequence in

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 ...

, in front of the real United Nations Building, because filmgoers were very familiar with that location, but the

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

setting looked more like a municipal auditorium. However, Cannon refused because they were "pinching pennies at every step". Rosenthal also revealed that he and writer Lawrence Konner wanted Reeve to play Nuclear Man as well as his dual roles of

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

in the film. They imagined the villain being a darker version of the hero in the cloning process. The effect would have been costly to achieve and the idea had already been explored in ''

Superman III ''Superman III'' is a 1983 superhero film directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by David Newman and Leslie Newman based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the third installment in the ''Superman'' film series and the sequel to ''S ...

''. Therefore, Cannon hired actor Mark Pillow for the part of Nuclear Man. Also according to Rosenthal, there are approximately 45 minutes of the film that have not been seen by the public after they were deleted, following a failed

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

test screening.

Filmography

*'' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) *''

'' (1985) *'' Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987) *'' The In Crowd'' (1988) *''

Desperate Hours ''Desperate Hours'' is a 1990 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Michael Cimino. It is a remake of the 1955 film of the same name and an adaptation the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script with Cimino bas ...

'' (1990) *'' Sometimes They Come Back'' (TV Movie) (1991) *'' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (Story by) (1991) *'' For Love or Money'' (1993) *'' The Beverley Hillbillies'' (1993) *'' Mercury Rising'' (1998) *'' Mighty Joe Young'' (1998) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2003) *''

Flicka ''Flicka'' is a 2006 American family adventure drama film loosely based on the 1941 children's novel '' My Friend Flicka'' by Mary O'Hara. The film is directed by Michael Mayer and written by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner. The novel had ...

'' (2006) *'' The Sorcerer’s Apprentice'' (Story by) (2010) *''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

'' (TV Series) (Writer) ( Executive Producer) (2016)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Mark Living people 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews American male screenwriters Jewish American screenwriters Film directors from Pennsylvania English-language film directors Year of birth missing (living people) Screenwriters from Philadelphia University of Vermont alumni University of the Pacific (United States) alumni