Nick Schenk (born November 12, 1965) 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 ...

known for writing the

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

-directed feature film ''

Gran Torino ''Gran Torino'' is a 2008 American drama film directed, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood. It features a significant Hmong American cast, a first for mainstream American films. The score was composed by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Steve ...

'' in 2008 for which he won

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

from the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

.Awards
Best Original Screenplay
. - National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. He continued his collaborations with Eastwood on '' The Mule'' (2018) and '' Cry Macho'' (2021).

Early life

Schenk was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and grew up in the neighboring city of Fridley. He graduated from the

Minneapolis College of Art and Design The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is a private college specializing in the visual arts and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MCAD currently enrolls approximately 800 students. MCAD is one of just a few major art schools to offer ...

in 1989.

Career

During the mid-1990s, he played the character of Butch the Janitor on the television series, ''

Let's Bowl ''Let's Bowl'' is a scripted bowling game show that aired on the Comedy Central television network from 2001 to 2002 after a brief run on several TV stations across the U.S. in the mid-1990s, the first three being Minneapolis-St. Paul stations: K ...

'', during its initial syndicated run. He went on to be a writer for the series during its run on

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

from 2001-2002. He also made appearances in small roles during this time. In 2007, Nick Schenk was a writer and producer for ''Bodog Fight'' (the mixed-martial arts competition television show) when his screenplay for ''Gran Torino'' was optioned by

Jenette Kahn Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to president. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of editor ...

. When

read it, he not only decided to direct and star in it but he also insisted that not a word be changed by the studio. Subsequently, the only script changes made were to tailor it to the location where it was shot (Michigan) as opposed to Minnesota where it was originally set.Yuen, Laura.
"'Gran Torino' a movie made in Minnesota, almost"
- Minnesota Public Radio. - January 8, 2009. On February 26, 2021, Nick signed on with the representative company Management 360. In 2022, Schenk wrote and executive produced a sequel to the 1983 film ''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on the 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'' by Jean Shepherd, with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories ...

'' entitled ''

A Christmas Story Christmas ''A Christmas Story Christmas'' is a 2022 American Christmas comedy film directed by Clay Kaytis from a script by Nick Schenk. It is a sequel to the 1983 film ''A Christmas Story''. Peter Billingsley reprises his role as Ralphie Parker alongside ...

'' for

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

and

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

(now

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schenk, Nick 1965 births Living people American male screenwriters American male television actors American television writers American male television writers Minneapolis College of Art and Design alumni Screenwriters from Minnesota Writers from Minneapolis