Paul Castro 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

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. He is best known for the musical fantasy, ''

August Rush ''August Rush'' is a 2007 Drama (film and television), musical drama directed by Kirsten Sheridan & produced by Richard Barton Lewis. The screenplay is by Nick Castle and James V. Hart, with a story by Paul Castro and Castle. It involves an 11-ye ...

''.

Early life

Castro graduated #1 from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

's film school and before that attended military school during his high-school years. He later wrote a script about a nun he met in grade school named Sister Eileen. Castro was a world-class soccer player, earned a full soccer scholarship to college and played in Brazil.

Career

Castro received his master of fine arts from the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television in 2000, where he graduated first in his class. While pursuing his degree, Castro was a finalist for the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's Award for directing and producing his original screenplay ''Healing'', and landed a three-picture screenwriting deal worth $1 million. After graduating from UCLA, Castro became a professional screenwriter in Los Angeles. His movies have starred Robin Williams, John Travolta, and other A-List movie stars.

''August Rush''

Castro won and accepted a Movie Guide for being the creator and original writer of ''August Rush''. The romantic musical drama, with music by

Mark Mancina Mark Mancina (born 1957) is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', '' Training Day'', '' Brothe ...

, was released November 21, 2007, by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

The film is directed by

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-nominee

Kirsten Sheridan Kirsten Sheridan (born 14 July 1976) is an Irish film director and screenwriter. She is best known for co-writing the semi-autobiographical film '' In America'' with her father, director Jim Sheridan, and her sister, Naomi Sheridan, for which s ...

, and stars

Freddie Highmore Alfred Thomas Highmore (born 14 February 1992) is an English actor. He is known for his starring roles beginning as a child, in the films '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), '' Arthur and the Invisibles ...

Keri Russell Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She played the title role in the drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, and later portrayed El ...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles in the films '' Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002), ' ...

Terrence Howard Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor performing on film and television. He has received a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden ...

and

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

. ''August Rush'' grossed $65.3 million, and received mixed to negative reviews from film critics. In a review by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', Claudia Puig commented, "''August Rush'' will not be for everyone, but it works if you surrender to its lilting and unabashedly sentimental tale of evocative music and visual poetry." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' reviewed the film positively, writing "the story is about musicians and how music connects people, so the movie's score and songs, created by composers Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer, give poetic whimsy to an implausible tale." Castro signed a deal with Warner Bros. to bring ''August Rush'' to Broadway as a stage musical. ''August Rush'' premiered on May 3, 2019, at the Paramount Theatre in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...

. The book was written by

Glen Berger Glen Berger is an American playwright and scriptwriter. He has received commissions from the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Alley Theatre, and the Lookingglass Theater. In 2010, he co-wrote the book for '' Spi ...

, the music was composed by

, and the lyrics were written by both Berger and Mancina. The play was directed by John Doyle.

Teaching

Following his Hollywood successes, Castro taught screenwriting at UCLA, and created the online course ''The Million Dollar Screenplay.'' Castro created the online screenwriting course, INSPIRATIONAL SCREENWRITING, on

udemy Udemy ( ) is an American global massive open online course provider. It was founded in May 2010 by Eren Bali, Gagan Biyani, and Oktay Caglar. It is based in San Francisco, California, United States. The platform hosts online courses, mostly ...

. INSPIRATIONAL SCREENWRITING and his other course THE BUSINESS OF SCREENWRITING has over 12,000 students in 137 different countries. Castro was a tenured Associate Professor at Elon University.

Personal life

For seven years in Los Angeles, Castro volunteered as a suicide prevention counselor. He holds black belts in Tang Soo Do and Jiu-Jitsu.

Military service

Castro left Hollywood after 9-11 and was commissioned as a Navy officer, where he graduated from officer candidate school. He was then ordered to Naval Special Warfare Command and became the PAO of the Navy SEAL Teams. There, he participated in the center's Superfrog Triathlon. The Navy SEALs awarded Paul Castro "Honorary Frogman" honors. After his service, Castro returned to Hollywood.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Paul Living people UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty American male screenwriters Screenwriting instructors 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from California University of Richmond alumni UCLA Film School alumni 21st-century American screenwriters Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)