Rodney Patrick Vaccaro (born April 24, 1952) 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 producer. He wrote ''

Three to Tango ''Three to Tango'' is a 1999 romantic comedy film directed by Damon Santostefano, written by Rodney Patrick Vaccaro and Aline Brosh McKenna, and starring Matthew Perry, Neve Campbell, Dylan McDermott and Oliver Platt. Plot Architects Oscar N ...

'', a 1999 film which starred

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994– ...

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (; born October 3, 1973) is a Canadian actress. After working in Canadian and American television, Campbell emerged as a scream queen for her starring roles in horror and thriller films. She has also appeared in blockbu ...

, and

Dylan McDermott Mark Anthony "Dylan" McDermott (born October 26, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the legal drama series ''The Practice'', which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performa ...

, and in 2001 won the

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special was an Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are ...

for '' Run the Wild Fields''. He has also written several plays and novels.

Personal life

Vaccaro was born in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. When he was 12, his family moved to

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, where Vaccaro became involved in the local

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

. Vaccaro credits his time spent at the Grand Rapids Actors' Theatre with making him into an artist and a writer. Vaccaro also spent time in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he worked with

Francine Pascal Francine Paula Pascal (''née'' Rubin, May 13, 1932 – July 28, 2024) was an American author best known for her Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. ''Sweet Valley High,'' the backbone of the collection, was made into a television series, ...

, and in New York, where he studied at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

and the Chekhov Studio. In 1990 he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. However, he continued to be involved in theater in Grand Rapids. Vaccaro is a graduate of Grand Rapids Junior College and of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

. He has two daughters.

Career

Vaccaro began his career in Hollywood writing scripts for

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 ...

-winning filmmaker

Michael Cimino Michael Antonio Cimino ( , ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. He achieved fame as the director of ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture and ...

in the late 1990s, though none of their collaborations amounted to anything. For Cimino, he penned ''The Dreaming Place'', which was to be financed through

Trimark Pictures Trimark Pictures was an American production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures. The company was formed in 1984 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. (later T ...

, but its budget was considered too high to see production. His scripts from this period are now considered lost. In 1999, Vaccaro's script ''

'' saw the light of day, though it was ultimately rewritten by

Aline Brosh McKenna Aline Brosh McKenna (born August 2, 1967) is an American filmmaker. Her credits include writing '' The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), ''27 Dresses'' (2008), ''Morning Glory'' (2010), '' We Bought a Zoo'' (2011) and co-creating The CW's '' Crazy Ex ...

. In 2001, Vaccaro won the

for '' Run the Wild Fields'' (tied with ''

A Storm in Summer ''A Storm in Summer'' is a 2000 American made-for-television drama film directed by Robert Wise and starring Peter Falk, Andrew McCarthy, Nastassja Kinski, and Ruby Dee. It is the last film to be directed by Wise. Rod Serling's original scri ...

''). He was also nominated that year for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for A Children's Special for the same film. Some of his other produced screenplays include

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

's ''

Bigger Than the Sky ''Bigger Than the Sky'' is a 2005 American drama film directed by Al Corley, written by Rodney Patrick Vaccaro, and starring Marcus Thomas, John Corbett, Amy Smart, Sean Astin, Clare Higgins, and Patty Duke. Its plot follows a man, who after br ...

'', featuring

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...

Amy Smart Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. Her first role in film was in Martin Kunert's anthology horror film '' Campfire Tales'', followed by a minor part in '' Starship Troopers,'' directed by Paul Verhoeven. In 1998, Sma ...

, and

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (; born February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Billy Tepper in '' Toy Soldiers'' (1991), Dave Morgan in '' Encino Man'' (1992), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' ...

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

's ''The Engagement Ring'', featuring

Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1989–1991) and later appearing in the comedy film ...

, David Hunt,

Tony Lo Bianco Anthony LoBianco (October 19, 1936 – June 11, 2024) was an American actor. Born to first-generation Italian American parents in New York City, Lo Bianco began his career in theater, appearing in several Broadway productions throughout the 1 ...

and

Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ''St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...

, and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's ''

Snow Wonder ''Snow Wonder'' is a 2005 American made-for-television drama film adapted from a Connie Willis short story. The film starred Michelle Krusiec, Camryn Manheim, Mary Tyler Moore, Jason Priestley, Josh Randall, and Eric Szmanda, and was produced ...

'' starring

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on '' The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), whic ...

Works

Screenplays

* ''

Night of the Running Man ''Night of the Running Man'' is a 1995 American crime thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester and written by Lee Wells, who adapted it from his novel of the same name. It stars Andrew McCarthy and Scott Glenn. The film debuted on HBO before be ...

'' (1994) (uncredited) * ''

'' (1999) * '' Run the Wild Fields'' (2000) (TV movie) * ''

'' (2005) (also co-producer) * ''The Engagement Ring'' (2005) (TV movie) * ''

'' (2005) (TV movie) * ''Unexpected'' (2023)

Teleplays

* ''

Static Shock ''Static Shock'' is an American superhero animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static. It premiered on September 23, 2000, on the WB Television Network's Kids' WB programming block. ''Static Shock'' ran ...

'' (2000)

Stage plays

* ''American Still Life'' * ''Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One'' * ''Brown Red Yellow'' * ''Home of the Brave'' * ''Screenplay By'' * ''The Up System''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccaro, Rodney 1952 births Living people American male screenwriters Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids Community College alumni Screenwriters from Michigan