Thomas H. Schulman (born October 20, 1950) is an American screenwriter best known for his semi-autobiographical screenplay '' Dead Poets Society'', which won the

Academy Award for 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 ...

in 1989.

Biography

Following high school at Montgomery Bell Academy, Schulman earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in philosophy, graduating in 1972 from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Schulman pursued his interest in film at the University of Southern California's Graduate School of Cinema. ''Dead Poets Society'' won the

in 1989, and was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director ( Peter Weir). The character of John Keating was inspired by one of Schulman's teachers at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. Prior to ''Dead Poets Society,'' Schulman had already written several telemovies. However, ''Dead Poets Society'' was his first movie script to reach the screen. He was hired to rewrite the hit movie ''

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids ''Honey, I Shrunk the Kids'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film. It is the first installment of a film franchise and served as the directorial debut of Joe Johnston. The film stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer, Marcia Strassman, an ...

'' shortly before the film was due to begin shooting; Schulman had just seven days to turn it from a drama into a comedy. Other scripts written or co-written by Schulman include comedies '' Welcome to Mooseport'', '' What About Bob?'', '' Second Sight'' (which Schulman sold the same day as ''Dead Poets Society'') and ''

Holy Man ''Holy Man'' is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia and Jon Cryer. The film was a commercial failure and re ...

'', which stars

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

. The

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

drama ''

Medicine Man A medicine man (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwinini'') or medicine woman (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwininiikwe'') is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Each culture has its own name i ...

'', originally entitled ''The Stand'', proved a critical failure. Schulman executive produced the movie '' Indecent Proposal''. Schulman's directorial debut was the 1997 black comedy '' 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag'', which stars

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is best known for portraying tough, volatile characters, in a variety of genres, and for his collaborations with his best friend, Robert De Niro in the films ' ...

as a gangster attempting to transport a bag of severed heads across the United States. In 2022, Schulman returned to directing with '' Double Down South'', a seedy sports drama set in Mississippi's underground keno pool scene (a world Schulman encountered as a teenager). In 2009, Schulman was elected vice president of the

Writers Guild of America, West The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) is a labor union representing film, television, radio, and new media writers. It was formed in 1954 from five organizations representing writers, including the Screen Writers Guild. It has around 20,000 m ...

. He was a member of the WGA negotiating committee during the extended writers' strike of 2023.

Filmography

References

External links

Dead Poets Society's Tom Schulman on the Art of Surviving Hollywood
March 15, 2004

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulman, Tom Living people 1951 births American male screenwriters Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winners Film directors from Tennessee Film producers from Tennessee Screenwriters from Tennessee Writers from Nashville, Tennessee