James V. Hart
{{Short description|American screenwriter and author (b. 1950)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = James V. Hart
| image = JamesVHartApr2011.jpg
| caption = Hart in 2011
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1950}}
| birth_place = Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Screenwriter|author}}
| years_active = 1984–present
| spouse = Judith Nugent
| children = 2; including Julia Hart
}}
James V. Hart (born 1950) is an American screenwriter and author. He is known for his literary adaptations, such as Hook (1991), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994).
Career
=Writing=
Hart wrote the screenplay to the Steven Spielberg feature film Hook which functioned as a sequel to J. M. Barrie's original story, with Peter Pan having grown into adulthood.{{cite book |last=McBride |first=Joseph |title=Steven Spielberg: A Biography |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=1997 |location=New York City |isbn=0-571-19177-0 |author-link=Joseph McBride (writer) |page=409}} Later, he wrote the 2005 children's novel Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth, a prequel depicting the youth of Captain Hook, the nemesis of Peter Pan. He wrote the Francis Ford Coppola-produced horror films Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992){{cite magazine |last=Spelling |first=Ian |date=March 1993 |title=Midnight Ryder |magazine=Fangoria #120 |publisher=Starlog Group, Inc. }} and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994).
Hart's writing focuses on adventure and fantasy fare, such as Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003), and Epic (2013). He co-created the pirate television drama Crossbones with Luther writer Neil Cross based on Colin Woodard's book The Republic of Pirates.{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-crossbones-pirate-drama-luther-323982|title=NBC Greenlights Pirate Drama From 'Luther' Creator|last=Goldberg|first=Lesley|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 14, 2012|access-date=March 3, 2013}} On July 24, 2014, NBC announced that Crossbones had been canceled after one season.{{cite web |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/07/24/nbc-to-burn-off-the-final-two-episodes-of-crossbones-to-burn-off-saturday-august-1/286238/ |title=NBC to Burn Off the Final Two Episodes of 'Crossbones' on Saturday, August 2 |last=Bibel |first=Sara |work=TV by the Numbers |date=July 24, 2014 |access-date=July 25, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729144012/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/07/24/nbc-to-burn-off-the-final-two-episodes-of-crossbones-to-burn-off-saturday-august-1/286238/ |archive-date=July 29, 2014 |df=mdy }}
=Unmade screenplays=
Hart wrote the first draft screenplay of Atlas Shrugged,{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117942127.html |title=Lionsgate Shrugging |last=McClintock |first=Pamela |access-date=June 21, 2009 |date=April 26, 2006 |work=Variety}} which was to be fully developed by director Randall Wallace. Hart also wrote an adaptation of The Sirens of Titan, which Kurt Vonnegut approved of before he died,{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1557119/20070413/story.jhtml |title=MTV News {{!}} Exclusive: Kurt Vonnegut's 'Sirens Of Titan' Being Adapted For Big Screen |website=www.mtv.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429012728/http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1557119/20070413/story.jhtml |archive-date=2007-04-29}} a screenplay adaptation for Crisis in the Hot Zone which was later adapted into a television series in 2019. In 2012, it was announced that TNT would create a television series based on the Dean Koontz's Frankenstein novels.{{Cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2012/10/tnt-to-develop-frankenstein-drama-series-based-on-dean-koontzs-novels-354980/ |title=TNT To Develop 'Frankenstein' Drama Series Based On Dean Koontz's Novels |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2012-10-17 |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=2017-11-22}}
=Teaching=
Hart has been a faculty member of the Columbia University Graduate Film program and has mentored for Sundance Film Labs, the Austin Writer’s Ranch, and the Equinoxe-Europe Writing Workshops.{{Cite web|url=https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/james-v-hart-screenwriter/|title = Deconstructing the Emotional Pulse of Your Screenplay with James V. Hart|date = 18 November 2020}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.equinoxegermany.org/eq_europe/index.php?article_id=7|title=EQuinoxe Europe|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2020-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126232558/http://www.equinoxegermany.org/eq_europe/index.php?article_id=7|url-status=dead}}
Personal life
Hart is the son of Albert Hart and Alice Hart. He has one brother, David (deceased). He studied film and graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1969. He lives in New York with his wife Judith. Their two children, Jake and Julia, are also screenwriters.Bio blurb on dust jacket of Capt. Hook, published 2005.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! width="65"| Writer ! width="65"| Producer ! Notes |
|---|
| 1974
| {{No}} | {{Yes}} | Associate producer |
| 1977
| {{No}} | {{Yes}} | |
| 1984
| {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 1991
|Hook | {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} | Executive producer |
| 1992
| {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} | Co-producer |
| 1994
| {{No}} | {{Yes}} | |
| 1996
| {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 1997
| {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 2002
| {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 2003
| Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life | {{Yes}} | {{No}} | Story by |
| 2005
| Sahara | {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 2007
| {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 2007
| {{Yes}} | {{No}} | |
| 2013
| Epic | {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} | Executive producer |
| 2023
| The Last Voyage of the Demeter | {{Yes}} | {{No}} | received off-screen additional literary material credit.{{Cite web |date=6 December 2022 |title=The Last Voyage of the Demeter |url=https://directories.wga.org/project/1211247/the-last-voyage-of-the-demeter/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 January 2023 |website=Writers Guild of America West |archive-date=January 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120210340/https://directories.wga.org/project/1211247/the-last-voyage-of-the-demeter/ }} |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Notes ! Network |
|---|
| 2001
| Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story | Miniseries ! CBS |
| 2014
| Co-creator ! NBC |
| 2019-21
| Creator, also executive producer ! National Geographic |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0366337}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20091103140934/http://www.hook-movie.com/pages/interviews/hart.htm Interview about Hook] on [http://www.hook-movie.com/ www.hook-movie.com]
{{Saturn Award for Best Writing 1991–2010}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, James V.}}
Category:20th-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:Hugo Award–winning writers
Category:Writers from Fort Worth, Texas
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:Screenwriters from Texas