Paul Brickman

{{short description|American screenwriter and film director|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Paul Brickman

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|04|23}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| occupation = Filmmaker

| years_active = 1977–2012

| parents = Shirley Kronenthal Brickman
Morrie Brickman

| spouse = Jennifer Schweitzer

}}

Paul Brickman (born April 23, 1949) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing and directing Risky Business.

Early life

Brickman was born in Chicago and raised in suburban Highland Park, the son of Shirley (née Kronenthal) and Morrie Brickman.{{Cite news|title=Shirley Brickman, nee Kronenthal, 88, beloved wife of the late Morrie Brickman |newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=January 13, 2009 |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=shirley-brickman&pid=122790604&fhid=2004 |quote=...devoted mother of Harriet (Thomas Raredon) and Paul Brickman (Jennifer Schweitzer)}} His father was a cartoonist who created the comic strip "The Small Society."{{cite web |last1=Heise |first1=Kenan |title=Morrie Brickman, Creator of 'Small Society' Cartoon |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/03/17/morrie-brickman-creator-of-small-society-cartoon/ |website=Chicago Tribune|date=17 March 1994 }}

Brickman graduated from Highland Park High School in 1967.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/highland-park/ct-xpm-2013-05-06-ct-tl-lk-0509-entertainment-20130506-story.html|title=Highland Park remembers 'Risky Business' 30 years later|last=Tribune|first=Greg Dorn, Special to the|website=chicagotribune.com|date=6 May 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-04}} He graduated from Claremont Men's College in Claremont, California.{{cite web |title=Claremont McKenna College |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/claremont-mckenna-college-1170 |website=US News Best Colleges}}

Career

Brickman began his career by writing the screenplays for The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training and Handle with Care, both of which were released in 1977.

In 1983, he made his directorial debut with Risky Business, starring Tom Cruise. Much of the film was filmed in Brickman's hometown, Highland Park, Illinois, and the surrounding area. However, the film was set in nearby Glencoe.{{Cite web|url=http://chicagoist.com/2011/02/02/the_sightless_movie_experiment_risk.php|title=The Sightless Movie Experiment: Risky Business|website=Chicagoist|access-date=2019-01-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107153630/http://chicagoist.com/2011/02/02/the_sightless_movie_experiment_risk.php|archive-date=2017-11-07|url-status=dead}} The film was a major success, though Brickman felt disillusioned at having to compromise on the ending.{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Dana |title=At 20, 'Risky' is still frisky |url=https://variety.com/2001/film/news/at-20-risky-is-still-frisky-1117801630/ |website=Variety|date=19 June 2001 }}

In 1990, he cowrote and directed Men Don't Leave, a loose adaptation of the 1982 French film La Vie Continue.{{cite web |last1=Rosenbaum |first1=Jonathan |title=Beautiful Moments |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/beautiful-moments/Content?oid=875288 |website=Chicago Reader|date=March 1990 }}

Brickman shared writing credit with Jon Avnet (the producer of Risky Business) on the 2001 NBC miniseries Uprising.{{cite news |last1=Weinraub |first1=Bernard |title=A Seldom-Seen Holocaust Image: The Resister |work=The New York Times |date=4 November 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/arts/television-radio-a-seldom-seen-holocaust-image-the-resister.html }}

His only other directing credit is a short film called Allison (2012).{{cite web |last1=Lange |first1=Maggie |title=Jon Avnet, Rodrigo Garcia Launch Web Series and Shorts to Explore 'Female Characters' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/05/jon-avnet-rodrigo-garcia-launch-web-series-and-shorts-to-explore-female-characters-181607/ |website=IndieWire|date=2 May 2012 }}

Filmography

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! width="65"\| Director ! width="65"\| Writer ! Executive Producer ! Notes
rowspan=2\| 1977 \| The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|
Handle with Care \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \|
rowspan=2\| 1983 \| Risky Business \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| Directorial debut
Deal of the Century \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \|
1990 \| Men Don't Leave \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|
1999 \| True Crime \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \|
2001 \| Uprising \| {{no}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| TV miniseries
2012 \| Allison \| {{yes}} \| {{yes}} \| {{no}} \| Short film

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! width="65"| Director

! width="65"| Writer

! Executive
Producer

! Notes

rowspan=2| 1977

| The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}