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Christopher Wilkinson

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For the British swimmer, see Christopher Wilkinson (swimmer). For people with a similar name, see Chris Wilkinson (disambiguation).
Christopher Wilkinson
Born (1950-03-29) March 29, 1950 (age 75)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materTemple University
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, producer and director
Years active1977–present
SpouseCathy Guisewite (m. 1997, div. 2011)
Children2

Christopher Wilkinson is an American screenwriter, producer and director. He is best known for writing the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for Oliver Stone's film Nixon,[1] and for Ali, starring Will Smith.[2]

Early life and education

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Wilkinson was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. He began his career as a musician while attending film school at Temple University.[3]

Career

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Before working on feature films, Wilkinson wrote, produced and directed documentaries, industrials and commercials for EUE/Screen Gems, PBS, Center City Video and Bell of Pennsylvania. During this period, he also worked as a cameraman for ESPN. After director Mark Rydell saw Wilkinson's documentary Engine 2, Ladder 3 during a directing seminar at the Maine Photographic Workshop, he hired Wilkinson as second unit director for his film The River (1984). Wilkinson would go on to run script development at Rydell's Concourse Productions, and direct the second units of his films For the Boys (1991) and Intersection (1994).[4]

Wilkinson has written several films with Stephen J. Rivele. In 1992, they were hired to write three screenplays for George Harrison's HandMade Films, which cemented their partnership.[4][5] They went on to write Nixon (1995), starring Anthony Hopkins,[6] and Ali (2001), directed by Michael Mann.[2] They wrote and produced Copying Beethoven (2006), starring Ed Harris,[7][8] and Birth of the Dragon (2016).[9] They were also writers and executive producers on Ed Zwick's Pawn Sacrifice (2014) and Miles Ahead (2015), directed by and starring Don Cheadle.[10]

On his own, Wilkinson wrote the pilot for the television series Fordlandia, to be directed by Werner Herzog,[11] and the screenplay for the upcoming Ridley Scott film, The Dog Stars.[12]

Personal life

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Wilkinson lives in Los Angeles, California.[13] He was formerly married to cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (creator of the comic strip Cathy).

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Writer Producer
1995 Nixon Yes No
2001 Ali Yes No
2006 Copying Beethoven Yes Yes
2014 Pawn Sacrifice Yes Executive
2015 Miles Ahead Yes Executive
2016 Birth of the Dragon Yes Yes
2026 The Dog Stars Yes No

Documentary film

Year Title Director Writer Producer
1981 Engine 2, Ladder 3 Yes Yes Yes
2014 Virtuosity[14][15] Yes Yes Yes

Uncredited rewrites

Other credits

Year Title 2nd Unit
Director 		Producer Notes
1984 The River Yes No
1991 For the Boys Yes Associate Played the part of Niles LaGuardia
1994 Intersection Yes Post-Production Supervisor

References

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  1. ^ “The Oscars: A Scorecard,” The New York Times, March 25, 1996.
  2. ^ a b Claude Brodesser, “Smith laces up for ‘Ali’,” Variety, May 15, 2001.
  3. ^ Chris Wehner, “10 Questions with Nixon & Ali Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson,” Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine Screenwriter's Utopia, March 29, 2005.
  4. ^ a b "10 Questions with NIXON & ALI Screenwriter Chris Wilkinson". Screenwritersutopia.com. Retrieved 29 March 2005.
  5. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (9 December 2021). "Denis O'Brien, Force in Ex-Beatle's Film Company, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  6. ^ Janet Maslin, “Stone’s Embrace of a Despised President,” The New York Times, December 20, 1995.
  7. ^ Michael Wilmington, “Movie review: ‘Copying Beethoven’,” Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Tribune, November 9, 2006.
  8. ^ Manohla Dargis, “Handmaiden to a Maestro and Midwife to His Symphony,” The New York Times, November 10, 2006.
  9. ^ Borys Kit, “Bruce Lee Origin Story Heading to Big Screen,” The Hollywood Reporter, February 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "Stephen J. Rivele Dies: Oscar-Nominated 'Nixon', 'Ali' Screenwriter Was 75". Deadline.com. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  11. ^ "'Fordlandia' Novel Being Adapted For TV; Werner Herzog To Direct". Deadline.com. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Jacob Elordi in Talks to Replace Paul Mescal in Ridley Scott's 'The Dog Stars' — Report". IndieWire.com. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  13. ^ Biography for Christopher Wilkinson, IMDb. Accessed October 10, 2013.
  14. ^ New National PBS Air Date for Cliburn Documentary,Virtuosity June 4, 2015
  15. ^ Virtuosity: The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition makes Music a grueling competition sport July 28, 2015
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