Linda Woolverton (born December 19, 1952) is a screenwriter, playwright, and American novelist, whose most prominent works include screens and books from some of Disney's famous films and stage musicals. She was the first woman to have written animation features for Disney, Beauty and the Beast (1991), which was also the first animated film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. She also helped write scenarios for the movie The Lion King, and adapted her own Beauty and the Beast scenario into a Broadway adaptation of the film, which she received a Tony Award nomination.
His most recent works include the Alice in Wonderland scenario, a huge box office success, making him the first and only female scriptwriter with a single write credit on a billion-dollar movie, and the Maleficent .
Video Linda Woolverton
Early life and education
Woolverton was born in 1952 in Long Beach, California. As a child, he started acting in a local children's theater as an escape from what he described as "traumatic childhood." He graduated from high school in 1969 with honors in a school theater program. He studied at California State University, Long Beach, graduating with BFA at Theater Arts in 1973. After graduating from college, he studied at California State University, Fullerton, to receive a master's degree in Theater for Children. He completed his master's degree in 1976.
Maps Linda Woolverton
Careers
First work
After completing his master's degree, he formed his own children's theater company. He writes, directs, and performs throughout California in local churches, malls, schools and theaters. He also began working as a coach for children who acted in advertising in 1979. In 1980, he began working as a secretary for CBS, where he ended up becoming a programming executive concentrating on children's programs and late at night. During his lunch break, Woolverton wrote his first novel, a young adult Star Wind. Finally quitting his job in 1984, he began working as a substitute teacher when he wrote his second novel, which is also a young adult Running Before the Wind. Released in 1986 and 1987, both published by Houghton Mifflin.
During this time, he also started writing scripts for children's television shows. From 1986 to 1989, he wrote episodes for the animated series as Star Wars: Ewoks Dennis the Menace The Real Ghostbusters , My Little Pony and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers . Finally, he expressed his desire to work in Disney's theater department, but was not advised by his agent, who told him that he was "not ready." Disagreeing with that, he went to Disney's office in Burbank, California, and dropped a copy of the Running Before the Wind for a secretary, asking him to "give it to someone to read." Two days later, he received a call from Disney Chief then Jeffrey Katzenberg who called him for an interview.
Works for Disney
Woolverton was hired to write a script for Disney Animation's Beauty and the Beast , becoming the first woman to write animated features for the studio. From the beginning of 1985 to 1988, two different teams of writers took turns to transform Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's story into a movie, but Woolverton managed to fit the story by incorporating her new ideas into the plot, like making the protagonist a book enthusiast. After its release in 1991, Beauty and the Beast received universal critical acclaim, becoming the first animated film ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Music or Comedy.
The success of Beauty and the Beast encourages Woolverton to work on several projects with Disney. He co-wrote the live-action live-action script Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, released in 1993, and worked again with Disney Animation helping in the development of the pre-production story Aladdin , released in 1992, and wrote the screenplay of The Lion King , released in 1994. Both Aladdin and The Lion King had great success at the box office and got critical acclaim. During this time he also adapted his own scenes into the Broadway musical, which opened for critical praise in 1994, leading him to be nominated for Tony's Award for Best Book in Musical and winning an Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
She provided additional story material for Mulan , released in 1998, and co-authored the Disney musical Aida , which opened on Broadway in 2000 for critical acclaim. In 2007, he completed a scenario in which the older Alice, from Lewis Carroll Alice's Adventure in the Wonderland, returned to Wonderland, from an idea that had been in his head for years. She presented this scenario to producers Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd, and Joe Roth, who took her to Disney. The studio immediately accepted the project, enclosing Tim Burton to drive. Alice in Wonderland , released in 2010, is a huge box office success, earning over $ 1 billion, and making Woolverton the first and only female scriptwriter with a single writing credit on a billion-dollar movie.
After Alice in Wonderland he was invited to write the Maleficent scenario, retelling the animated movie Sleeping Beauty from the standpoint of the evil villain. Similar to Beauty and the Beast , this movie is in hell's progression until she is bound to write it. According to him, the story version is "reinvention, not just retelling the same story." Maleficent was released in 2014.
Woolverton wrote the screenplay for Alice Through the Looking Glass , a sequel to Alice in Wonderland , released in May 2016.
Other works
He wrote the non-Disney Broadway Lestat, an adaptation of The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, who debuted in 2006 in San Francisco being the highest-earning a pre- Broadway in San Francisco history. The musical was opened on Broadway in 2007. He also co-authored the narrative of the Arctic Tale documentary, which was released in 2007. Jobs to come
In June 2015, it was announced that he was developing a sequel to Maleficent.
In 2014, he announced that he was promoting the pilot for the television series. He then announced that Lifetime had chosen the adaptation of The Clan of the Cave Bear with Woolverton as executive producer of the pilot episode series and writer.
Themes
- "Strong female character"
Woolverton's works are known for his strong female character. He is recognized for having paved the way inside Disney to create a strong female protagonist, especially since he wrote Belle, the protagonist of Beauty and the Beast. Belle is a bright and strong young woman, a Disney hero who does "something other than waiting for her prince to come." Empire praised Belle as "a feminist female hero that is more rounded than previous Disney characters." Woolverton himself says that Belle "moves us forward a few inches He is a reader He does not depend on his beauty to get himself through the world He is not a victim waiting for his prince to come in. He is a proactive character.
In Alice in Wonderland, he gives Alice Kingsleigh protagonist an adventurous, inquisitive, unsuitable personality, who leads the character to question the values ​​of Victorian society, and finally breaks off engagements to become a world traveler. For this, Elle said: "In his Wonderland version, he [Linda Woolverton] gives the audience a female character independent of a man for happiness or commercial success." Describing his work in the movie, Woolverton says: "My whole point in Alice is that you have to fake your own path.You can not go down other people.This is your dream, it is your life.You should not be told by others what you have to make your own.
Reflecting on the female character, Woolverton said: "I came as a feminist, in my day, and when I was first approached to do Beauty and the Beast, I knew that you could not do the Disney/heroine We will not buy it as a woman after the overall awakening in the 70s No one will accept it So it started me on the road in relake at Disney princesses in a different sort I feel that you have to have an empowering message or you will not be relevant.If you do not remain relevant to how people and how women approach life now, it will not feel right. "
Personal life
Woolverton is divorced from producer Lee Flicker, and they have a daughter together, Keaton, born in 1991. She lives in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, and has two dogs.
Work
Movies
- Beauty and the Beast (1991; scenario)
- Aladdin (1992, pre-production story development)
- Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993; scenario)
- The Lion King (1994; scenario)
- Mulan (1998; additional story material)
- Arctic Tale (2007, narrative scenario)
- Alice in Wonderland (2010; scenario)
- Maleficent (2014; scenario)
- Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016; scenario)
- Maleficent II (TBA; scenario)
Theater production
- Beauty and the Beast (1994; book)
- The Lion King (1997, production assistance)
- Aida (2000; book)
- Lestat (2003; book)
Novel
- Star Wind (1986)
- Running Before the Wind (1987)
Television
- Wildfire (1986, author, 2 episodes)
- Star Wars: Ewoks (1986, author, 2 episodes)
- My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986, author; 2 episodes are presented as two parts of one)
- Dennis the Menace (1986, author, 65 episodes with three individual segments each)
- Popples (1986)
- The Real Ghostbusters (1987, author, 1 episode)
- Teen Wolf (1986-1987, author, 8 episodes)
- Kids Pail Trash (1987, author: 2 episodes)
- CBS Storybreak (1988, author, 1 episode)
- Raggedy Ann and Andy's Adventure (1988)
- Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (1989, author: 1 episode)
- Cave of the Bear Cave (2015; writer and producer-executive, TV movie)
Awards and nominations
- Tony Award
- Nominations for Best Musical Books for Beauty and the Beast (1994)
- Laurence Olivier Award
- WINNER for Best New Musical for Beauty and the Beast (1998)
- Newport Beach Film Festival
- WINNER for Extraordinary Contributions for Script Writing (2016)
References
External links
- Linda Woolverton on IMDb
- Playbill.com
- Linda Woolverton Video produced by Maker: Women Who Make America
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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