LAWRENCE KASDAN

'Lawrence Kasdan' (born 14 January, 1949, Miami, Florida) is an American movie producer, director and screenwriter. Raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he graduated from Morgantown High School in 1966, he went on to attend the University of Michigan as an education major.
After working as a freelance advertising copywriter, Kasdan's introduction into the film business came in the mid-1970s when he sold his script for ''The Bodyguard'' to Warner Bros. as a vehicle for Diana Ross. The script became stuck in "development hell" and became one of several scripts successively called "the best un-made film in Hollywood"; it was eventually produced as 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.
George Lucas commissioned Kasdan in 1979 to complete the screenplay for ''The Empire Strikes Back'' after the death of Leigh Brackett. Lucas then commissioned Kasdan to write the screenplay for ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' and the last installment of the Star Wars trilogy, ''Return of the Jedi''. Kasdan made his directing debut with ''Body Heat'' in 1981.
Kasdan is known for both writing and directing his films, which have ranged from Westerns to romantic comedies to, most prominently, thought-provoking dramas. He has received four Academy Award nominations, for screenplays to The Big Chill, Grand Canyon, and The Accidental Tourist, for which he also earned a nomination for Best Picture. He has cast Kevin Kline in five of his films.
He makes a cameo appearance in James L. Brooks' comedy ''As Good As It Gets'' as the fed-up psychiatrist of Jack Nicholson's novelist.
Kasdan is the father of directors/actors Jake and Jon Kasdan.

Contents

Filmography

Casting

External links

Filmography

Year	Title	Notes
1980	''The Empire Strikes Back''	writer
1981	''Raiders of the Lost Ark''	writer
	''Body Heat''	writer
	''Continental Divide''	writer
1983	''Return of the Jedi''	writer
	''The Big Chill''	writer, director, and executive producer
1985	''Silverado''	writer, director, and producer
1988	''The Accidental Tourist''	writer, director, and producer
1990	''I Love You to Death''	director
1991	''Grand Canyon''	writer, director, and producer
1992	''The Bodyguard''	writer and producer
1994	''Wyatt Earp''	writer, director, and producer
1995	''French Kiss''	director
1999	''Mumford''	writer and director
2003	''Dreamcatcher''	writer and director

Casting

Kasdan frequently casts actors he was worked with on previous movies, as shown below:

Actor	''Body Heat'' (1981)	''The Big Chill'' (1983)	''Silverado'' (1985)	''The Accidental Tourist'' (1988)	''I Love You to Death'' (1990)	''Grand Canyon'' (1991)	''Wyatt Earp'' (1994)	''French Kiss'' (1995)	''Mumford'' (1999)	''Dreamcatcher'' (2003)
Kevin Costner
Danny Glover
Jeff Goldblum
William Hurt
Kevin Kline
Jason Lee
Mary McDonnell
Bill Pullman
Tom Sizemore
Kathleen Turner
JoBeth Williams
Alfre Woodard

External links

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