Lawrence Konner

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Lawrence Konner
Born1950 (age 73–74)
United States
OccupationScreenwriter
Spouse(s)Ronnie Wenker (divorced)
Zoë Heller (separated)[1]
ChildrenJennifer and Jeremy (both with Wenker)

Lawrence Konner is an American screenwriter, producer and film director. Konner has written over twenty-five feature films, including Mona Lisa Smile, Planet of the Apes, The Legend of Billie Jean, The Jewel of the Nile, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Konner’s writing for television spans over forty-five years. His works include the HBO series The Sopranos, for which Konner earned an Emmy nomination in 2001, and Boardwalk Empire, for which he received the WGA Award for Best New Series in 2010. He was also nominated for an Emmy for his work as writer and executive producer on the 2016 miniseries Roots. Other television credits include Family and Little House on the Prairie.

In 1995, Konner produced and directed a documentary short, One Thing I Know, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Special Jury Prize at the USA Film Festival. In 2003, through his independent company, The Documentary Campaign, Konner produced Persons of Interest, a feature-length documentary about the illegal detentions of thousands of Muslims in the aftermath of September 11, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Amnesty International Humanitarian Award. In 2005, Konner produced the film Zizek!, a documentary that follows the philosopher Slavoj Žižek on a worldwide speaking tour.

Konner has taught screenwriting at Princeton University, Columbia University and Vassar College.

Biography[edit]

Screenwriter[edit]

Konner was raised in a Jewish family.[2] He began his career as a writer for television of the shows Little House on the Prairie, Family and Remington Steele.

Since then he has written episodes of the HBO series The Sopranos, one of which was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dramatic Writing. He was a writer and co-executive producer for the HBO series Boardwalk Empire. Most recently, he has been a writer and co-executive producer of the series Magic City, which premiered in January 2012 on the Starz channel.

In collaboration with Konner's movie-writing partner Mark Rosenthal, the two men first worked together on the motion picture The Legend of Billie Jean. This was followed by the films The Jewel of the Nile, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as the rebooted versions of The Beverly Hillbillies, Mighty Joe Young and Planet of the Apes. Other screenplays include Mona Lisa Smile, Flicka, and Mercury Rising.

Board of Directors of the Writers Guild of America[edit]

Konner was a member of the Board of Directors of The Writers Guild of America, and a former Creative Director at the Sundance Institute. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Personal life[edit]

His first wife was Ronnie Wenker; they had two children Jennifer and Jeremy before divorcing.[3] In 2006, he married journalist and novelist Zoë Heller in a "minimally" Jewish ceremony;[4] the couple had two daughters and separated in 2010.[1]

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Eden, Richard (December 12, 2010). "Notes on a Scandal author Zoë Heller 'leaves her Hollywood screenwriter husband". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  2. ^ Haaretz: "Superman, Man of Schlemiel? - Superman, the invention of two U.S. Jews, is a profoundly Jewish character whose film history is entwined with that of American Jewry" by Nathan Abrams June 16, 2013
  3. ^ Wenker-Konner, Ronnie; Appet, Leah (September 11, 2008). "A Picture of Health: A Stroke in Prime Time". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ McKay, Alastair (January 22, 2007). "Teacher-pupil affairs: That's not the real scandal". Evening Standard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.

External links[edit]

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