Pleasantville

Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956) is an American writer, director, and actor. He is best known for directing Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, both of which featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role. He is also the director and co-screenwriter of the film, The Hunger Games, which was released on March 23, 2012.

Life and career

Ross was born in Castro Valley, California, the son of screenwriter Arthur A. Ross. Ross is Jewish.

Screenwriter

Ross’s first produced screenplay was 1988’s Big, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also received a Best Original Screenplay nomination for 1993’s Dave. He wrote early drafts of 1992’s Mr. Baseball and 1994’s Lassie. He wrote the screenplay for 1998’s Pleasantville, which also marked his directorial debut. In 2003, he wrote, directed and produced Seabiscuit based on Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He wrote the screenplay for 2008’s The Tale of Despereaux based on the Newbery Medal-winning children’s book by Kate DiCamillo. He has also written the screenplay for the forthcoming remake of 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon on which his father was a screenwriter. He has written scripts titled Dog Years and The Free State of Jones which have not yet been produced as feature films. He also co-wrote the film, The Hunger Games, with Suzanne Collins, who wrote the novel which the film is based on.

Director

Ross started directing with the film Pleasantville, which was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Original Score. In 2003, he directed, produced and wrote the film Seabiscuit, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Ross recently directed the movie adaptation of the novel The Hunger Games. However, Ross decided to step down as director for the film’s sequel, Catching Fire, though it’s unknown wheather he’d reprise his role as co-screenwriter.

Producer

Ross has produced several films starting with the 1988 film Big, which he co-produced. Ross produced more films, including Trial and Error (1997) and Pleasantville (1998), which he also wrote and directed. In 2003, he produced the film Seabiscuit, about the legendary race horse. He recently produced 2008’s The Tale of Despereaux, for which he also wrote the screenplay. He will also produce the forthcoming film The Black Lagoon. —Wikipedia