Lawrence Kasdan
Biography
Lawrence Kasdan is an American filmmaker who grew up in Morgantown, West Virginia and began writing screenplays at night while working as an advertising copywriter in Detroit. Steven Spielberg hired him to write Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and he went on to write The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), The Bodyguard (1992) and, decades later, The Force Awakens (2015) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He made his directorial debut with Body Heat (1981) and followed it with The Big Chill (1983), Silverado (1985), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Grand Canyon (1991) and Dreamcatcher (2003), often working with William Hurt and Kevin Kline. He received four Academy Award nominations, for The Accidental Tourist as producer and adapted screenwriter and for the original screenplays of The Big Chill and Grand Canyon, and won a Saturn Award for The Force Awakens.
77years old
Turns 78 on January 14in 94 days
- Born Miami
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
- Lawrence Edward Kasdan (birth name)
Movie Career
- Films
- 6
- Career span
- 29 years1997 to 2026
Genres
- Documentary83%, 5 films
- Comedy17%, 1 film
- Drama17%, 1 film
- Music17%, 1 film
- Romance17%, 1 film
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A role that slipped away
Kasdan wrote his sixth finished screenplay in 1975, about a singer who falls for her bodyguard. His agent Norman Kurland spent two years sending it around town, and it was turned down 67 times.
A role that slipped away
Kasdan turned down writing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom because he did not want to associate with it, seeing the film as "horrible, mean and unpleasant." Elements from his earlier Raiders draft ended up in the prequel.
Early training
Kasdan studied drama writing with Kenneth Thorpe Rowe at the University of Michigan, the same teacher who had taught Arthur Miller.
Lawrence Kasdan movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Laurent Bouzereau directed four of these films. Steven Spielberg appears in four of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Steven Spielberg's page
George Lucas's page
Kathleen Kennedy's page
John Rhys-Davies's page
Harrison Ford's page
Karen Allen's page
Laurent BouzereauDirector, 4 films, 2003 to 2024
All films by Laurent Bouzereau
Also two films together5 more actors
- Ron HowardMarty, Life Is Short (2026) and Music by John Williams (2024)
- Kate CapshawMusic by John Williams (2024) and Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023)
- John WilliamsMusic by John Williams (2024) and Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023)
- Frank MarshallTimeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023) and Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (2003)
- James MangoldMusic by John Williams (2024) and Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford (2023)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Awards
Three awards and honors from 1981 to 2006, one of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin Film Festival | |||
| 1992 | Golden Bear | Grand Canyon | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2006 | Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement | Won | |
| 1981 | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation | Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.