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Linda Woolverton

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Linda Woolverton
Born (1952-12-19) December 19, 1952 (age 71)
Long Beach, California, United States
Occupation
  • Screenwriter
  • playwright
  • novelist
Alma mater
GenreFantasy, fairy tale, comedy-drama
Notable works
Spouse
Lee Flicker
​
(divorced)​
Children1

Linda Woolverton (born December 19, 1952) is an American screenwriter, playwright, and novelist, whose most prominent works include the screenplays and books of several acclaimed Disney films and stage musicals. She is the first woman to have written an animated feature for Disney, Beauty and the Beast (1991),[1] which is also the first animated film ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. She also co-wrote the screenplay of The Lion King (1994), provided additional story material for Mulan (1998), and adapted her own Beauty and the Beast screenplay into the book of the Broadway adaptation of the film, for which she received a Tony Award nomination and won an Olivier Award.[2][3]

Her recent work includes the screenplays for Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Maleficent (2014), both of which were significant box office successes. The former made her the first female screenwriter with a sole writing credit on a film that grossed $1 billion.[4] She subsequently wrote the screenplays of the sequels for both of those films—Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).

Early life and education

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Woolverton was born in 1952 in Long Beach, California. As a child, she began acting in the local children's theater as an escape from what she has described as a "traumatic childhood."[1] She graduated from high school in 1969 with honors in the school's theater program. She attended California State University, Long Beach, graduating with a BFA in Theater Arts in 1973. After the college graduation, she attended the California State University, Fullerton. She received her Master's degree in theater for children in 1979.[5]

Career

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First works

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Upon the completion of her master's degree, Woolverton formed her own children's theater company. She wrote, directed and performed all over California in churches, malls, schools, and local theaters. She also began to work as a creative drama instructor in 1979.[5] In 1980, she began working as a secretary for CBS, where she eventually became a programming executive concentrating on both children's and late-night programming. During her lunch breaks, Woolverton wrote her first novel, the young adult Star Wind. After quitting her job in 1984 and starting working as a substitute teacher, she wrote her second novel, the also young adult Running Before the Wind.[6] Released in 1986 and 1987, respectively, both were published by Houghton Mifflin.

During this time, Woolverton began penning scripts for children's television shows. From 1986 to 1989, she wrote episodes for animated series as Star Wars: Ewoks, Dennis the Menace, The Real Ghostbusters, The Berenstain Bears, My Little Pony and Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.[5] After growing tired of writing for animated television shows, she expressed interest in working for Disney's theatrical animation studio, but was discouraged by her agent, who assessed that she "wasn't ready." Not agreeing with it, Woolverton went over to Disney offices in Burbank, California, and dropped off a copy of Running Before the Wind to a secretary, asking her to "give it to somebody to read."[6] Two days later, she received a call from Jeffrey Katzenberg, then-Disney studio chairman, scheduling her for an interview.[6][7]

Works for Disney

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Woolverton was hired to write the script for Disney Feature Animation's Beauty and the Beast, thus becoming the first woman to write an animated feature for the studio.[1] From early 1985 to 1988, two different teams of writers had taken a turn at adapting Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont's tale into a feature film, but Woolverton succeeded by incorporating her own ideas into the story, such as making the protagonist a bookworm. Upon its release in 1991, Beauty and the Beast received universal acclaim, becoming the first animated film ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

The success of Beauty and the Beast led Woolverton to work in several projects with Disney. She co-wrote the screenplay of the live-action film Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, released in 1993, and worked again with Disney Animation by helping the pre-production story development of Aladdin, released in 1992, and co-writing the screenplay of The Lion King, released in 1994. Aladdin and The Lion King were both critical and box office hits. During this time, she also adapted her own Beauty and the Beast screenplay into a Broadway musical, which opened to critical acclaim in 1994, leading her to be nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book in a Musical and to win an Olivier Award for Best New Musical.[2][3] She provided additional story material for Mulan, released in 1998, and co-wrote the book of the stage musical Aida, which opened on Broadway in 2000 to critical acclaim.

In 2007, she completed a screenplay where an older Alice, from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, returns to Wonderland, from an idea she had in her head for many years. She presented the screenplay to producers Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd, and Joe Roth, who took it to Disney. The studio immediately accepted the project, attaching Tim Burton to direct.[8] Released in 2010, Alice in Wonderland earned more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office, making Woolverton the first female screenwriter with a sole writing credit on a film that grossed $1 billion.[4]

In 2010, Disney invited her to write the screenplay of Maleficent, a retelling of the animated film Sleeping Beauty from the point of view of the titular villain. As with Beauty and the Beast, the film had been in development hell until Woolverton was attached to write it. She later described her version of the tale as a complete "reinvention, not just the retelling of the same story."[9] Maleficent was released in 2014.[10][11]

She subsequently wrote the screenplays of the sequels for both of those films—Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019).[12][13]

Other works

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Woolverton wrote the book of the Broadway musical Lestat, an adaptation of The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, which pre-debuted in 2005 in San Francisco to become the highest-earning pre-Broadway play in the city's history. The musical opened on Broadway in 2006. She co-wrote the narration script of the National Geographic theatrical documentary film Arctic Tale, released in 2007. In 2014, she announced that she was pitching a pilot for a television series.[14][15][16] It was later announced that Lifetime had decided to adapt the novel The Clan of the Cave Bear with Woolverton as executive-producer of the series and writer of the pilot episode.[17] The adaptation eventually was released as a television film.

Themes

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"Strong female characters"

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"[A strong female character] means somebody who is proactive in their world, who affects their world, isn't a victim, even victimized by it — or if they are victimized by it, they take action to change that for themselves. They look at the world in interesting ways, maybe another way than the culture does. That makes a strong woman if she’s vocal about it, or even goes about trying to make change without being vocal about it. There are so many interesting ways to describe women besides just strong, even this pure difficult strength. It's strong-willed."
— Woolverton on the "strong female character" trope.[18]

Woolverton's works are known for their "strong female characters."[19] She is recognized for having paved the way inside Disney for the creation of strong female protagonists, mainly due to her writing of Belle, the protagonist of Beauty and the Beast. Belle is an intelligent and strong young woman, a Disney heroine who does "something other than wait for her prince to come."[1] Empire hailed Belle as "a feminist heroine who [is] more rounded than previous Disney characters."[20] Woolverton herself said that Belle "moved us forward a few inches. She was a reader. She didn't rely on her beauty to get herself through the world. She wasn't a victim waiting for her prince to come. She was a proactive character."[21]

In Alice in Wonderland, she gave the protagonist Alice Kingsleigh an adventurous, inquisitive, nonconforming personality, which leads the character to question the values of the Victorian society, and ultimately dismantle an engagement to become a world explorer. For this, Elle said: "In her version of Wonderland, she [Woolverton] gave audiences a female character that was not dependent on a man for happiness or commercial success."[4] Describing her work in the film, Woolverton said: "My whole point in Alice was that you have to forge your own path. You can't go down anybody else's [road]. It's your dream; it's your life. You don't have to be told by other people what to make of yourself. You decide."[21]

Reflecting on her female characters, Woolverton said: "I came up as a feminist, in my day. And when I was first approached to do Beauty and the Beast, I knew that you couldn’t do a throwback Disney victim/heroine. We weren’t going to buy it as women after a whole awakening in the 70s. No one is going to accept that. So that started me on a path at relooking at these Disney princesses in a sort of different way. I feel that you have to have an empowering message or you’re not going to be relevant. If you don't stay relevant to how people are and how women are approaching life now, it’s not going to feel true."[22]

Personal life

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Woolverton is divorced from producer Lee Flicker, with whom she has a daughter, named Keaton,[6] born in 1991.[23] She lives in Hancock Park, Los Angeles,[6] and has two dogs.[16] She is represented by United Talent Agency.[24]

Filmography

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Film writer

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Year Title Director Notes
1991 Beauty and the Beast Gary Trousdale
Kirk Wise
1993 Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey Duwayne Dunham
1994 The Lion King Roger Allers
Rob Minkoff
2007 Arctic Tale Adam Ravetch
Sarah Robertson 		Narration script
2010 Alice in Wonderland Tim Burton
2014 Maleficent Robert Stromberg
2016 Alice Through the Looking Glass James Bobin
2019 Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Joachim Rønning Also executive producer

Theatrical productions

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Year Title Notes
1994 Beauty and the Beast Book by
1997 The Lion King Adapted from the screenplay by
2000 Aida Book by
2005 Lestat Book by

Novels

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Year Title Publisher ISBN Pages
1986 Star Wind Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 978-0-3-9541454-5 192
1987 Running Before the Wind 978-0-3-9542116-1 168

TV writer

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Year Title Notes
1986 Wildfire 2 episodes
Star Wars: Ewoks 2 episodes
My Little Pony 'n Friends 2 episodes
Dennis the Menace 65 episodes
Popples
1986–1987 The Berenstain Bears 3 episodes
Teen Wolf 8 episodes
1987 Garbage Pail Kids 2 episodes
1988 CBS Storybreak 1 episode
The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy
1989 Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 1 episode
2015 The Clan of the Cave Bear TV movie;
Also executive producer

Awards and nominations

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Tony Award
Laurence Olivier Award
Newport Beach Film Festival
  • WINNER for Outstanding Contribution to Screenwriting (2016)[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Dutka, Elaine (January 19, 1992). "MOVIES: Ms. Beauty and the Beast". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "List of 1994 Tony Award Nominations With AM-Tony Nominations". Associated Press. May 16, 1994. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "OLIVIER AWARDS – Best Musicals Winners". West End Theatre. June 13, 2010. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Terrill, Ashley (November 8, 2010). "LADIES, LEADING: From screenwriters to cinematographers, 15 top-tier trailblazers making behind-the-scenes movie magic". Elle. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "The Lion King: Production Notes" (Press release). Walt Disney Pictures. May 25, 1994. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2020 – via LionKing.org.
  6. ^ a b c d e Woolard, John (September 8, 1996). "Life is a fairy tale for Disney screenwriter Linda Woolverton". Star-Banner. p. 2D. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2014 – via Google News Archive.
  7. ^ Senger, Amy (April 28, 2014). "2014 Newport Beach Film Festival: A Talk With 'Maleficent' Screenwriter Linda Woolverton". Pacific Punch. Archived from the original on May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Linda Woolverton (February 8, 2010). "'Alice in Wonderland' screenwriter is ready for haters: 'It's audacious, what we've done'". Hero Complex (Interview). Interviewed by Geoff Boucher. Archived from the original on December 6, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  9. ^ Kang, Inkoo (April 24, 2014). "Angelina Jolie and Linda Woolverton Talk Maleficent in New Featurette". Women and Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  10. ^ Maison, Jordan (April 9, 2012). "Disney Sets Release Date for Maleficent". Cinelinx | Movies. Games. Geek Culture. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Taylor, Kate (May 29, 2014). "Why Angelina Jolie's Maleficent is magnificent". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 13, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin; Graser, Marc (December 7, 2012). "Disney mad for 'Alice in Wonderland' sequel". Variety. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
  13. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 15, 2015). "'Maleficent' Sequel On Disney Drawing Board As Linda Woolverton Makes Scripting Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  14. ^ Shaw, Lucas (May 30, 2014). "Will the 'Maleficent' and 'Lion King' Writer Finally Get to Direct Her Own Epic?". TheWrap. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  15. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan. "Maleficent Writer Linda Woolverton on Adapting Fairy Tales for a New Generation". Women and Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Gachman, Dina (May 30, 2014). "Spotlight: Maleficent Writer Linda Woolverton on Working with Angelina Jolie and Turning a Villain into a Hero". Studio System News. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  17. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (July 9, 2014). "Lifetime Adapting 'Clan of the Cave Bear' With Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Allison Shearmur". Variety. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  18. ^ Erbland, Kate (October 17, 2019). "Disney's Most Valuable Screenwriter Has Had Enough of the 'Strong Female' Trope". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  19. ^ Rothman, Lily (May 30, 2014). "The Same Woman Wrote Maleficent and Beauty and the Beast—Here's How They're Linked". Time. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  20. ^ Cochrane, Emma. "Beauty And The Beast". Empire. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
  21. ^ a b Silverstein, Melissa (October 7, 2014). "Makers Presents 'Women in Hollywood'; 'Maleficent' Screenwriter Linda Woolverton on What's Changed and What Hasn't". Women and Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  22. ^ "The Impact of Legendary Linda Woolverton, Writer of Maleficent". Wide Lantern. June 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  23. ^ Fallon, Kevin (June 1, 2014). "The 'Maleficent' Screenwriter also Wrote 'The Lion King' and 'Beauty and the Beast'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  24. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 16, 2020). "UTA Signs 'Beauty And The Beast' Screenwriter Linda Woolverton". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  25. ^ "The Newport Beach Film Festival will Honor Outstanding Contribution to Global Cinema in a Special Celebration at the Balboa Bay Resort Saturday, April 23, 2016". The Newport Beach Film Festival. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
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