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Stephen Keith Kloves[1] (born March 18, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He wrote and directed the 1989 film The Fabulous Baker Boys and is mainly known for his screenplay adaptations of novels, especially for all but one of the Harry Potter films (the exception being Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and for Wonder Boys, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Life and career[]

Kloves, born in Austin, Texas, grew up in Sunnyvale, California,[2] where he graduated from Fremont High School. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles but dropped out when he was not admitted into the film school in his third year.[2] As an unpaid intern for a Hollywood agent, he gained attention for a screenplay he wrote called Swings. This led to a meeting where he successfully pitched Racing with the Moon (1984).[2]

His first experience with professional screenwriting left him wanting more interaction with the actors so that the characters would stay true to his vision.[2] Kloves wrote The Fabulous Baker Boys and also intended it to be his directorial debut. After years of trying to sell the project in Hollywood, the film finally got off the ground and was released in 1989.[2] The Fabulous Baker Boys did reasonably well and was critically acclaimed, but his next shot as writer/director for Flesh and Bone in 1993 fared poorly at the box office. Kloves then stopped writing for three years.[2]

Realizing that he had to return to writing to support his family, he began adapting Michael Chabon's novel Wonder Boys into a screenplay.[2] Kloves was offered the chance to direct but he declined, preferring to direct only his own original work.[2] This was his first try at adapting another work to film.[2] His screenplay was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award after the film's release in 2000.

Warner Bros. sent Kloves a list of novels that the company was considering to adapt as films. The listing included the first Harry Potter novel, which intrigued him despite his usual indifference to these catalogs.[2] He went on to write the screenplays for the first four films in the series. However, he turned down writing the fifth film, stating that "The fourth film, Goblet of Fire, was really hard to do. I wrote on it for two years. But it’s not that simple and I don't know that I'll ever fully understand why I didn't do it."[3] After Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay for the fifth film, Kloves then returned to write the sixth, seventh and eighth installments.

In 2011, Kloves was attached to work on a film adaptation of Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Since 2016, Kloves produced the Fantastic Beasts films, a spinoff prequel series to the main Harry Potter series. Kloves co-wrote the third installment with J.K. Rowling.[4]

Kloves produced the Andy Serkis-directed movie, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. His daughter, Callie, wrote the screenplay.[5]

Filmography[]

Year Title Director Writer Producer
1984 Racing with the Moon No Yes No
1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys Yes Yes No
1993 Flesh and Bone Yes Yes No
2000 Wonder Boys No Yes No
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone No Yes No
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets No Yes No
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban No Yes No
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire No Yes No
2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince No Yes No
2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 No Yes No
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 No Yes No
2012 The Amazing Spider-Man No Yes No
2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them No No Yes
2018 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald No No Yes
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle No No Yes
2022 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore No Yes Yes
TBA The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Yes Yes No

Special thanks

  • Fantastic Mr. Fox (2008)
  • Alpha (2018)

Awards and nominations[]

Year Title Awards/Nominations
1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys Sutherland Trophy
Nominated– National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated– New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best New Director
Nominated– Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
2000 Wonder Boys Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
USC Scripter Award
Nominated– Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated– BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated– Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated– Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated– London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year
Nominated– Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated– National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated– Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated– Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated– Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Nominated– BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature Film
Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nominated– BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature Film
Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
Nominated– Saturn Award for Best Writing
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
Nominated– Saturn Award for Best Writing
2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form
Nominated– San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

References[]

  1. Van Gelder, Lawrence (2009). "Movies: AboutSteve Kloves". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2010.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Sragow, Michael (February 24, 2000). "A wizard of Hollywood!". Interview with Steve Kloves.
  3. Martin, Denise (June 17, 2009). "'Harry Potter' countdown: Steve Kloves on a 'haunting moment' in 'Half-Blood Prince'".
  4. "The third Fantastic Beasts film confirms new details including cast members and location | Wizarding World" (en). www.wizardingworld.com.
  5. "Callie Kloves".


External links[]

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