Anthony McCarten facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anthony McCarten
Anthony McCarten in 2012
Born	(1961-04-28) 28 April 1961 (age 64) New Plymouth, New Zealand
Occupation	Screenwriter novelist playwright journalist film director film producer
Alma mater	Massey University Victoria University of Wellington

Anthony McCarten (born April 28, 1961) is a talented writer and filmmaker from New Zealand. He is famous for writing movies about real people's lives, called biopics. Some of his most well-known films include The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), The Two Popes (2019), and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022).

McCarten has been nominated for four Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. He was nominated twice for writing the best adapted screenplay for The Theory of Everything and The Two Popes.

Early Life and Education

Anthony McCarten was born and grew up in New Plymouth, New Zealand. He went to Francis Douglas Memorial College. Before going to university, he worked as a reporter for a newspaper called The Taranaki Herald.

Later, he studied for an Arts degree at Massey University and Victoria University of Wellington. There, he learned creative writing from a famous writer named Bill Manhire. After finishing university, McCarten even acted in a play called King Lear.

McCarten's Creative Career

Anthony McCarten is a very busy writer. He writes novels, movie scripts, and plays for the theatre.

Writing Novels

McCarten has written ten novels. His books have been translated into 26 different languages, meaning people all over the world can read them!

His first novel, Spinners (published in 2000), was chosen as one of the top ten novels of that year by Esquire magazine. In 2002, he published his second novel, The English Harem. He later turned this book into a TV movie, which was shown in 2005.

In 2007, he wrote Death of a Superhero. He then adapted it into a movie script and even helped produce the film. This book won an award in Austria for youth literature. His fourth novel, Show Of Hands, came out in 2009. McCarten also directed the movie version of this book. It was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the New Zealand Film Awards.

In 2013, McCarten published Brilliance. This book was about the famous inventor Thomas Edison and his friendship with J.P. Morgan. In 2017, he wrote a non-fiction book called Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought Us Back From The Brink. This book was later made into a movie.

Writing for Movies (Screenwriting)

Anthony McCarten is well-known for writing screenplays, which are the scripts for movies. He has written many successful films.

His movie Via Satellite (1999), which he also directed, was shown at many film festivals around the world. Another film he wrote and directed, Show of Hands (2008), was also shown at international film festivals.

In 2011, his movie Death of a Superhero, based on his own novel, won several awards at film festivals.

The Theory of Everything

McCarten wrote and helped produce The Theory of Everything (2014). This movie tells the story of the brilliant scientist Stephen Hawking and his first wife, Jane Hawking. McCarten worked for many years to get the rights to Jane Hawking's book and turn it into a screenplay.

This film received five Academy Award nominations. McCarten himself was nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. He also won two BAFTA awards (British Academy Film Awards) for Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Darkest Hour

In 2017, McCarten wrote and co-produced Darkest Hour. This movie is about Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. The actor Gary Oldman played Churchill and won many awards for his performance.

Darkest Hour received six Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture for McCarten as a producer. He was also nominated for two BAFTA awards.

Bohemian Rhapsody

McCarten wrote Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), a movie about the famous rock band Queen. This film was a huge success! It reached number one at the box office in many countries.

It became one of the highest-earning drama films ever. It won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (drama) in 2019 and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The Two Popes

In 2019, he wrote the script for The Two Popes. This movie was based on his own stage play. It stars Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI and Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis. The film was first shown at the Telluride Film Festival.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

McCarten also wrote the screenplay for the movie Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022). This film tells the life story of the famous singer Whitney Houston. He also helped produce the movie.

Writing for Theatre

Anthony McCarten has also had great success writing plays for the theatre. One of his early plays, Ladies Night, became very popular internationally.

He wrote the story for A Beautiful Noise, a Broadway musical about the singer Neil Diamond. This musical started in New York in December 2022. He also wrote the plays The Collaboration and The Pope (which is also known as The Two Popes).

Personal Life

Anthony McCarten lives in different places around the world. He divides his time between London, Los Angeles, and Munich. He has three children.

Selected Works

Films

Television

Theatre

Awards and Nominations