Frank Daniel facts for kids

Frank Daniel (born František Daniel, April 14, 1926 – February 29, 1996) was a very important Czech-American person in the world of movies. He was a talented screenwriter, a film director, and a beloved teacher. Frank Daniel is famous for creating a special way to think about screenwriting called the "sequence paradigm." This idea helps break down a movie's story into eight smaller parts, making it easier to build a great film.

He helped lead film programs at big universities like Columbia University and was a top leader (called a dean) at famous film schools such as FAMU in Prague, the American Film Institute, and the USC School of Cinema-Television. He also guided the artistic side of the Sundance Institute, which helps new filmmakers.

Frank Daniel's Life Story

Growing Up in Czechoslovakia

František Daniel was born in a town called Kolín in Czechoslovakia. Before he started studying film, he earned a master's degree in music. He then went to a film school in Moscow called VGIK.

Daniel worked at a big movie studio called Barrandov Studios. He wrote movie scripts and taught screenwriting at FAMU in Prague. Some of his students became very famous directors, like Miloš Forman and Věra Chytilová. In 1959, he had to leave Barrandov because some of the movies he worked on were criticized for having "liberal tendencies." This meant his ideas were seen as too modern or different by some officials.

In 1956, Daniel and Miloš Kratochvíl wrote a textbook about screenwriting called Cesta za filmovým dramatem. Later, in 1965, he produced a movie called The Shop on Main Street. This film was a huge success and won an Oscar for the best foreign language film. In 1968, he became the main leader (dean) of the film school at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Moving to the United States

Frank Daniel first visited the United States to study how film education worked there. He was asked by the Ford Foundation to give ideas on how to make it better. Daniel then moved to the United States in 1969 because of political changes in Czechoslovakia.

In 1969, he became the very first leader (dean) of the American Film Institute. There, he taught future famous directors like David Lynch and Terrence Malick.

After leaving the Institute in 1976, he taught at Carleton College in Minnesota. In 1978, he moved to Columbia University. There, he worked with his former student, Miloš Forman, to lead the film program. When actor Robert Redford started the Sundance Institute in 1981, Daniel was chosen to be its first Artistic Director. He helped guide the creative direction of Sundance for more than ten years.

He taught at Columbia University until 1986. After that, he became the dean of the USC School of Cinema-Television. He stepped down from that role in 1990 but kept teaching screenwriting. He also continued to help develop new movie scripts.

Frank Daniel was an advisor to important groups like the Rockefeller Foundation. He was also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which gives out the Oscars) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (which gives out the Emmys). He was married twice and had two sons, Michal and Martin.

Daniel lived in Palm Springs, California, until he passed away on February 29, 1996. He was 69 years old when he died from a heart attack. He is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.

His Books

Frank Daniel wrote several books, including:

• 1956 Zlatá zeď (Golden Wall) – This was a novel based on his experiences in China.
• 1956 Cesta za filmovým dramatem (The Path to Film Drama) – A book about how to write movie scripts.
• 1957 Stručný přehled vývoje evropských dramatických teorií (The Compact Overview of European Dramatic Theories) – A look at different ideas about drama from Europe.

Films He Worked On

Here are some of the films Frank Daniel worked on:

• Není stále zamračeno (1950), Screenwriter
• O věcech nadpřirozených (1958), Screenwriter
• Kam čert nemůže aka When the Woman Butts In (1959), Screenwriter
• Spadla z Měsíce (1961), Screenwriter
• Hledá se táta (1961), Director/Screenwriter
• Prosím, nebudit (1962), Screenwriter
• Deštivý den (1962), Screenwriter
• Letos v září (1963), Director
• Dva tygři (1966), Screenwriter
• Last Rose from Casanova (1966), Screenwriter
• Přísně tajné premiéry (1967), Screenwriter
• The Shop on Main Street (1968), Producer
• In the Wee Wee Hours... (1987), Producer