Frank Darabont facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frank Darabont
Darabont at the 2011 PaleyFest
Born	Ferenc Árpád Darabont (1959-01-28) January 28, 1959 (age 66) Montbéliard, France
Other names	Frank A. Darabont Ardeth Bey
Citizenship	USA
Education	Hollywood High School
Occupation	Screenwriter director producer
Years active	1981–present
Spouse(s)	Sara Rae Darabont

Frank Árpád Darabont (born Ferenc Árpád Darabont on January 28, 1959) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is well-known for making movies based on Stephen King's books.

He has been nominated for three Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) and a Golden Globe Award. Early in his career, he mostly wrote scary movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987) and The Blob (1988). As a director, he's famous for films like The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007).

Darabont also helped create and produce the first two seasons of the popular zombie TV show The Walking Dead (2010–2011) for AMC.

Frank Darabont's Early Life

Darabont was born in a refugee camp in Montbéliard, France, in 1959. His parents had to leave Hungary after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They brought their five brothers, four sisters, and three cousins with them.

When Frank was a baby, his family moved to the United States. They first lived in Chicago and then moved to Los Angeles when he was five. As a young person, he was inspired to work in film after seeing the movie THX 1138 by George Lucas.

Darabont finished Hollywood High School in 1977. He did not go to college. His first job was at the famous Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. He worked at the snack bar and as an usher. He was happy because he could watch many movies for free. He says he learned to write by spending "endless hours" writing stories on a typewriter.

Frank Darabont's Career in Film and TV

Starting Out in Movies

Frank Darabont's first film was a short movie based on Stephen King's story "The Woman in the Room". This film was one of the first "Dollar Babies". These are special deals where King lets young filmmakers adapt his stories for just one dollar. This short film was even considered for an Academy Award in 1983.

Even though Darabont wasn't completely happy with his short film, it led to a strong connection with Stephen King. King then gave him the rights to another one of his stories, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption. This story was from King's book Different Seasons.

Darabont also worked with writer Chuck Russell. They planned to remake the movie The Blob. But first, they were hired to rewrite the script for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. They had only two weeks but finished in ten days! Because that movie was a success, they were able to make their The Blob remake. Darabont also wrote The Fly II and an early version of The Rocketeer.

Darabont directed his first movie, Buried Alive, for TV in 1990. He also wrote many episodes for George Lucas's TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He also wrote two episodes for the scary TV show Tales from the Crypt.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Darabont used his deal with Stephen King to write and direct The Shawshank Redemption. Another director, Rob Reiner, offered Darabont a lot of money to let him direct it instead. Reiner wanted to cast Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford. Darabont thought about it, but he decided it was his "chance to do something really great" by directing it himself.

The movie didn't make a lot of money at first. But critics and audiences loved it. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Darabont was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. After the Oscar nominations, more people watched it. It became the most rented movie of 1995. Today, many people think it is one of the greatest films ever made.

The Green Mile (1999)

Darabont's next movie as a director was another Stephen King story, The Green Mile. It starred Tom Hanks. At first, Darabont wasn't sure about making this movie because it seemed similar to Shawshank. But he changed his mind after reading the book.

Tom Hanks and Darabont wanted to work together. Stephen King had even imagined Hanks in the main role. The film was nominated for Best Picture. Darabont was nominated for his second Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This movie was the highest-earning film based on a Stephen King novel for a long time, making over $286 million worldwide.

The Majestic (2001)

In 2001, Darabont directed The Majestic. It starred Jim Carrey, Martin Landau, and Laurie Holden. Darabont often worked with these actors. His high school friend, Michael Sloane, wrote the script. This was one of the few movies Darabont directed but didn't write himself.

Darabont wanted to direct it as a "love letter" to movies he admired, like those by Frank Capra. The movie got mixed reviews and didn't make much money.

The Mist (2007)

Darabont had wanted to direct The Mist even before The Shawshank Redemption. But he kept putting it off. He finally started writing the script in 2004. Many of the people who worked on the film had worked on the TV series The Shield. Darabont hired them because he thought they could help make the movie feel more real.

Darabont also helped design the creatures in the film. He worked with artists like Jordu Schell and Bernie Wrightson. The special effects were done by Cafe FX after Darabont asked director Guillermo del Toro for advice.

The movie did well enough at the box office and got good reviews. Stephen King even praised Darabont's new ending. He said, "The ending is such a jolt—wham! It's frightening." A special DVD version of the film was released in black-and-white, which was how Darabont had always wanted it to be seen.

The Walking Dead (2010–2011)

Frank Darabont and Drew Struzan signing a poster for The Walking Dead in 2010.

Darabont helped create and produce the first season of The Walking Dead. This popular AMC series is based on Robert Kirkman's comic book series. Darabont first found the comic books in 2005. Kirkman was very happy that Darabont was interested. He said Darabont "definitely cares about the original source material."

Darabont first tried to make the show with NBC, but they said no. He then took it to AMC, who decided to make it because of the comic books and Darabont's involvement. Darabont wrote and directed the first episode, called "Days Gone Bye". He was also an executive producer for the first season. Many actors he had worked with before, like Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, and Melissa McBride, appeared in the series.

The show received great reviews when it first aired. The first episode had 5.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched first episode for any AMC show. In 2011, Darabont left his role as the show's main producer. He later filed a lawsuit against AMC, and they settled it by paying him a large amount of money.

Mob City (2013)

After leaving The Walking Dead, Darabont made a deal with TNT to create a new TV series called Mob City. It was based on a book by John Buntin. Darabont found the book at LAX Airport and read it all in two days. He decided to turn it into a TV show because he had always wanted to make a film noir (a type of crime drama).

Darabont cast Jon Bernthal, who he had worked with on The Walking Dead, in the main role. Other actors Darabont often worked with, like Jeffrey DeMunn and Alexa Davalos, also joined the show. The series had six episodes and premiered in December 2013. It received mixed to good reviews but was cancelled after one season.

Other Projects and Collaborations

Frank Darabont has worked on many other projects. He was a "script doctor" for big movies like Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Minority Report. A script doctor helps improve movie scripts. In 2002, he wrote an early version of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but it was not used.

He also produced the 2002 film The Salton Sea. Darabont has also tried to make movies based on the books The Long Walk by Stephen King and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. He still hopes to make these films someday.

In 1994, the movie Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which Darabont wrote, was released. He felt it was his best script, but he was unhappy with how the director changed it.

In 2004, Tom Cruise hired Darabont to write Mission: Impossible III, but that script was also rewritten. Darabont also wrote the introduction for a Hellboy novel. In 2005, his own short story, Walpuski's Typewriter, was published.

Darabont has also directed episodes for TV shows like The Shield and Raines. He even appeared as himself in two episodes of the TV series Entourage.

In 2012, Darabont received the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the Austin Film Festival. In 2013, he lent his voice to a longer version of the World War Z audio book.

Darabont was hired to rewrite the script for the 2014 Godzilla movie. He wanted to make Godzilla a "terrifying force of nature" again. The director of the film, Gareth Edwards, said Darabont wrote the most emotional scene in the movie.

In 2014, Darabont was chosen to direct The Huntsman: Winter's War, a movie connected to Snow White and the Huntsman. However, he left the project in 2015 due to creative differences.

In 2021, Darabont shared that he had written a script for a film about the American Civil War. He believes it's the best script he has ever written, but it has not yet been made into a movie.

Actors Frank Darabont Works With Often

Frank Darabont often works with the same actors in his movies and TV shows. This table shows some of the actors who have appeared in his different projects:

Frank Darabont's Film and TV Work

Movies He Directed, Wrote, or Produced

Other Writing Work (sometimes uncredited)

Cameo Appearances in Movies

Television Shows He Directed, Wrote, or Produced

Cameo Appearances in TV Shows

Awards and Nominations

Frank Darabont has received many awards and nominations for his work:

See also

In Spanish: Frank Darabont para niños