Richard Glatzer facts for kids

Richard Glatzer (born January 28, 1952 – died March 10, 2015) was a talented American writer and director. He was known for making movies that explored important topics. He often worked with his husband, Wash Westmoreland.

Richard Glatzer's Early Life

Richard Glatzer was born in Flushing, Queens, New York. He grew up in Westbury, Long Island, and Livingston, New Jersey. He went to the University of Michigan and earned a bachelor's degree in 1973. Later, he received a PhD in English from the University of Virginia.

While at the University of Michigan, Glatzer watched many films. He studied them closely at campus film screenings. He became friends with Neal Gabler, who wrote film reviews for the school newspaper. Glatzer also organized a film festival for the director Frank Capra. He stayed friends with Capra for many years. Glatzer and John Raeburn even edited a book about Frank Capra's films.

Starting a Career in Film

Glatzer began working in the film world in the mid-1980s. He learned a lot from Jay and Lewis Allen. He worked on popular TV shows like Divorce Court, The Osbournes, and America's Next Top Model.

Glatzer used his TV experience to make his first independent film, Grief (1993). This movie was a comedy-drama. It was about a writer dealing with office life and other challenges. The film first showed at the Frameline Festival in San Francisco. It won the Audience Award for Best Picture there.

Richard Glatzer also taught screenwriting. He taught students at the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland were a married couple who wrote and directed films together. They lived in Los Angeles. Their last film was Still Alice, which starred Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. This movie was a big hit at the Toronto Film Festival in 2014. Sony Pictures Classics released the film in December 2014.

Later Film Projects

2006: Quinceañera

Quinceañera was made with a small budget, less than $500,000. Many of the actors were new to filmmaking. The movie won two big awards at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival: the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize. It also won the Humanitas Prize and the John Cassavetes Prize.

The film tells the story of a Mexican-American family. They are getting ready for their daughter's quinceañera, a special 15th birthday celebration. The movie was filmed entirely in Echo Park, where the directors lived. Critics gave Quinceañera very good reviews. The main actress, Emily Rios, later had a successful career. She appeared in shows like Friday Night Lights and Breaking Bad.

2008: Pedro

Glatzer and Westmoreland also worked on a movie called Pedro. This film was about Pedro Zamora, an AIDS activist. Pedro Zamora was famous for being on MTV's The Real World in 1993. The movie was directed by Nick Oceano.

Pedro was made for MTV, but it became popular at film festivals around the world. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007 and in Berlin in 2008. When it first aired on television, President Bill Clinton even recorded a special introduction for it.

2013: The Last of Robin Hood

Glatzer learned about a book called The Big Love from his mentor, Jay Presson Allen. The book was about actor Errol Flynn's last love story. Glatzer and Westmoreland started researching the story in 2003. They earned the trust of Beverly Aadland, Flynn's girlfriend's daughter.

They wrote the first version of the movie script in 2007. In 2011, things moved forward when Kevin Kline joined the project. Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler became producers. Susan Sarandon and Dakota Fanning were cast as the mother and daughter. The movie was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2013. Atlanta's locations were used to look like Los Angeles, New York, and other places.

The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. Critics had mixed feelings about it. Some praised Kevin Kline's acting, saying it was worthy of an Oscar. Others found the movie's message unclear.

2014: Still Alice

Still Alice is a film based on a 2007 book by Lisa Genova. It tells the story of a 50-year-old professor who gets early onset Alzheimer's disease. Glatzer and Westmoreland were hired in 2011 to turn the book into a movie. Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler joined as US producers.

Julianne Moore was the first choice to play Alice. Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth also joined the cast. Alec Baldwin completed the main actors; he had worked with Julianne Moore before.

Glatzer and Westmoreland changed the film's setting from Boston to New York. They also changed the university from Harvard to Columbia. Filming took only 23 days in March 2014.

Sony Pictures Classics released Still Alice in December 2014. Richard Glatzer was living with ALS, a serious illness, at the time. Some critics felt there was a connection between his own health battle and the honest way illness was shown in the film. Julianne Moore won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. She dedicated her award to Richard Glatzer.

Personal Life and Passing

Richard Glatzer married writer and director Wash Westmoreland in September 2013. On March 10, 2015, he passed away. He died from problems related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Awards and Recognition

• 1993 San Francisco Frameline Festival: Best Movie – "Grief" (1993)