Stephen Keith Kloves (born March 18, 1960) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He wrote and directed the 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 The Order of the Phoenix) and for Wonder Boys, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Early life Kloves, born in Austin, Texas, grew up in Sunnyvale, California, 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.

Career 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).

His first experience with professional screenwriting left him wanting more interaction with the actors so that the characters would stay true to his vision. 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. 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. Interview with Steve Kloves.

Realizing that he had to return to writing to support his family, he began adapting Michael Chabon's novel Wonder Boys into a screenplay. Kloves was offered the chance to direct but he declined, preferring to direct only his own original work. This was his first try at adapting another work to film. 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. 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." 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.

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

Kloves is now set to write the screenplay for the film adaptation of T. J. Newman's novel Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421 for Warner Bros.

Filmography Year Title Director Writer Producer 1984Racing with the Moon 1989The Fabulous Baker Boys 1993Flesh and Bone 2000Wonder Boys 2001Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2005Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2012The Amazing Spider-Man 2016Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2018Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle 2022Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Special thanks Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) Alpha (2018)

Awards and nominations Year Title Awards/Nominations 1989The Fabulous Baker BoysSutherland TrophyNominated– National Society of Film Critics Award for Best ScreenplayNominated– New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best New DirectorNominated– Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay 2000Wonder BoysBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best ScreenplayBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayUSC Scripter AwardNominated– Academy Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated– BAFTA Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated– Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ScreenplayNominated– Golden Globe Award for Best ScreenplayNominated– London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the YearNominated– Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ScreenplayNominated– National Society of Film Critics Award for Best ScreenplayNominated– Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ScreenplayNominated– Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated– Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay 2001Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Nominated– BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature FilmNominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation 2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nominated– BAFTA Children's Award for Best Feature FilmNominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form 2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long FormNominated– Saturn Award for Best Writing 2005Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long FormNominated– Saturn Award for Best Writing 2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long Form 2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 Nominated– Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation – Long FormNominated– San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay

References

External links

https://www.aglassofrain.com