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A filmmaker who earned an Academy Award and BAFTA for producing Shakespeare in Love.
Edward Zwick is an American filmmaker born on October 8, 1952, who has worked primarily in the comedy drama and epic historical film genres. He received an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his work producing Shakespeare in Love (1998). His film debut was the comedy About Last Night (1986), followed by Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). Later films include Love & Other Drugs (2010), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016). He is also the co-creator of the ABC family drama series thirtysomething and Once and Again.
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Lore & Background
Edward M. Zwick was born on October 8, 1952, into a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Ruth Ellen (née Reich) and Allen Zwick. He attended New Trier High School, received a B.A. at Harvard in 1974, and graduated from the AFI Conservatory with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1975. Despite sharing a surname and profession, Edward is unrelated to fellow director Joel Zwick. He has been married to actress Liberty Godshall since 1982, and they have two grown children. Along with Marshall Herskovitz, Zwick runs The Bedford Falls Company (named after the town in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life). The film production company has produced such films as Traffic and Shakespeare in Love and the TV shows thirtysomething, Relativity, Once and Again, and My So-Called Life.
Reader's Guide
Zwick's films include Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). Under Zwick's direction, actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles. His memoir, published on February 13, 2024, is titled Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood (New York: Gallery Books, ISBN 9781668046999, OCLC 1384411519).
Elsewhere in Defiance of the Fall
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