Bill Condon

Biography

William "Bill" Condon (born October 22, 1955, in New York City) is an American screenwriter and director best known for acclaimed films such as Gods and Monsters, Chicago, Kinsey, Dreamgirls and the two parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Working mostly within mainstream studio cinema and adult-oriented drama, he has built a reputation for adapting source material, from novels to Broadway musicals.

Raised in an Irish Catholic household in New York, Condon was drawn to screenwriting at twelve after seeing Bonnie and Clyde. He studied philosophy at Columbia University, graduating in 1976, and then worked as a journalist for film magazines such as American Film and Millimeter. His screenwriting career started with low-budget genre films, including Strange Behavior (1981) and Strange Invaders (1983), which starred Nancy Allen and Wallace Shawn.

His directorial debut, Sister, Sister (1987), was a Southern Gothic mystery that failed with critics and set back his career. He then worked for several years on made-for-television thrillers, including Murder 101 (1991), which earned him an Edgar Award for its screenplay. Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), a horror sequel, was also a disappointment. His breakthrough came with Gods and Monsters (1998), which he wrote and directed from a novel by Christopher Bram, and which won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Kinsey (2004), about the sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, followed, as did Dreamgirls (2006), his adaptation of the Broadway musical, which earned a Golden Globe and nominations from the directors' and critics' groups. Chicago (2002), which earned him an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay, and The Greatest Showman (2017), on which he co-wrote the screenplay, show the same affinity for musicals. Among his literary adaptations are The Fifth Estate (2013), about WikiLeaks, and Mr. Holmes (2015), starring Ian McKellen, a reflection on aging and memory.

He directed both parts of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (2011 and 2012) and the live-action Beauty and the Beast (2017), Disney's remake of its animated classic. More recently he has been attached to projects still in development, including a version of Kiss of the Spider Woman. His legacy lies in carefully crafted adult films and a long commitment to screenwriting craft and the musical.

Key films

• Gods and Monsters (1998), writer and director; his screenplay won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
• Chicago (2002), adapted screenplay from the Broadway musical, earning an Oscar nomination.
• Kinsey (2004), writer and director of the story of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey.
• Dreamgirls (2006), writer and director of the Broadway musical adaptation, which received eight Oscar nominations.
• Beauty and the Beast (2017), director of the live-action version of the Disney classic.
• The Greatest Showman (2017), co-writer of the musical about P. T. Barnum.