Josh Singer

Early life and education

Singer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised Jewish. His father was born Jewish, and his mother converted to Judaism (she herself was born to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother). Singer attended Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, where he appeared in musicals and was a member of math club, drama club, video club, and chorus. In high school, he was elected class treasurer, wrote for the school newspaper, and played for the school's baseball team. Singer won many awards, including the Upper Dublin Medal, science competition and literary prizes, and was co-winner of the school district's highest award. In his senior year, he was named class valedictorian, a Presidential Scholar and a National Merit Scholar.

Singer graduated magna cum laude from Yale University, with distinction in mathematics and economics. At Yale, he was a member and business manager of both The Whiffenpoofs and The Yale Alley Cats. Three to four months prior to going to graduate school, he worked for Children's Television Workshop (the name, at that time, of the production company for the TV show "Sesame Street",) and then began doing internships. He did an internship for Nickelodeon in New York and an internship for Disney Channel out in L.A., working for Roy Price at Disney TV Animation for four or five weeks. As a result, he developed an interest in script writing. He worked as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company before obtaining a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Career

After Singer graduated from Harvard, he was hired by showrunner John Wells to write for The West Wing.

In 2006 he was nominated for a WGA award.

Singer was hired in 2013 to write a screenplay for a Leonard Bernstein biopic, but the film languished in development hell for a decade. Eventually, Bradley Cooper was hired to direct the film, and the pair re-wrote Singer's script; they were eventually nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2012, Singer wrote the screenplay for The Fifth Estate. In 2015, he co-wrote the screenplay for Spotlight, for which he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Personal life

In 2011, Singer married the American novelist Laura Dave. They have one son and reside in Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Singer won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay for Spotlight in 2015 and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for the film. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for The Post in 2018. In 2023 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay alongside Bradley Cooper for the film Maestro.

References

References

1. (June 19, 2016). "Interview: Spotlight writer Josh Singer".
2. Holmes, Kristen. (May 27, 1990). "Another Feather In Cap Of Former 'Nerd'". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
3. "The Art of Adaptation The Fifth Estate". The writing studio.
4. (That production company is now called "[[Sesame Workshop]]")
5. Erbland, Kate. (November 4, 2015). "How 'Spotlight' Screenwriter Josh Singer Recovered From 'The Fifth Estate' With Another Journalism Film". Indie wire.
6. (April 26, 2005). "Native son forges 'West Wing'-Constitution Center ties". [[The Philadelphia Inquirer]].
7. Thompson, Anne. (October 16, 2013). "Josh Singer Talks Challenges of Tackling WikiLeaks Drama 'The Fifth Estate' --and What He Left Out". Indie Wire.
8. Soares, Andre. (January 20, 2006). "Writers Guild Awards 2006". Alt Film Guide.
9. Erbland, Kate. (2024-01-10). "10 Years, 3 Directors, 1 Vision: Inside Writer Josh Singer's Long Journey to Make ''Maestro''".
10. Tullis, Paul. (October 21, 2013). ""Fifth Estate" Screenwriter Reveals All". takepart.com.
11. Erbland, Kate. (November 4, 2015). ""How 'Spotlight' Screenwriter Josh Singer Recovered From 'The Fifth Estate' With Another Journalism Film"". indiewire.com.
12. "Film Independent Spirit Awards - 40 Years of Nominees and Winners".