Terence Winter

Early life and education

Winter was born in New York City. He grew up in a working-class family in Marine Park, Brooklyn. He went to a vocational high school in Brooklyn, studying to be an auto mechanic. He studied at the New York University, where, in 1984, he received a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in journalism. He went on to study at St. John's University School of Law, and received a J.D. in 1988,, and became a member of the bars of New York State and Connecticut. He practiced law for two years in New York City before moving to Los Angeles in 1991 to pursue a screenwriting career. During that time, he also performed as a stand-up comedian. He eventually won a spot in the Warner Bros. Television Writers' Workshop, and later joined the writing staff of the Fox series The Great Defender, starring Michael Rispoli, later a Sopranos cast member.

Career

1995–2000: Early work

Prior to The Sopranos, Winter wrote for the series Sister, Sister, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Cosby Mysteries, Flipper, Diagnosis: Murder, Charlie Grace, DiResta, and The PJs.

2000–2007: ''The Sopranos''

Winter joined the HBO series The Sopranos as a writer in its second season and ultimately wrote or co-wrote 25 episodes.

In 2001, together with Tim Van Patten, Winter won both the Writers Guild Award and the Edgar Award for the episode "Pine Barrens", directed by Steve Buscemi. In 2004, Winter won two Emmy Awards, one as Executive Producer for The Sopranos for Outstanding Drama Series, and one for Best Writing in a Drama Series for the episode "Long Term Parking". He won another writing Emmy in 2006 for the episode "Members Only". Also in 2006, Winter wrote and directed the episode "Walk Like a Man" for the show's final season. Winter won his second Writers Guild Award and his fourth Emmy in 2007 when The Sopranos won Outstanding Drama Series. He won his third Writers Guild Award and the Pen USA award for his episode "The Second Coming". The Sopranos also won The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television Drama in 2004 and 2007.

Winter wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film Get Rich or Die Tryin' and its accompanying video game 50 Cent: Bulletproof. In 2007, he wrote and produced the film Brooklyn Rules, directed by Michael Corrente.

2010–2014: ''Boardwalk Empire'' and ''The Wolf of Wall Street''

Winter created the HBO series Boardwalk Empire and also served as showrunner and head writer, with fifteen episodes credited to him, including: "Boardwalk Empire", "The Ivory Tower", "A Return to Normalcy", "21", "Two Boats and a Lifeguard", "To the Lost", "Resolution", "The Pony", "Margate Sands", "Acres of Diamonds", "William Wilson", "Farewell Daddy Blues", "The Good Listener", "Cuanto", and "Eldorado".

Winter and Boardwalk Empire won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Writing in a New Series and he was nominated for Best Writing in a Dramatic Series 2011–2013. Boardwalk Empire won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama in 2011 and was nominated in 2012 and 2013. In addition, Steve Buscemi won for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series and Kelly Macdonald was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. Boardwalk Empire was in the American Film Institute's Top Ten List for TV in 2010 and 2011. The cast of Boardwalk Empire won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series, while Steve Buscemi won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and Martin Scorsese won the Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series. Boardwalk Empire was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in both 2011 and 2012. In addition, Boardwalk Empire won The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television Drama in 2012 and was nominated for BAFTA Best International Television in 2011.

In 2007, Winter began working on the screenplay for The Wolf of Wall Street, based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort, following a conversation with Martin Scorsese. After several years of development, studio transitions and changes in financiers, Red Granite Pictures greenlit the project for preproduction. Winter, in collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio and Scorsese, completed the finalized shooting script in 2012, with principal photography commencing later that year. The film, directed by Scorsese, released in December 2013 to both critical and commercial success, earning Winter his first Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

2016–present: ''Vinyl'' and ''Tulsa King''

Winter served as the co-creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner of the HBO period musical drama series Vinyl, which reunited him with Boardwalk Empire actor Bobby Cannavale and director Martin Scorsese. Despite being picked up for a second season, Winter left his position as showrunner due to "creative differences" in April 2016 and was replaced by executive producer Scott Z. Burns. In June 2016, HBO canceled the series.

Winter was the showrunner of the first season of the 2022 Paramount+ series Tulsa King. After departing the showrunner position, he later returned to the series as a writer and executive producer.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. (2013). "Terence Winter – Biography". [[The New York Times]].
2. [http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/cast/crew/terence_winter.shtml HBO.com]
3. (December 6, 2021). "Sylvester Stallone Set To Star In Taylor Sheridan & Terence Winter Drama Series 'Kansas City' For Paramount+ From 101 Studios & MTV Ent. Studios". Penske Media Corporation.
4. "Difficult Men: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad".
5. "A Writer's Road. Famed Writer Speaks To The Rockaway Times".
6. (15 February 2012). "An Interview With Terence Winter: Executive Producer and Creator of HBO's Boardwalk Empire (Part 2 -- On Writing for TV)".
7. "Terence Winter".
8. (October 22, 2017). "Terence Winter".
9. (February 20, 2014). "Warner Bros. Television Launches its First-Ever Directors' Workshop". WarnerBros.com.
10. (2007). "2008 Writers Guild Awards Television & Radio Nominees Announced". WGA.
11. Perry, Byron. (December 12, 2007). "WGA announce TV, radio nominees". Variety.
12. (2007). "HBO tops WGA awards list with five noms". The Hollywood Reporter.
13. "Boardwalk Empire".
14. "The Ivory Tower".
15. "A Return to Normalcy".
16. [[List of Boardwalk Empire episodes]]
17. "Television Nominations". Wga.org.
18. "Golden Globe Nominations and Winners". Goldenglobes.org.
19. DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood. (2014-01-29). "DP/30: Terence Winter wrote The Wolf of Wall Street".
20. DP/30: The Oral History Of Hollywood. (2014-01-29). "DP/30: Terence Winter wrote The Wolf of Wall Street".
21. (December 2, 2014). "Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger & Terence Winter's Rock 'N' Roll Drama Picked Up To Series By HBO".
22. (April 8, 2016). "Terence Winter leaves Vinyl over "creative differences"".
23. (April 8, 2016). "'Vinyl' Showrunner Terence Winter Exits HBO Series, New Showrunner Named".
24. Andreeva, Nellie. (June 22, 2016). "'Vinyl' Canceled: No Season 2 For HBO Drama Series".
25. Rice, Lynette. (2024-09-12). "'Tulsa King's Former Showrunner Terence Winter On Why He Returned To The Paramount+ Drama: "We All Got On The Same Page Creatively"".
26. Petski, Denise. (May 2, 2022). "Original Films From LeBron James, Will Packer & John Woo To Premiere On Peacock In 2023".
27. Hemphill, Jim. (September 13, 2024). "'Tulsa King' Writer Terence Winter Feels 'Liberated' with Season 2". [[IndieWire]].