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Frank Spotnitz

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Frank Spotnitz
Spotnitz in 2017
Born1960 (age 63–64)
Camp Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUCLA (BA)
American Film Institute (MFA)
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, producer
Known forThe X-Files
The Man in the High Castle
Websitefrankspotnitz.com

Frank Charles Spotnitz (born 1960[1]) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for his work on the series The X-Files (1995-2002) and its spin-off The Lone Gunmen (2001), and as the developer/creator of The Man in the High Castle (2015-19),[2] Medici (2016-19), Ransom (2017-19), and Leonardo (2021)

Spotnitz is also the chief executive officer and founder of Big Light Productions, a London- and Paris-based production company, which specializes in international television series, including drama, comedy and documentaries. Spotnitz's career includes creating, writing and producing series with networks, cable, streaming and other broadcast platforms around the world.[3][4]

Sponitz has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on The X-Files, and won a Canadian Screen Award for creating the CTV comedy-drama series The Indian Detective.

Early life

[edit]

Born in Camp Zama, Japan. Spotnitz's father is Jewish,[5] though Spotnitz was not raised religiously.[5][6][7] Spotnitz's father was a doctor in the US Army. His family moved around until they settled in Phoenix, Arizona. As a child, Spotnitz consumed television shows and films as much as he could, sometimes watching the same film two or three times in a row. Spotnitz attended Camelback High School, where he was inspired to pursue a career in Hollywood.[8]

Spotnitz graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1982, where he was a reporter for the Daily Bruin. He later received a MFA in screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory in 1991.[8]

Career

[edit]

Journalism

[edit]

Upon graduation from UCLA, Spotnitz was employed as a wire-service reporter for the United Press International in Indianapolis and New York. He also briefly worked for the Associated Press in Paris. Spotnitz freelanced for Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone before returning to his passion and studying screenwriting at AFI.

Television

[edit]

Spotnitz's first television role was on The-X-Files, which he described as being "like a second film school."[9] His writing and producing credits include: counter-terrorism drama series Strike Back (HBO/Cinemax, Sky); action series Transporter: The Series (TNT); ABC's mystery series Night Stalker (ABC), starring Stuart Townsend and Gabrielle Union; Michael Mann’s crime series Robbery Homicide Division (CBS); unconventional heroes comedy-drama The Lone Gunmen (Fox); sci-fi drama Harsh Realm (Fox); and crime thriller Millennium (Fox).

The X-Files

[edit]

Spotnitz served on The X-Files for eight of its nine seasons after joining the show in 1994. He called it "a life-changing experience", graduating from staff writer to executive producer after three seasons.[10] He directed two episodes and wrote or co-wrote more than 40 instalments of the series, including the Emmy-nominated "Memento Mori" with Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan and John Shiban in 1997. He served for four years as executive producer and three years as president of Carter's Ten Thirteen Productions. He was a producer and co-writer of both The X-Files feature films, Fight the Future (1998) and I Want to Believe (2008). Spotnitz shares three Golden Globes for Best Dramatic Series and a Peabody Award for his work on The X-Files. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award for writing and three times for Outstanding Drama Series.

Hunted

[edit]

In 2012, Spotnitz created, wrote and executive-produced the international spy drama series Hunted for BBC1 and HBO/Cinemax, starring Melissa George, Adam Rayner, Stephen Dillane and Patrick Malahide.[11] The series follows Sam Hunter, an operative for a private spy agency, Byzantium. After she is betrayed and nearly killed by one of her colleagues, Sam returns to London in an attempt to root out the traitor, while working undercover in the home of a wealthy and dangerous London gangster on an assignment that could cost her life. The series was BAFTA nominated for cinematography and won the ASC Award. It was also nominated for Best Editing by the Royal Television Society.

The Man in the High Castle

[edit]

Spotnitz created, executive-produced and wrote several episodes of The Man in the High Castle,[12] based on the classic alternative history novel by Philip K. Dick, which upon its release became Amazon's most viewed series ever.[13] Starring Alexa Davalos, Rufus Sewell and Joel de la Fuente, the series explores life in a 1962 America where the Allies lost the war and the country is divided between the fascist Japanese in the West and the Nazis in the East.[14] The series won two Emmy Awards, was nominated for two others, and named Best Drama Series at the Roma Fiction Festival. It was also nominated for an ASC Award for Outstanding Cinematography, the USC Scripter Award and Best Drama at Monte Carlo Television Festival's Golden Nymph Awards.[15]

Medici

[edit]

Spotnitz co-created, executive-produced and co-wrote Medici: Masters of Florence, starring Richard Madden, Dustin Hoffman and Annabel Scholey.[16] Chronicling the rise of the Medici family during the Italian Renaissance, it shows how the family's ascent from simple merchants to power brokers sparked an economic and cultural revolution, creating powerful enemies in the process.[17] The Netflix Original Series was produced with Lux Vide Productions for RAI, Italy's largest broadcaster, and SFR in France.[18] The RAI premiere attracted a record-breaking seven million viewers in Italy, becoming the country's most-watched new series.[19][20]

Set 20 years later, Medici: The Magnificent starred Daniel Sharman, Bradley James and Sean Bean, and was also co-created, executive-produced and co-written by Spotnitz.[21] After an attempt on Piero de Medici's life, his son Lorenzo is forced to assume leadership of the family-run bank. Once in power, young Lorenzo resolves to abandon the cynical politics of the past to usher in a new era of creative and political revolution, bringing him into open conflict with rival banker Jacopo Pazzi, who will stop at nothing to defeat him. Their clash gives rise to one of the most thrilling true-life political intrigues of all time, the infamous Pazzi conspiracy.[22] The second season of Medici: The Magnificent was broadcast on RAI in December 2019 and premieres as a Netflix Original Series in May 2020.

The Indian Detective

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In 2017, Spotnitz co-created, executive-produced and co-wrote the comedy-drama series The Indian Detective for Canadian broadcaster CTV and Netflix. It starred international comedy sensation Russell Peters, whom Forbes magazine ranked three times in its Top 10 highest-grossing comics list. Peters portrays Doug D’Mello, a charming, smart Toronto cop, who unexpectedly finds himself investigating murder in his parents’ Indian homeland, where, despite his heritage, he remains an outsider. Canada's biggest series debut in two years was the second-most watched programme on the day of its CTV premiere, with 1.6 million viewers. It was bestowed the Golden Screen Award by the Canadian Screen Academy.

Ransom

[edit]

Ransom, produced for CBS in the US, France's TF1, Canada's Corus/Global and RTL in Germany,[23] was a suspense drama set against an international backdrop. It starred Luke Roberts and was co-created, executive-produced and co-written by Spotnitz.[24] The thriller follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont, whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can. Beaumont understands criminals better than they understand themselves and uses his insight into human behaviour to resolve the most difficult kidnap and ransom cases. Despite the stakes, Beaumont refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the world's most dangerous criminals. Ransom was VOX Germany's highest rated drama premiere for over 15 months and France's TF1 premiere reached over 4 million viewers for a market share of 25%.[25] The show ran for three seasons.[26]

Leonardo

[edit]

Mr. Spotnitz produced Leonardo. Among the first TV shows completed during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, the show was a dramatization of what might Leonardo Da Vinci's life have been like.[27][28] The series was released in early 2021 in RAI for Italy, Amazon Prime for the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as Sony LIV in India, and PikTV in Canada.[29] This eight-part series was a depiction of personal sacrifice, leading Da Vinci on a pathway that changed the world.[30] Two of the main characters were portrayed by Aidan Turner and Freddie Highmore. Additionally it was produced by The Alliance (RAI, France Télévisions, ZDF and RTVE).[31]

Writing process

[edit]

Spotnitz adopted the writers' room process from his experience in the US, which he brought to the UK when he founded Big Light Productions. He cards the story scene by scene on a corkboard, with one board for each episode.[32] Spotnitz favours carding in order to better analyse the story and to enable better collaboration.[33] He always asks: why do I care about this story? Why do I care about this character? And aims to draw in the audience early on.[33]

Personal life

[edit]

Spotnitz lives with his family in London.[8]

Spotnitz said in an interview about his show The Man in the High Castle: "Frank is the closest to me in the TV series, because my father's Jewish, my mother's not. I don't identify as Jewish in a religious way. I'm not a religious person, and yet if you were living in a Nazi state, that would be no defense. Jews don't get to decide if they're Jews. That's really terrifying to me."[6]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Distributor
1996 Millennium Fox
1996–2002 The X-Files Fox
1998 Inside the X-Files Fox
1998 The X-Files: Fight the Future 20th Century Fox
1999 Harsh Realm Fox
2001 The Lone Gunmen Fox
2002–2003 Robbery Homicide Division CBS
2005–2006 Night Stalker ABC
2007 A.M.P.E.D. Spike
2008 The X-Files: I Want to Believe 20th Century Fox
2008 Samurai Girl ABC Family
2011 Strike Back: Project Dawn Sky One/Cinemax
2012 Hunted BBC One/Cinemax
2014 Transporter: The Series M6
2015 Crossing Lines NBC
2015–2019 The Man in the High Castle Amazon
2016–2019 Medici RAI
2017 The Indian Detective CTV
2017–2019 Ransom CBS
2021– Leonardo RAI

The X-Files credits

[edit]
No.

overall

No. of

season

No. in

season

Title Directed by Written by Original air date Prod.code  US viewers

(millions)

41 2 17 "End Game" Rob Bowman Frank Spotnitz February 17, 1995 2X17 17.5
48 2 24 "Our Town" Rob Bowman Frank Spotnitz May 12, 1995 2X24 14.5
58 3 9 "Nisei" David Nutter Chris Carter, Howard Gordon, Frank Spotnitz November 24, 1995 3X09 16.36
59 3 10 "731" Rob Bowman Frank Spotnitz December 1, 1995 3X10 17.68
64 3 15 "Piper Maru" Rob Bowman Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter February 9, 1996 3X15 16.44
65 3 16 "Apocrypha" Kim Manners Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter February 16, 1996 3X16 16.71
81 4 8 "Tunguska" Kim Manners Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter November 24, 1996 4X09 18.85
82 4 9 "Terma" Rob Bowman Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter December 1, 1996 4X10 17.34
85 4 12 "Leonard Betts" Kim Manners Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz January 26, 1997 4X14 29.15
87 4 14 "Memento Mori" Rob Bowman Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz February 9, 1997 4X15 19.10
90 4 17 "Tempus Fugit" Rob Bowman Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz March 16, 1997 4X17 18.85
91 4 18 "Max" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz March 23, 1997 4X18 18.34
94 4 21 "Zero Sum" Kim Manners Howard Gordon, Frank Spotnitz April 27, 1997 4X21 18.60
101 5 4 "Detour" Brett Dowler Frank Spotnitz November 23, 1997 5X04 22.88
103 5 6 "Christmas Carol" Peter Markle Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz December 7, 1997 5X05 20.91
104 5 7 "Emily" Kim Manners Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz December 14, 1997 5X07 20.94
110 5 13 "Patient X" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz March 1, 1998 5X13 20.21
111 5 14 "The Red and the Black" Chris Carter Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz March 8, 1998 5X14 19.98
112 5 15 "Travelers" William A. Graham John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz March 29, 1998 5X15 15.06
114 5 17 "All Souls" Allen Coulter Story by: Billy Brown, Dan Angel

Teleplay by: Frank Spotnitz, John Shiban

April 26, 1998 5X17 13.44
121 6 4 "Dreamland" Kim Manners Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz November 29, 1998 6ABX04 17.48
122 6 5 "Dreamland II" Michael Watkins Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz December 6, 1998 6ABX05 17.01
128 6 11 "Two Fathers" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz February 7, 1999 6ABX11 18.81
129 6 12 "One Son" Rob Bowman Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz February 14, 1999 6ABX12 16.57
135 6 18 "Milagro" Kim Manners Story by: John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz

Teleplay by: Chris Carter

April 18, 1999 6ABX18 15.2
138 6 21 "Field Trip" Kim Manners Story by: Frank Spotnitz

Teleplay by: John Shiban, Vince Gilligan

May 9, 1999 6ABX21 15.38
139 6 22 "Biogenesis" Rob Bowman Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz May 16, 1999 6ABX22 15.86
143 7 4 "Millennium" Thomas J. Wright Vince Gilligan, Frank Spotnitz November 28, 1999 7ABX05 15.09
147 7 8 "The Amazing Maleeni" Thomas J. Wright Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz January 16, 2000 7ABX08 16.18
149 7 10 "Sein und Zeit" Michael Watkins Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz February 6, 2000 7ABX10 13.95
150 7 11 "Closure" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz February 13, 2000 7ABX11 15.35
153 7 14 "Theef" Kim Manners Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz March 12, 2000 7ABX14 11.91
168 8 7 "Via Negativa" Tony Wharmby Frank Spotnitz December 17, 2000 8ABX07 12.37
172 8 11 "The Gift" Kim Manners Frank Spotnitz February 4, 2001 8ABX11 14.6
173 8 12 "Medusa" Richard Compton Frank Spotnitz February 11, 2001 8ABX13 13.8
174 8 13 "Per Manum" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz February 18, 2001 8ABX08 16.0
175 8 14 "This Is Not Happening" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz February 25, 2001 8ABX14 16.9
176 8 15 "Deadalive" Tony Wharmby Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz April 1, 2001 8ABX15 12.4
177 8 16 "Three Words" Tony Wharmby Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz April 8, 2001 8ABX18 N/A
180 8 19 "Alone" Frank Spotnitz Frank Spotnitz May 6, 2001 8ABX19 12.7
183 9 1 "Nothing Important Happened Today" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz November 11, 2001 9ABX01 10.6
184 9 2 "Nothing Important Happened Today II" Tony Wharmby Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz November 18, 2001 9ABX02 9.4
185 9 3 "Dæmonicus" Frank Spotnitz Frank Spotnitz December 2, 2001 9ABX03 8.7
188 9 6 "Trust No 1" Tony Wharmby Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz January 6, 2002 9ABX08 8.4
191 9 9 "Provenance" Kim Manners Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz March 3, 2002 9ABX10 9.7
192 9 10 "Providence" Chris Carter Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz March 10, 2002 9ABX11 8.4
197 9 15 "Jump the Shark" Cliff Bole Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz April 21, 2002 9ABX15 8.6
198 9 16 "William" David Duchovny Story by: David Duchovny, Frank Spotnitz, Chris Carter

Teleplay by: Chris Carter

April 28, 2002 9ABX17 9.3

Books

[edit]
  • TV Outside the Box: Trailblazing in the Digital Television Revolution, Neil Landau (2015)
  • Dalla parte di John Fante, by Giovanna Di Lello and Toni Ricciardi (Rome: Carocci 2020)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Frank Spotnitz | About". Frank Spotnitz | Official. Retrieved April 11, 2024. I was born in Camp Zama in Japan in 1960.
  2. ^ "Frank Spotnitz interview: The Man In The High Castle". Den of Geek. November 19, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  3. ^ AlloCine. "Frank Spotnitz". AlloCiné. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "High Castle Scores Nominations at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards – Big Light Productions". www.biglight.com. August 16, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  5. ^ a b VanDerWerff, Emily Todd (December 8, 2015). "The Man in the High Castle's showrunner answers your questions about the Amazon hit". Vox.
  6. ^ a b Fallon, Kevin (November 27, 2015). "'The Man in the High Castle' Creator Frank Spotnitz on Making Amazon's Hit Drama". The Daily Beast – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  7. ^ "'The Man in the High Castle' EP talks series' 'chilling' themes (plus: see two exclusive photos)". EW.com.
  8. ^ a b c "Frank Spotnitz | About". Frank Spotnitz | Official. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  9. ^ Hoare, James (August 11, 2022). "The X-Files | Doggett & Reyes Weren't Done - Watch the Reunion Video". The Companion. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  10. ^ "284. Interview: Frank Spotnitz (Producer of The X-Files)". acast. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Frank Spotnitz interview: Hunted, the BBC cancellation, The X-Files, and more..." Den of Geek. December 8, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "Frank Spotnitz". KCRW. December 2, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (December 21, 2015). "'The Man in the High Castle' Becomes Amazon's Most-Streamed Original Series". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  14. ^ "Frank Spotnitz Talks Man in the High Castle, Phillip K. Dick". Den of Geek. November 19, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "The Man in the High Castle Named One of 2015's Best Shows – Big Light Productions". www.biglight.com. December 30, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  16. ^ "Dustin Hoffman to head up new Medici family TV drama". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. April 4, 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  17. ^ Hopewell, John (April 4, 2016). "MipTV: Frank Spotnitz Talks 'Medici: Masters of Florence' With Dustin Hoffman, Richard Madden (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  18. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (September 24, 2015). "Dustin Hoffman, Richard Madden to Star in TV Drama About Italy's Medici Family". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  19. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (November 16, 2016). "Frank Spotnitz on Why 'Medici' Is a Megahit in Italy; U.K., U.S. Deals 'Imminent' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  20. ^ "'La La Land' Named Best Movie of the Year at Capri Hollywood Festival". Variety. January 2, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  21. ^ "Medici season 2: Frank Spotnitz interview 'the real history is too graphic even for television to show'". Den of Geek. January 24, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  22. ^ Clarke, Stewart (December 20, 2018). "First Look at Netflix's New Season of 'Medici': 'Blood Must Be Spilled'". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  23. ^ "eOne delivers Ransom around world". C21media. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  24. ^ DigitalCavalry (May 21, 2018). "Interview: Frank Spotnitz". The PC Principle. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  25. ^ Holloway, Daniel (November 30, 2016). "CBS Sets 'Ransom' for Saturdays, Schedules 'Doubt' and 'Training Day' Premieres". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Petski, Denise (July 16, 2018). "'Ransom' Renewed For Season 3 By Global & CBS". Deadline. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  27. ^ "Leonardo: writing underway on new Frank Spotnitz drama". Den of Geek. January 22, 2019. Archived from the original on September 28, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  28. ^ "International Insider: The TV Producer Who Vanished; 'Leonardo' Wraps; Dating Shows Scoop". Deadline. August 15, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  29. ^ "Amazon Takes Aidan Turner's Leonardo da Vinci Series for U.K." The Hollywood Reporter. March 15, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  30. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (December 7, 2018). "Frank Spotnitz and Steve Thompson on the Challenges Posed by Enigmatic 'Leonardo'". Variety. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  31. ^ Kanter, Jake (April 15, 2020). "First Look At Aidan Turner As Leonardo Da Vinci In Frank Spotnitz Series 'Leonardo'". Deadline. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  32. ^ "BBC - Frank Spotnitz - Writers Room". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  33. ^ a b "'Leonardo' creator Frank Spotnitz urges creative freedom and co-operation". TBI Vision. December 13, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
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