Academy Award-winning film and television producer Edward Zwick is also a filmmaker who is best known for directing epic historical movies. He, however, did not start his career as a director, he, in fact, produced the drama series Family in 1979. Having said that, he also directed a few episodes of the show, although uncredited. His first movie as a director was the 1986 romantic comedy About Last Night..., which went on to become one of that year’s highest-grossing movies. Ever since, the director and producer has worked on various movies, some of which are Glory, Legends of the Fall, and The Last Samurai.
Early Life
Son of Ruth Ellen and Allen Zwick, Edward Zwick was born in the affluent suburb of Illinois, Chicago on the 8th of October, 1952. He studied at the New Trier High School, Illinois, after which he went on to study at the Harvard University where he received an A.B, equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in arts, in 1974. The following year, he enrolled himself at the Center For Advanced Film Studies, American Film Institute, for a two-year course, which he completed in 1977 and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree. After having completed his studies, Zwick went on to work as a journalist and editor with magazines like The New Republic and Rolling Stone.
Personal Life
Zwick is married to Lynn Liberty Godshall since 1982 and has two children with her. His son Jesse Zwick was born in 1986 is a writer and director while his daughter Frankie Zwick was born in 1993.
Television Career
As a Producer
Following his graduation, Zwick worked as a journalist and editor with Rolling Stones and The New Republic. However, given his keen interest directing and writing, Zwick worked on ABC’s family drama Family in 1979, which he also wrote and directed a few episodes for. Following this, he went on to produce single episodes at other shows such as CBS Summer Playhouse, and Dream Street. He then produced the 1994 teen comedy drama My So-Called Life, which revolved around the life of a 15-year-old teenager, trying to deal with friends, boys, and her family. While simultaneously producing movies, Zwick produced another television series Once and Again, which first aired in 1999. The show rolled out in three seasons and focussed on the life of a single mother, who, while single-handedly taking care of her children, is drawn to a single father. Zwick co-wrote the series with Marshall Herskovitz.
He then produced the 2005 TV movie as 1/4life, which he also wrote. The TV movie centered the lives of seven twenty-something friends living together in a Chicago apartment, attempting to accept their responsibilities while still being carefree at heart, however, struggling to keep up with the pace of life. In 2007, he produced the series Quarterlife, loosely based on his 2005 TV movie 1/4life, which rolled out only one season with seven episodes. In 2016, Zwick joined the team of popular television series Nashville in its fifth season.
As a Director
Along with making his debut as a producer, Zwick also made his directorial debut with ABC’s family drama series Family in 1979. He went on to direct several TV movies, starting with the 1982 drama Paper Dolls, which focusses on the lives of two teen models and their mothers. He then directed Dyan Cannon, Barry Newman, and Hart Bochner in the 1982 comedy Having It All, which is about the life of a fashion designer, who has a husband in New York and another one in California.
His next TV movie, Special Bulletin, was not only directed by him but was also written and produced by him. The TV movie featured a news reporter and his cameraman being taken hostage by a group demanding the detonation of the army’s nuclear weapons. After a series of TV movies, Zwick directed an episode of the 1985 drama series The Best Times. He then went on to direct a few episodes of the drama romance series Thirtysomething, which was first aired in 1987. For Thirtysomething, Zwick was primarily a producer and produced over 85 episodes while the show was aired. He then directed an episode of the romantic drama Relativity in 1996, which he also produced a few episodes of. Among his other works are the series Once and Again, and the TV movie 1/4life, both of which have been written and produced by him too.
As a Writer
Zwick’s career as a writer is not as elaborate as his career as a director or a producer. He has written for very few series, TV movies, and commercial movies, most of which have been either director or produced by him. Some of his works which have either been directed or produced by him, and have also been written by him are his directorial debut Family, the TV movies Special Bulletin and 1/4life, television series Quarterlife, and popular television series Nashville. He has also written for the 2001 TV documentary America: A Tribute to Heroes, to honor the soldiers who were affected by the 9/11 attacks. Along with being the producer and director of these shows, Thirtysomething, Once and Again, and Nashville.
Movie Career
As a Producer
Apart from directing and writing for a few films, Zwick produced some movies. In 1988, he produced the biographical drama Dangerous Beauty, which told the story of a Venetian courtesan who was wrongly accused of witchcraft by the Church. His most prominent work as a producer came with the 1998 romantic drama Shakespeare in Love, which went on to win several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. After the success of his previous movie as a producer, he produced the 2000 crime drama Traffic, which received immense praise and went on to receive several award nominations, including the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
His 2001 venture, the Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer-starred I Am Sam opened to mixed, mainly negative, reviews. Although the movie was said to be good, the concept of the movie was the real reason why the movie failed to wow the critics. Despite its ill fate at the box-office, the movie, and its cast went on to win a few nominations and awards, including the Stanley Kramer Award awarded by the Producers Guild of America, which Zwick won with his co-producers. He then produced the movie adaptation of Sean Desmond’s novel Adam’s Fall and titled the movie Abandon. The psychological thriller starring Katie Holmes and Charlie Hunnam opened to mainly negative reviews, owing to its poorly written storyline.
In 2008, Zwick produced the Daniel Craig-starrer war film Defiance, which is set in the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. In the years to follow, Love & Other Drugs (2010), Boys of Abu Ghraib (2014), About Alex (2014), Cut Bank (2014), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and The Birth of a Nation (2016).
As a Director
After having made his television directorial debut, Zwick entered the film industry and made his movie debut with the 1986 romantic comedy About Last Night… starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore, which opened to positive reviews and was, both, a commercial and critical success. While simultaneously directing and producing shows on television, Zwick directed the 1989 epic war film Glory starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, and Morgan Freeman. The movie received immense praise by the critics and went on to receive various nominations, including the Academy Awards, and the Golden Globes Awards, of which some cast members went on to win a few. However, Zwick received the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.
He then directed the epic drama Legends of the Fall starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond, and Henry Thomas. The movie based on the novella of the same name went on to garner immense praise and also received various nominations, with Zwick receiving a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director - Motion Picture. In his next, he directed Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan in the 1996 war film Courage Under Fire, which was mainly well-received by the critics and was a commercial success as well. Collaborating with Denzel Washington for the third time, Zwick directed, produced, and wrote the screenplay of the action thriller The Siege in 1998. The movie, starring Annette Bening, Tony Shalhoub, and Bruce Willis, despite doing well commercially, opened to mixed reviews.
Tom Cruise was seen in his next directorial venture, the epic historical war film The Last Samurai, which he also co-produced and co-wrote. The movie was a blockbuster hit and went on to do extremely well commercially, and was also well-received by the critics. Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1991–2002, Zwick’s next political war thriller Blood Diamond starred Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. His narrative attempts to show the atrocities imposed on the common people, owing to politics and the ongoing war. Working on yet another war film, Zwick directed the 2008 World War II film Defiance, which starred Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, and George MacKay. Zwick began writing the script of the movie, which based on Nechama Tec's 1993 book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, soon after he acquired the rights to the book in 1999. Upon its release in 2008, the movie opened to positive reviews.
After directing mainly action thrillers and war films, Zwick directed Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway in the comedy drama Love & Other Drugs, which is based on Jamie Reidy’s non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman. The movie opened to mixed reviews, with just the chemistry between the lead actors being praised. However, the movie was well-received overseas as against in the USA, making it a commercial success. Next, the Spiderman star Tobey Maguire was seen in Zwick’s biographical drama Pawn Sacrifice, based on the true story of chess player Bobby Fischer and his struggles against the chess grandmasters during the Cold War era. The movie was extremely well-received by critics and was also a commercial success.
Sequel to the 2012 movie Jack Reacher, Zwick directed the 2016 action thriller Jack Reacher: Never Go Back starring Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Patrick Heusinger, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yarosh, and Holt McCallany. He not only directed the movie but also co-wrote the screenplay of the movie.
As a Writer
Zwick made his debut as a writer on television much before movies in 1979. However, in the years to follow he wrote the screenplay of the movie The Siege in 1998, which he also directed and produced. He has written for other movies that have been directed and produced by him namely The Last Samurai, Defiance, and Love & Other Drugs. The director-cum-producer also wrote the screenplay of Jack Reacher’s 2016 sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, and the story of the 2017 action thriller The Great Wall starring Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal.