
Alvin Sargent
Writing
Biography
Alvin Sargent (April 12, 1927–May 9, 2019) was an American screenwriter. He won two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Julia (1977) and Ordinary People (1980). Sargent's other works include screenplays of the films The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1970), Paper Moon (1973), Nuts (1987), White Palace (1990), What About Bob? (1991), Unfaithful (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Alvin Sargent was born Alvin Supowitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Esther (née Kadansky) and Isaac Supowitz. He was of Russian Jewish descent. Sargent attended Upper Darby High School, leaving at age 17 to join the Navy. As of 2006, he was one of 35 alumni to be on the school's Wall of Fame. Sargent began writing for television in 1953, and through the 1960s, he scripted episodes for Route 66, Ben Casey, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He collaborated on his first screenplay for a film on Gambit (1966) and gained recognition for I Walk the Line (1970) and Paper Moon (1973), for which he won the WGA Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and was nominated for an Academy Award. He won the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay in 1978 for the film Julia (1977) and again in 1981 for Ordinary People (1980). He collaborated on the 2004 screenplay for Spider-Man 2 and the 2007 screenplay for Spider-Man 3. He'd also collaborate on the screenplay for the 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. He had a long-time relationship with producer Laura Ziskin; they were married from 2010 until her death in 2011. His brother was writer and producer Herb Sargent. Sargent died from natural causes at his home in Seattle on May 9, 2019, four weeks after his 92nd birthday. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alvin Sargent, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

A continuation of the anthology series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, hosted by the master of suspense and featuring thrillers and mysteries.
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.
Spider-Man 3

Peter Parker is an outcast high schooler abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.
The Amazing Spider-Man

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
The Oscars

A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Unfaithful

Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...
Spider-Man 2

Max Baron is a Jewish advertising executive in his 20s who's still getting over the death of his wife. Nora Baker is a 40-something diner waitress who enjoys the wilder side of life. Mismatched or not, their attraction is instant and smoldering. With time, however, their class and age differences become an obstacle in their relationship, especially since Max can't keep Nora a secret from his Jewish friends and upper-crust associates forever.
White Palace

Bernie Laplante is having a rough time. He's divorced, his ex-wife hates him and has custody of their son, the cops are setting a trap for him, then to top it all, he loses a shoe whilst rescuing passengers of a crashed jet. Being a thief who is down on his luck, Bernie takes advantage of the crash, but then someone else claims credit for the rescue.
Hero

Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.
The Way We Were

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.
Ordinary People

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
Paper Moon

Single mother Adele August is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann, is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.
Anywhere but Here

In 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his captain's wife and second in command are falling in love.
From Here to Eternity

Before going on vacation, self-involved psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin has the misfortune of taking on a new patient: Bob Wiley. An exemplar of neediness and a compendium of phobias, Bob follows Marvin to his family's country house. Dr. Marvin tries to get him to leave; the trouble is, everyone loves Bob. As his oblivious patient makes himself at home, Dr. Marvin loses his professional composure and, before long, may be ready for the loony bin himself.
What About Bob?

After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.
Straight Time

Harry Dean is a career burglar set on stealing a piece of priceless art from the world's wealthiest man, Mr. Shahbandar. With the help of exotic showgirl Nicole Chang, he concocts the perfect scheme for how the robbery should go and lays it out point by point. However, when the team tries to execute the plan, perfection and reality don't quite match up, and Harry's vision begins to unravel in this twisty tale of a heist gone wrong.
Gambit

While moving a group of Apaches to a Native American reservation in Arizona, an American scout named Sam Varner is surprised to find a white woman, Sarah Carver, living with the tribe. When Sam learns that she was taken captive by an Indian named Salvaje ten years ago, he attempts to escort Sarah and her half-Native American son to his home in New Mexico. However, it soon becomes clear that Salvaje is hot on their trail.
The Stalking Moon

Recently orphaned, a young boy is taken in by his godmother who is shocked to realize that she can see the boy's imaginary friend: a flamboyant, French magician named Bogus.
Bogus

When a corporate raider threatens a hostile takeover of a 'mom and pop' company, the patriarch of the company enlists the help of his wife's attractive daughter—who is a lawyer—to stop the takeover. However, the raider soon becomes infatuated with her, and enjoys the legal manoeuvring as he tries to win her heart.
Other People's Money

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.