Writing

Paul Attanasio

Born November 14, 1959 · New York City, New York, USA (age 66)

Paul Albert Attanasio (born November 14, 1959) is an American screenwriter. He is a 1981 graduate of Harvard College, where he lived in Currier House, and earned his law degree at Harvard Law School in 1984. Paul is known for Homicide: Life on The Street (1993-1999), Quiz Show (1994), Donnie Brasco (1997) and House M.D. (2004). He is married to Amanda Attanasio.

Known For

The Sum of All Fears

The Sum of All Fears · 2002

The Sum of All Fears

MovieThrillerAction

When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco · 1997

MovieCrimeDrama

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.

Disclosure

Disclosure · 1994

MovieThrillerDrama

A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.

Sphere

MovieScience FictionMystery

A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart.

Quiz Show

Quiz Show · 1994

MovieHistoryDrama

Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.

The Good German

The Good German · 2006

The Good German

MovieDramaMystery

An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.

The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio

The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio · 2007

The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio

MovieDocumentary

Paul Attanasio's nuanced screenplays for Quiz Show and Donnie Brasco earned him Oscar nominations, and he recently wrote The Good German for Steven Soderbergh. In this intense dialogue, Attanasio describes how he transformed himself from "snotty" Washington Post film critic to master of adaptations for Oscar-winning directors Robert Redford, Barry Levinson, and Soderbergh.

House

Dr. Gregory House, a drug-addicted, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.

Movies

The Sum of All Fears

The Sum of All Fears · 2002

The Sum of All Fears

MovieThrillerAction

When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco · 1997

MovieCrimeDrama

An FBI undercover agent infiltrates the mob and identifies more with the mafia life at the expense of his regular one.

Disclosure

Disclosure · 1994

MovieThrillerDrama

A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.

Sphere

MovieScience FictionMystery

A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the ocean floor to investigate. However, the ship is not as it seems and when a giant perfect sphere is discovered in the cargo bay, things begin to fall apart.

Quiz Show

Quiz Show · 1994

MovieHistoryDrama

Herbert Stempel's transformation into an unexpected television personality unfolds as he secures victory on the cherished American game show, 'Twenty-One.' However, when the show introduces the highly skilled contestant Charles Van Doren to replace Stempel, it compels Stempel to let out his frustrations and call out the show as rigged. Lawyer Richard Goodwin steps in and attempts to uncover the orchestrated deception behind the scenes.

The Good German

The Good German · 2006

The Good German

MovieDramaMystery

An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.

The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio

The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio · 2007

The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio

MovieDocumentary

Paul Attanasio's nuanced screenplays for Quiz Show and Donnie Brasco earned him Oscar nominations, and he recently wrote The Good German for Steven Soderbergh. In this intense dialogue, Attanasio describes how he transformed himself from "snotty" Washington Post film critic to master of adaptations for Oscar-winning directors Robert Redford, Barry Levinson, and Soderbergh.

TV Shows

House

Dr. Gregory House, a drug-addicted, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.

Bull

SeriesCrimeDrama

Dr. Jason Bull is the brilliant, brash, and charming founder of a hugely successful trial consulting firm.

Homicide: Life on the Street

Homicide: Life on the Street · 1993

Homicide: Life on the Street

SeriesMysteryDrama

An American police procedural chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Police Department's Homicide Unit.

Tommy

When a former high-ranking NYPD officer becomes the first female Chief of Police for Los Angeles, she uses her unflinching honesty and hardball tactics to navigate the social, political and national security issues that converge with enforcing the law.

Century City

Century City · 2004

Century City is an American science fiction-legal drama television series set in Los Angeles in the year 2030.

Gideon's Crossing

Gideon's Crossing · 2000

Gideon's Crossing

Ben Gideon, a doctor of great skill and with a great bedside manner, heads the experimental oncology ward at a fictional teaching hospital in New England. Based on the work of Dr. Jerome Groupman, Gideon fights to inspire the next generation of doctors.