Writing

Alvin Sargent

Born April 12, 1927 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Died May 9, 2019 · aged 92

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), Unfait…

Known For

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man · 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man

MovieActionAdventure

A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 · 2007

MovieActionAdventure

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 2

Spider-Man 2 · 2004

MovieActionAdventure

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...

Unfaithful

Unfaithful · 2002

MovieThrillerDrama

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

Ordinary People

Ordinary People · 1980

Ordinary People

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.

The Way We Were

The Way We Were · 1973

The Way We Were

MovieDramaRomance

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.

From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity · 1953

From Here to Eternity

MovieWarRomance

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.

Straight Time

Straight Time · 1978

MovieCrimeDrama

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.

Filmography

Sort

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man · 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man

MovieActionAdventure

A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.

Screenplay

Spider-Man 3

Spider-Man 3 · 2007

MovieActionAdventure

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.

Screenplay

Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 · 2004

MovieActionAdventure

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...

Screenplay

Unfaithful

Unfaithful · 2002

MovieThrillerDrama

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

Screenplay

Ordinary People

Ordinary People · 1980

Ordinary People

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.

Screenplay

The Way We Were

The Way We Were · 1973

The Way We Were

MovieDramaRomance

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.

Additional Writing

From Here to Eternity

From Here to Eternity · 1953

From Here to Eternity

MovieWarRomance

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.

Nair (uncredited)

Straight Time

Straight Time · 1978

MovieCrimeDrama

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.

Screenplay

Paper Moon

Paper Moon · 1973

MovieComedyCrime

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.

Screenplay

Hero

MovieComedyDrama

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.

Story

White Palace

White Palace · 1990

MovieDramaRomance

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.

Screenplay

What About Bob?

What About Bob? · 1991

What About Bob?

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.

Story

Anywhere but Here

Anywhere but Here · 1999

Anywhere but Here

MovieDramaComedy

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.

Writer

Other People's Money

Other People's Money · 1991

Other People's Money

MovieComedyDrama

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.

Screenplay

Julia

MovieDramaRomance

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

Screenplay

Gambit

MovieComedyCrime

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.

Screenplay

Bogus

MovieFantasyComedy

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.

Screenplay

The Stalking Moon

The Stalking Moon · 1968

The Stalking Moon

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.

Screenplay

Bobby Deerfield

Bobby Deerfield · 1977

Bobby Deerfield

MovieDramaRomance

Bobby Deerfield, a famous American race car driver on the European circuit, falls in love with the enigmatic Lillian Morelli, who is terminally ill.

Screenplay

Nuts

A high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent.

Screenplay

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds · 1972

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Screenplay

I Walk the Line

I Walk the Line · 1970

I Walk the Line

Henry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage seductress Alma, who is the daughter of local criminal and moonshiner Carl McCain. Henry's moral character comes further into question when he is tempted to conceal Carl's crimes in order to prolong his relationship with Alma.

Writer

The Sterile Cuckoo

The Sterile Cuckoo · 1969

The Sterile Cuckoo

MovieComedyDrama

Uptight college freshman Jerry Payne finds a carefree friend in zany Pookie. After an awkward meeting on the bus, Pookie quickly works her way into Jerry's life. She makes an unannounced visit to Jerry's campus, and before long annoyance turns to affection, and friendship turns to romance. But with Pookie's increasingly neurotic behavior, how long can this love affair last?

Screenplay

Footsteps

Footsteps · 1972

MovieDramaTV Movie

A football coach is hired by a small college to shape up its football team, and he finds himself in trouble with local gamblers who don't want the team to improve.

Writer

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour · 1962

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

SeriesCrimeMystery

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

Writer