| Lem Dobbs | |
| Birthname: | Anton Lemuel Kitaj |
| Birth Date: | 24 December 1958 |
| Birth Place: | Oxford, England |
| Education: | American School London, England |
| Occupation: | Screenwriter |
| Spouse: | Dana Kraft |
| Parents: | R. B. Kitaj (father), Elsi Roessler (mother) |
| Nationality: | British, American |
Lem Dobbs (born Anton Lemuel Kitaj; 24 December 1958) is a British-American screenwriter, best known for the films Dark City (1998) and The Limey (1999). He was born in Oxford, England, and is the son of the painter R. B. Kitaj. The pen name "Dobbs" was taken from the character played by Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).
Dobbs's earliest work in the film industry was as a child actor in The Boy Who Turned Yellow (1972), a short film that was the last collaboration between director Michael Powell and the screenwriter/producer Emeric Pressburger.
In 1979, Dobbs wrote Edward Ford, an original screenplay that remains unproduced. Critic Matthew Dessem has called the script "famously brilliant, famously unproduced", and asserts that "most of Hollywood" agrees it is a "masterpiece".[1] On the basis of another unproduced screenplay, The Marvel of the Haunted Castle, Dobbs was hired to rewrite Diane Thomas's screenplay for Romancing the Stone (1984), though his contributions went uncredited. He described his on-location experience as a matter of "helping to solve logistical problems on a daily basis, making constant adjustments" and later claimed it was his only attempt at "classic script doctoring."[2]
Following that film's success, several films based on Dobbs's screenplays were produced: Hider in the House (1989), The Hard Way (1991), Kafka (1991), which Dobbs wrote in the 1970s, and The Limey (1999). He was also credited as co-writer on Dark City (1998), The Score (2001) and Haywire (2011), an action-thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh (who also directed Kafka and The Limey).
Dobbs has spoken on DVD commentary tracks for his films Dark City and The Limey, and (as a film historian) for the unrelated In the French Style (1963), Von Ryan's Express (1965), The Sand Pebbles (1966) and Double Indemnity (1945), the last due to his personal friendship with the director Billy Wilder.
| Year | Film | Credit | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Boy Who Turned Yellow | Munro | As Lem Kitaj | |
| 1984 | Romancing the Stone | Uncredited contributions[3] | ||
| 1989 | Hider in the House | Written by, co-producer | ||
| 1991 | The Hard Way | Screenplay by, story by | Co-wrote screenplay with Daniel Pyne, co-wrote story with Michael Kozoll | |
| Kafka | Written by | |||
| 1998 | Dark City | Screenplay by | Co-wrote screenplay with Alex Proyas and David S. Goyer, based on a story by Alex Proyas | |
| 1999 | The Limey | Written by | ||
| 2001 | The Score | Screenplay by | Co-wrote screenplay with Kario Salem and Scott Marshall Smith, based on a story by Daniel E. Taylor and Kario Salem | |
| 2003 | S.W.A.T | Uncredited revisions | ||
| 2011 | Haywire | Written by | ||
| 2012 | The Company You Keep | Screenplay by | ||
| 2013 | Skating to New York | Thanks | ||
| 2018 | Gotti | Written by, co-producer | Co-wrote with Leo Rossi | |
| 2023 | Lee | Story by | Co-wrote story with John Collee and Marion Hume |
| Year | Association | Nominated work | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Gotti | Worst Screenplay | [4] | |
| 2000 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | The Limey | Best Screenplay | [5] | |
| 1999 | Bram Stoker Award | Dark City | Best Screenplay | [6] | |
| 1999 | Saturn Awards | Dark City | Best Screenplay | [7] | |
| 1999 | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Dark City | Best Screenplay | [8] | |
| 1999 | Hugo Awards | Dark City | Best Screenplay | [9] | |
| 1992 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Kafka | Best Screenplay | [10] | |