Nic Pizzolatto Explained

Nic Pizzolatto
Alias:Jim Hammett
Birth Name:Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto
Birth Date:18 October 1975
Birth Place:New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Years Active:2004–present
Children:2

Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto (born October 18, 1975) is an American author, screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for creating the HBO crime drama series True Detective (2014–present).

Early life

Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto was born in New Orleans on October 18, 1975.[1] He grew up in a Catholic family of . His father, Nic Pizzolatto Jr., was an attorney.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] At the age of five, he moved with his family to a rural area of Lake Charles, Louisiana.[7] [8] He graduated from St. Louis Catholic High School in 1993[9] [10] and left home when he was 17. He attended Louisiana State University on a visual arts scholarship,[11] graduating with a BA in English and philosophy. He gave up writing following the death of a writing mentor and moved to Austin, Texas, where he worked as a bartender and technical writer for four years. He later enrolled in an MFA program in Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas, and received the Lily Peter Fellowship for poetry and Walton Fellowship in 2003.[12] [13] [14] He graduated in 2005.

Career

Novels and short stories

Pizzolatto wrote two short stories when he was completing his MFA at the University of Arkansas – "Ghost-Birds" and"Between Here and the Yellow Sea" – which were sold to The Atlantic Monthly.[15] In 2004, his work was among the finalists for the National Magazine Award in Fiction. His collection of short fiction Between Here and the Yellow Sea was long-listed for the 2006 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and was also named one of the top five fiction debuts of the year by Poets & Writers Magazine.[16] He also received an honorable mention from the Pushcart Prize, and his short story "Wanted Man" is included in Best American Mystery Stories 2009.

Pizzolatto's first novel, Galveston, was published by Scribner's in June 2010.[17] It was translated into many languages. In 2005, Pizzolatto was named one of Poets & Writers magazine's best new writers. In 2010, Galveston earned him the Prix du Premier Roman Étranger, the French Academy's award for Best First Novel, Foreign. It was also a 2010 Edgar Award finalist for best first novel. Galveston also won third prize in the 2010 Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, and additionally won the 2011 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America.

Film and television

In 2011, Pizzolatto wrote two episodes for the first season of the crime drama television series The Killing.[18] He was dissatisfied by the dynamic between the showrunner and the writers of the show and remarked, "I want to be the guiding vision. I don't do well serving someone else's vision." He decided to leave the show after spending two weeks in the writers room on the show's second season.

In 2012, Pizzolatto created an original television series called True Detective, which was sold to HBO and completed shooting in June 2013 with him as executive producer, sole writer, and showrunner.[19] It premiered in January 2014, and became the most watched freshman show in the network's history.[20] The show was critically acclaimed[21] [22] and was so popular the finale crashed HBO's HBO Go streaming service.[23] Pizzolatto listed several influences on the show's first season: philosophy books such as Thomas Ligotti's The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, Eugene Thacker's In The Dust of This Planet, Ray Brassier's Nihil Unbound, Jim Crawford's Confessions of an Antinatalist, and David Benatar's Better Never to Have Been. Pizzolatto also mentions horror authors Laird Barron, John Langan, Simon Strantzas, and Ligotti.[24] In August 2014, he was accused of plagiarizing the aforementioned sources.[25] [26]

A new season of True Detective premiered on June 21, 2015, with Pizzolatto again writing/co-writing all the episodes.[27] In late 2015, it was announced that Pizzolatto had signed a new deal with HBO through 2018.[28]

In August 2016, HBO announced a potential new series written by Pizzolatto and starring Robert Downey Jr., centering on the character of investigative attorney Perry Mason.[29] On August 25, 2017, it was announced that Pizzolatto had dropped out of the production in order to focus on the third season of True Detective and that he was being replaced as the project's writer by Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald.[30] Along with Richard Wenk, Pizzolatto co-wrote the screenplay for The Magnificent Seven (2016), a remake of the period-piece western The Magnificent Seven (1960) (which was itself a western remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai). Antoine Fuqua directed, and the film, released on September 23, 2016, starred Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Ethan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard and others.

Pizzolatto adapted his 2010 novel Galveston for the 2018 film of the same name; however, he requested to be credited under the pseudonym Jim Hammett following director Mélanie Laurent's contributions to the screenplay, despite not being formally engaged as a writer on the project, feeling the final script did not reflect his own. Producer Tyler Davidson confirmed the news to Entertainment Weekly, saying, "My personal opinion is that Nic did not feel the final script reflected his work as the sole credited writer, and his representatives advised us to credit him with his pseudonym."[31] [32] In December 2018, Pizzolatto revealed that he had assisted Deadwood creator David Milch in writing the screenplay for the film adaptation. In return, Milch helped him with the third season of True Detective by co-writing the fourth episode as well as giving Pizzolatto advice on crafting the season.[33]

In April 2019, it was announced that Pizzolatto had written the screenplay for the film Ghost Army for Universal Pictures. The film is to be headlined and directed by Ben Affleck.[34] In January 2020, FX announced that Pizzolatto had signed an overall deal with the network, with the first project being the drama series Redeemer.[35] The following year, negotiations for an early termination of the deal were underway after the development of Redeemer was canceled.[36] In April 2020, Pizzolatto said he was interested in writing a Batman film, saying: "Batman is the only character in the world I didn't create that I want a shot at. And he's the only piece of geek culture I have any affinity for."[37]

In March 2022, HBO announced that a fourth season of True Detective entered development, which would carry the subtitle Night Country, a first for the series. The first episode would be written by Issa López, who would also direct it. López would executive produce the season, alongside Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak. In June 2022, HBO officially greenlit the season, with López serving as showrunner. Pizzolatto would remain as an executive producer, marking his first season without a writing credit.[38] In March 2023, it was reported that Pizzolatto would be writing a Western series for Prime Video.[39] Pizzolatto has said that the series "may be the most purely fun story I've ever written".[40] The previous year he had said that "The Grass Rifles is an original western TV series I've written two episodes of, along with a season-long outline. It's the most populist, funniest thing I've ever written. Also the most romantic..."[41] A month later, it was announced the series was being "refashioned" into a television series adaptation of the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven.[42] In April 2023, Pizzolatto was hired to co-write the script for the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Blade,[43] currently set for release on November 7, 2025.[44]

Other work

Pizzolatto taught fiction and literature as Kenan Visiting Writer (2005–2006) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 2008 at the University of Chicago, and as assistant professor of English (2008–2012) at DePauw University.[45] He moved to California to pursue a screenwriting career in 2010.

Personal life

Pizzolatto lives with his two daughters in Austin, Texas. He married musician Suzanne Santo in June 2022.[46]

Filmography

Films

YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes
2016The Magnificent Seven
2018GalvestonCredited as Jim Hammett
2019 uncredited
2021The Guilty
TBAEasy's Waltz

Television series

Writer

Year Show Season Episode Episode number Original airdate Notes
2011The Killing1"What You Have Left"6May 1, 2011
"Orpheus Descending"13June 19, 2011Written by Pizzolatto & Veena Sud
2014True Detective1"The Long Bright Dark"1January 12, 2014
"Seeing Things"2January 19, 2014
"The Locked Room"3January 26, 2014
"Who Goes There"4February 9, 2014Writer and actor[47]
"The Secret Fate of All Life"5February 16, 2014
"Haunted Houses"6February 23, 2014
"After You've Gone"7March 2, 2014
"Form and Void"8March 9, 2014
20152"The Western Book of the Dead"9
"Night Finds You"10
"Maybe Tomorrow"11
"Down Will Come"12Written by Pizzolatto & Scott Lasser
"Other Lives"13
"Church in Ruins"14Written by Pizzolatto & Scott Lasser
"Black Maps and Motel Rooms"15
"Omega Station"16
20193"The Great War and Modern Memory"17
"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye"18
"The Big Never"19
"The Hour and the Day"20Written by Pizzolatto & David Milch; also director
"If You Have Ghosts"21Writer and director
"Hunters in the Dark"22Written by Pizzolatto & Graham Gordy
"The Final Country"23
"Now Am Found"24
20244"Part 1"25January 14, 2024Executive Producer Only

Publications

Awards and nominations

The first two short stories Pizzolatto submitted sold simultaneously to The Atlantic. His collection of short fiction Between Here and the Yellow Sea was long-listed for the 2006 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and named one of the top five fiction debuts of the year by Poets & Writers Magazine.

Pizzolatto was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 2004. His novel Galveston won third prize in the 2010 Barnes and Noble Discovery Award, and was a finalist for the 2010 Edgar Award for best first novel.[51] It won the 2011 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America. In France, Galveston was awarded the Prix du Premier Roman étranger[52] (Best Foreign First Novel) for 2011, by a jury of literary critics. In 2015 it won Best Translated Crime Novel by the Swedish Crime Writers Academy.[53] In the Netherlands Galveston won the 2016 De VN Thriller Award.[54]

For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Pizzolatto was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "The Secret Fate of All Life".[55] For the 67th Writers Guild of America Awards, Pizzolatto and the series won for Best Drama Series and Best New Series.[56] In 2015, Pizzolatto was nominated for a Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama for True Detective.[57] In 2015, Pizzolatto was named British GQ Writer of the Year.[58] Pizzolatto and True Detective won the 2015 British Academy Television Award for Best International Programme.[59]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Faculty. DePauw University. registration.
  2. Web site: Nicholas "Nick" Pizzolatto, Jr. . Johnson Funeral Home . 2024-01-20.
  3. Web site: Where I came from a lot of people viewed violence merely as efficient communication . feedbooks . September 2, 2012 . Bernard . Strainchamps . November 15, 2014 . I'm Italian from the American Deep South . https://web.archive.org/web/20141115211323/http://www.feedbooks.com/interview/125/where-i-came-from-a-lot-of-people-viewed-violence-merely-as-efficient-communication . November 15, 2014 .
  4. News: Nic Pizzolatto, the brooding poet behind 'True Detective' . Los Angeles Times . January 8, 2014 . Steven . Zeitchik . November 15, 2014 .
  5. News: True Detective: 'I didn't want it to be just another serial-killer show' . The Guardian . February 17, 2014 . Sarah . Hughes . November 15, 2014 .
  6. The Dark Thrills of 'True Detective' . Rolling Stone . February 28, 2014 . Jonathan . Ringen . November 15, 2014 . September 15, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170915113809/http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/news/the-dark-thrills-of-true-detective-20140228 . dead .
  7. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto, New Orleans-born novelist, discusses HBO's upcoming 'True Detective' . nola.com . July 7, 2014 . Dave . Walker . November 15, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141019115938/http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2013/07/nic_pizzolatto_new_orleans-bor.html#incart_river . October 19, 2014 .
  8. Web site: NIC PIZZOLATTO . The Last Magazine . January 8, 2014 . Alexander . Slotnick . November 15, 2014 .
  9. News: Author Nic Pizzolatto to produce show for HBO. August 15, 2012. http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120815155142/http://www.americanpress.com/Author%2DNic%2DPizzolatto%2Dto%2Dproduce%2Dshow%2Dfor%2DHBO. dead. August 9, 2012. American Press. Seiber. Cliff. July 5, 2014.
  10. Web site: St. Louis Catholic Alumni Newsletter . https://archive.today/20141115221035/http://www.slchs.org/alumni/alum-news.html?download=81:alumni-newsletter . dead . November 15, 2014 . St. Louis Catholic High School . Spring 2013 . November 15, 2014 .
  11. Web site: Sunday Talk: Pizzolatto's star quickly rising. Seiber. Cliff. August 20, 2012. American Press. November 15, 2014.
  12. Web site: 'True Detective's' Nic Pizzolatto on Season 2, 'Stupid Criticism' and Rumors of On-Set Drama. Rose. Lacey. August 6, 2014. The Hollywood Reporter. November 15, 2014.
  13. Web site: About Nic. Nic Pizzolatto. July 5, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140723045558/http://nicpizzolatto.com/about.html. July 23, 2014.
  14. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto . The Missouri Review . November 15, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129011545/http://www.missourireview.com/archives/bbauthor/nic-pizzolatto/ . November 29, 2014 . dead .
  15. Christopher Orr, Before True Detective: The Short Stories of Nic Pizzolatto, The Atlantic, https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/before-em-true-detective-em-the-short-stories-of-nic-pizzolatto/283992/
  16. Web site: 2006 Longlist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award in association with the Irish Times. Munster Literature Centre. July 5, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20061109052305/http://www.munsterlit.ie/FOC/2006_longlist.htm. November 9, 2006. 2006.
  17. News: Lehane. Dennis. Love Among the Ruined. July 5, 2014. New York Times. July 16, 2010. Sunday Book Review.
  18. Web site: Sepinwall. Alan. 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto on Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson His Gripping New HBO Series. January 7, 2014. HitFix. July 5, 2014. What's Alan Watching? Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall.
  19. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. HBO Picks Up Matthew-Woody Series 'True Detective' With Eight-Episode Order. Deadline Hollywood. PMC. July 5, 2014. April 30, 2012.
  20. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. 'True Detective' Now Most Watched HBO Freshman Series Ever. Deadline Hollywood. PMC. July 5, 2014. April 15, 2014.
  21. Web site: True Detective : Season 1. Metacritic. July 5, 2014. Metacritic score: 87.
  22. Web site: Sepinwall. Alan. 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto Looks Back on Season 1. March 10, 2014. HitFix. July 5, 2014. What's Alan Watching? Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall.
  23. Web site: Andreeva. Nellie. 'True Detective' Finale Crashes HBO Go. Deadline Hollywood. PMC. July 5, 2014. March 9, 2014.
  24. News: Calia. Michael. Writer Nic Pizzolatto on Thomas Ligotti and the Weird Secrets of 'True Detective'. September 10, 2014. The Wall Street Journal. February 2, 2014.
  25. News: Leopold. Todd. ‘True Detective’ writer accused of plagiarism. December 14, 2023. CNN. August 8, 2014.
  26. News: Abad-Santos. Alex. The True Detective plagiarism controversy: explained. December 14, 2023. Vox. August 7, 2014.
  27. Web site: 'True Detective' Season 2: HBO Series Gets A Clean Slate, But Has It Learned From Its Mistakes?. Ellen. Killoran. Forbes.
  28. Web site: 'True Detective' Season 3 Still Up in the Air as HBO Inks Deal with Nic Pizzolatto Through 2018. Elizabeth. Wagmeister. 17 November 2015.
  29. Web site: HBO Eyes Series From Robert Downey Jr. & 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto. Nellie. Andreeva. 15 August 2016.
  30. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . Perry Mason HBO Drama Project Starring Robert Downey Jr. Sets New Writers . Deadline Hollywood . January 14, 2019 . August 25, 2017.
  31. Galveston: Nic Pizzolatto credited on Mélanie Laurent film under pseudonym. Entertainment Weekly. Joey. Nolfi. October 18, 2018. October 19, 2018.
  32. Web site: 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto Requested His Name to be Taken off Mélanie Laurent's 'Galveston' Adaptation. 19 October 2018.
  33. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto Helped Write the 'Deadwood' Movie — So David Milch Helped Write 'True Detective' Season 3 . IndieWire . Ben . Travers . December 18, 2018 . December 18, 2018.
  34. Web site: Ben Affleck to Direct, Star in WWII Drama 'Ghost Army' for Universal. 23 April 2019.
  35. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto and Matthew McConaughey Reteam for 'Redeemer' Drama Series at FX; 'True Detective' Duo Ink FX Productions & Fox 21 TV Studios Deals. 28 January 2020.
  36. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto Negotiating Early Exit From FX Deal (Exclusive). Goldberg. Lesley. The Hollywood Reporter. 12 January 2021. 14 January 2021.
  37. Web site: Lattanzio. Ryan. 2020-04-18. 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto Wants Batman to Fight God in His Version of the DC Tentpole. 2021-05-03. IndieWire. en.
  38. Web site: Hibberd . James . 2022-06-28 . HBO Officially Orders ‘True Detective’ Season 4, Casts Kali Reis . 2023-12-31 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
  39. Web site: 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto Sets Western at Amazon (Exclusive). March 2, 2023. Lesley Goldberg. Hollywood Reporter.
  40. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto on Instagram: "This may be the most purely fun story I've ever written, and I'm so excited to get the chance to bring it to you. Hang in there, everybody- meaningful entertainment on the way." . March 2, 2023. Nic Pizzolatto.
  41. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto on Instagram: "Since you asked (Some of you)- this is what I've been writing over the past year: 'Easy's Waltz' is an original film I plan to direct that will star Vince Vaughn as a singer in las Vegas... This may be my favorite story I've ever made. We've cast a couple other roles as well, and are solidifying financing... 'The Grass Rifles' is an original western TV series I've written two episodes of, along with a season-long outline. It's the most populist, funniest thing I've ever written. Also the most romantic... 'The Frenchman' is an international spy thriller based on the novel by Jack Beaumont (A pseudonym for an actual French spy and one of the most impressive men I've ever met)... Since all these projects require millions of dollars, and the market being what it is, I can't guarantee you'll actually get to watch all (Or any) of them, but the wheels are in motion... All of which is just to assure the fans on here that I haven't retired and am creating robustly (Just not super-dark stories about murder and retribution)... Okay. I'll probably go back to posting wedding pictures after this. Thanks. Be good." . 19 August 2022. Nic Pizzolatto.
  42. Web site: Goldberg. Lesley. April 24, 2023. Nic Pizzolatto's Amazon Western Refashioned as 'The Magnificent Seven' TV Series. The Hollywood Reporter. April 30, 2023.
  43. Web site: Kit . Borys . April 28, 2023 . Marvel's 'Blade' Nabs 'True Detective' Creator Nic Pizzolatto for Writing Duties (Exclusive) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230428211338/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/marvels-blade-nabs-true-detective-creator-1235405915/ . April 28, 2023 . April 28, 2023 . The Hollywood Reporter.
  44. Web site: D'Alessandro . Anthony . November 9, 2023 . Marvel's 'Deadpool 3' Moves To July 2024 & 'Captain America: Brave New World' To 2025 As Disney Shakes Up Schedule Due To Actors Strike . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231110010731/https://deadline.com/2023/11/deadpool-3-moves-to-july-2024-captain-america-brave-new-world-to-2025-due-to-actors-strike-1235599079/ . November 10, 2023 . November 9, 2023 . Deadline Hollywood.
  45. Web site: Fiction writer, poet Pizzolatto to be visiting writer in 2005-06 . University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . June 16, 2005 . Kim . Spurr . November 15, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140824045953/http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun05/kenanwriter061605.htm . August 24, 2014 .
  46. Web site: Naveen Rao-. 2021-12-29. Who is Suzanne Santo's Boyfriend: Entertainment Big-Shot Nic Pizzolatto Has Moved Up the Relationship Ladder & is Now Her Fiancé!. 2022-02-07. Earn The Necklace. en.
  47. Web site: "True Detective" Who Goes There (TV Episode 2014) – Full Cast & Crew – IMDb . Internet Movie Database . May 8, 2016.
  48. 1987, The Races . Pizzolatto. Nic. The Missouri Review. Spring 2004. 27. 1. 83–93. 10.1353/mis.2004.0031. 161821517. July 5, 2014.
  49. Haunted Earth. Pizzolatto. Nic. The Iowa Review. Fall 2005. 35. 2. 14–24. 10.17077/0021-065X.6014. 20152008. 0021-065X. 5543752036. free.
  50. Graves of Light. Pizzolatto. Nic. Ploughshares. Winter 2009–2010. 35. 4. 140–156. 40354597. 0048-4474. 542960158.
  51. Web site: Princeton Review.
  52. News: Marien Defalvard et Nic Pizzolatto, lauréats du Prix du Premier roman. July 5, 2014. Libération. AFP. November 16, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20121004142041/http://www.liberation.fr/livres/01012371894-marien-defalvard-et-nic-pizzolatto-laureats-du-prix-du-premier-roman. October 4, 2012.
  53. Web site: Nic Pizzolattos Galveston utnämnd till bästa översatta kriminalroman av Svenska Deckarakademin. 2016-07-08. 2016-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20160817092920/http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/pressreleases/nic-pizzolattos-galveston-utnaemnd-till-baesta-oeversatta-kriminalroman-av-svenska-deckarakademin-1258517. dead.
  54. Web site: Galveston is de Vrij Nederland Thriller van het Jaar – Vrij Nederland. 2 June 2016.
  55. News: Emmys 2014: Sherlock, Breaking Bad, Horror Story: Coven, True Detective and Many Repeat Winners Grab Gold . TVLine . Matt Webb . Mitovich . August 25, 2014 . August 26, 2014.
  56. The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Imitation Game win WGA Awards . Entertainment Weekly . Esther . Zuckerman . February 14, 2015 . February 15, 2015.
  57. Web site: All Nominations for 26th Annual Producers Guild Awards. Producers Guild . January 5, 2015 . January 5, 2015.
  58. Web site: Nic Pizzolatto: Writer. GQ.
  59. Web site: 2015 Television International – BAFTA Awards.

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