You have to admit that David Magee is certainly versatile. In 2022 alone, the in-demand screenwriter has seen the release of the Netflix YA movie The School of Good and Evil, the sizzlingly hot adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s classic Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and opening at the end of the month is the heartwarming American remake of the Swedish comedy A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks.
That might be enough for a career for some writers in Hollywood, but it is just another year in the life of this go-to talent. Magee first won acclaim, and an Oscar nomination in 2004, for Finding Neverland. He earned a second Oscar nomination in 2013 for adapting the book The Life of Pi. For the latter, Ang Lee-directed film, many thought it an impossible task to adapt the book for the screen, but Magee found a way and the film won four Oscars, and like Neverland was nominated for Best Picture.
Magee’s other credits include Mary Poppins Returns and the upcoming Rob Marshall version of The Little Mermaid. From Disney to D.H. Lawrence it seems nothing is too daunting for Magee, who also took on a challenge in living up to an enormous global bestseller and hit Swedish Oscar-nominated movie A Man Called Ove. But with the endorsement of Hanks and Rita Wilson, who are also producers, his A Man Called Otto works on its own terms.
Magee joins me for this week’s episode of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens. To watch, click on the video above.
Join me every Friday during Oscar season for another edition of Behind the Lens.
