Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is best known for writing the screenplays for the films L.A. Confidential (1997) and Mystic River (2003). He wrote and directed the films 42, a biopic of Jackie Robinson; and Legend, about the rise and fall of the infamous London gangsters, the Kray twins. His work on L.A. Confidential earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Early life
Helgeland was born in Providence, Rhode Island, to Norwegian immigrant Aud-Karin and second-generation Norwegian-American Thomas Helgeland. He was raised in nearby New Bedford, Massachusetts. He majored in English at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth before following his father's work in fishing scallop.
A particularly cold winter day in 1985 made Helgeland consider finding another job. He was fascinated by a book about film schools. With a love for movies, Helgeland decided to seek a career in film. He applied for the film school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the only one to agree to accept him in mid-semester.
Career
Helgeland's agent arranged a meeting for him with Rhet Topham, who had an idea for a horror comedy film but was having difficulty writing it. The duo completed 976-EVIL, which they sold for $12,000. In 1990, Helgeland and Manny Coto sold a script, The Ticking Man, for $1 million, but the film was never made.
In 1998, Helgeland won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for L.A. Confidential, which was based on the 1990 novel of the same name by James Ellroy. That year Helgeland also won a Razzie for The Postman, being one of only three people to have previously achieved this dubious feat (preceded by Alan Menken in 1993 and followed by Sandra Bullock in 2010). Helgeland accepted the Razzie, the fourth person to receive the statuette in person, which was delivered to him in his office at Warner Bros. He keeps the statues of both the Oscar and the Razzie on his mantle as "a reminder of Hollywood's idealistic nature and unrealistic expectations."
thumb|left|start=20:49|Helgeland answering questions about the film [[42 (film)|42 in the State Dining Room, April 2013.]]
Helgeland wrote and directed the films Payback (1999), A Knight's Tale (2001), The Order (2003), 42 (2013), and Legend (2015). He has worked with director Clint Eastwood twice, in 2002 on Blood Work, and in 2003 on Mystic River, for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. He also has written an as-yet-unproduced adaptation of Moby-Dick.
In 2004, Helgeland co-wrote the screenplay for The Bourne Supremacy, for which he was uncredited. In early 2008, he was attached to shape the script of the thriller Green Zone after screenwriter Tom Stoppard had to drop out. He collaborated with director Paul Greengrass, whom he worked with on The Bourne Supremacy, as well as reuniting with actor Matt Damon, who played Jason Bourne/David Webb.
Helgeland wrote the screenplay for the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, replacing screenwriter David Koepp. The film was released on June 12, 2009.
On May 4, 2017, HBO announced that Helgeland was one of four writers working on a potential pilot for a Game of Thrones spin-off. In addition to Helgeland, Carly Wray, Max Borenstein, and Jane Goldman were also working on potential pilots. Helgeland has been working and communicating with George R. R. Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series of novels upon which the original series is based. Former Game of Thrones showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff were said to be executive producers for whichever project is picked up by HBO.
In April 2026, Helgeland was announced to be scripting the western film Django/Zorro, based on the comic book of the same name, for Sony Pictures.
Personal life
Helgeland and his wife Nancy have two sons.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
!width=65| Director
!width=65| Writer
!width=65| Producer
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|1988
| A Nightmare on Elm Street 4:<br>The Dream Master
|
|
|
|
|-
| 976-EVIL
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1992
| Highway to Hell
|
|
|
|
|-
| 1995
| Assassins
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1997
| L.A. Confidential
|
|
|
| Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay<br>Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay<br>Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
|-
| Conspiracy Theory
|
|
|
|
|-
| The Postman
|
|
|
| Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay
|-
| 1999
| Payback
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2001
| A Knight's Tale
|
|
|
| Also executive soundtrack producer
|-
| 2002
| Blood Work
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2003
| Mystic River
|
|
|
| Nominated - Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay<br>Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay<br>Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
|-
| The Order
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2004
| Man on Fire
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2009
| The Taking of Pelham 123
|
|
|
|
|-
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2010
| Green Zone
|
|
|
|
|-
| Robin Hood
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2013
| 42
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2015
| Legend
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2020
| Spenser Confidential
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2023
| Finestkind
|
|
|
|
|-
| 2024
| The Killer
|
|
|
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Director
!Writer
!Notes
|-
| 1989–1990
| Friday the 13th: The Series
|
|
| Episodes: "Crippled Inside", "Mightier Than the Sword"
|-
| 1996
| Tales from the Crypt
|
|
| Episode: "A Slight Case of Murder"
|}
Additional awards
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Award
! Result
|-
|rowspan=17| 1997
|rowspan=17| L.A. Confidential
| Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
|
|-
| Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year
|
|-
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| USC Scripter Award
|
|-
| Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| 1999
| Payback
| Cognac Festival du Film Policier Audience Award
|
|-
|rowspan=14| 2003
|rowspan=14| Mystic River
| National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| PEN Center USA West Literary Award for Screenplay
|
|-
| Satellite Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| USC Scripter Award
|
|-
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
| American Screenwriters Association Award
|
|-
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
|
|-
| Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay
|
|-
| London Critics Circle Film Award for Screenwriter of the Year
|
|-
| Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay
|
|-
| Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2013
|rowspan=2| 42
| Hochi Film Award for Best Foreign Language Film
|
|-
| Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
|
|-
|rowspan=1| 2023
|rowspan=1| Finestkind
| Writers Guild of America Award for Best TV & New Media Motion Pictures
|
|}