Peter Hedges

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Peter Hedges bigraphy, stories - American novelist, screenwriter, film director

Peter Hedges : biography

July 6, 1962 –

Peter Simpson Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American novelist, screenwriter, and film director.

Novels

  • What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1991)
  • An Ocean in Iowa (1998)
  • The Heights (2010)

Life and career

Hedges was born in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he was raised, the son of Carole, a psychotherapist, and the Rev. Robert B. Hedges, a retired Episcopalian minister. He attended Valley High School, where he was involved in the theater department, including the improv group and the mime troupe, "The Bakers Dozen". He later went to the North Carolina School of the Arts where he studied drama. His novel What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was adapted into a critically acclaimed movie of the same title, which launched his film career.

In 2002, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for About a Boy. In the same year, he wrote and directed Pieces of April, starring Katie Holmes, which he dedicated to his mother.

In 2007, he co-wrote and directed Dan in Real Life.

He wrote and directed The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012), a film conceived by Ahmet Zappa, produced by Zappa and Scott Sanders, and released by Walt Disney Pictures. His latest novel, The Heights was published March 4, 2010 by Dutton.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780525951131,00.html?The_Heights_Peter_Hedges

His wife is Susan Bruce, a poet. They have two children, Simon and Lucas Hedges. Lucas appeared in the 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/regina-weinreich/the-odd-life-of-timothy-green_b_1698279.html

Plays

  • Oregon (1984)
  • Champions of the Average Joe (1985)
  • The Age of Pie (1986)
  • Andy and Claire (1986)
  • Teddy by the Sea (1986)
  • Imagining Brad (1988)
  • Baby Anger (1993)
  • Good as New (1995)

Filmography

  • What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) (writer)
  • A Map of the World (1999) (writer of screenplay)
  • About a Boy (2002) (writer of screenplay)
  • Pieces of April (2003) (writer and director)
  • Dan in Real Life (2007) (co-writer and director)
  • The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) (co-writer and director)