Q&A: Screenwriter Stan Chervin (“Moneyball”)
One of the best movies of 2011 is Moneyball. It has been nominated for many awards including Best Screenplay [Golden Globes] and Best Adapted Screenplay [WGA]. Screenwriters Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian have received the lion share of attention for their involvement in the project, but here are the exact writing credits:
Story by Stan Chervin, screenplay by Steve Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, based on the book by Michael Lewis
When I discovered that Stan Chervin was a fan of this blog, we struck up an email conversation and I asked if he would do an interview. Stan kindly agreed. First some background:
STAN CHERVIN (Writer) began his career in New York non-profit theatre where he helped develop the work of playwrights at The New Dramatists and The Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Returning to L.A., he served as Story Editor and Director of Creative Affairs at TriStar Pictures before becoming a full-time screenwriter when he adapted the W.P. Kinsella short story, The Dixon Cornbelt League, for the studio. For Sony Pictures, in addition to Moneyball, he has written the film biographies J-Mac, the story of autistic high school basketball player Jason McElwain, and P.T. Barnum. In television, he wrote Extreme Team for ABC, and 7th Precinct for Samuel L. Jackson. He is currently working with Moneyball producer Rachael Horovitz on an adaptation of Bill Buford’s book, Heat, and writing Quantum Hoops, the story of Cal Tech’s basketball team, for producers Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld.
Here is the interview with Stan Chervin: