Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is best known for writing and directing the fantasy comedy-drama film Pleasantville (1998), the sports drama film Seabiscuit (2003), the dystopian action film The Hunger Games (2012), and the heist comedy film Ocean's 8 (2018). Ross has been nominated for four Academy Awards.
Gary Ross was born on November 3, 1956, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Gail and Arthur A. Ross, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter (Brubaker). His family is Jewish.
He attended (though did not graduate from) the University of Pennsylvania.
Ross worked as a fisherman, worked on Ted Kennedy's 1980 Presidential campaign, consulted on Michael Dukakis's 1988 and Bill Clinton presidential campaigns, and wrote a novel before being hired to write screenplays for Paramount Pictures.
Big was his first produced screenplay. Co-written with Anne Spielberg (sister of Steven), it led to an Academy Award nomination and a Writers Guild of America Award. He wrote several other successful films, including Dave in 1993. In 1998, he wrote and directed Pleasantville. In 2003, he wrote, directed and produced Seabiscuit, based on Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand. The film earned seven Academy Award nominations.
Ross took on the high-profile project of co-adapting and directing the film adaptation of the first book in Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games trilogy. The film was released on March 23, 2012, and earned $672.8 million worldwide. Although the film was financially and critically successful, Ross opted not to adapt or direct the sequels, citing the rushed production schedule (particularly for both writing and directing) as his primary reason.
Ross also wrote and produced The Tale of Despereaux, an animated feature based on the Newbery Medal-winning children's book by Kate DiCamillo. His first book, Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind was published by Candlewick Press in 2012. A children's book, it is written entirely in verse.
His following two films as a director and writer were the period drama Free State of Jones (2016) and the heist film Ocean's 8 (2018).
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