Marc Klein is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and author, whose tales of love and loss have charmed audiences the world over.
Klein was born in New York City, but spent his formative years in Margate, New Jersey, a seaside community minutes from the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
As a student at Atlantic City High School, Klein won numerous creative writing awards, and ultimately received a college scholarship from the National Foundation for the Advancement of Arts.
Klein attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied filmmaking and screenwriting. After graduating with honors, Klein relocated to Los Angeles and began his professional career as a screenwriter.
In 1997, Klein sold his first screenplay, Love, Jenny, a supernatural love story, to Universal Studios as a vehicle for Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett. While the film was never produced, the sale helped Klein quit his day job as an assistant and allowed him to focus on screenwriting full-time.
In 2000, Klein wrote the original screenplay Serendipity, which caused a bidding war among Hollywood’s top studios. Ultimately produced by Miramax Films, and starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, the tale of star-crossed lovers was declared “an instant romantic comedy classic” and was a smash hit at the box office, grossing nearly $100 million in the United States alone.
In his review of the film, legendary movie critic Gene Shalit wrote: “I’ve been reviewing movies for 35 years and Serendipity joins my personal list of matchless romantic comedies. Thrilling, most wonderful and beyond compare!" In the years since its release, Serendipity is often listed among the best romantic comedies of all time.
In 2005, Klein was chosen by Ridley Scott to adapt the Peter Mayle bestseller, A Good Year, the tale of a morally-compromised investment banker (played by Oscar winner Russell Crowe) who inherits a vineyard in Provence. Working closely with Scott in Los Angeles, London, and then Provence – A Good Year was considered a more personal film for the tentpole-minded Scott. Since it’s release in 2006 by 20th Century Fox, A Good Year has developed a cult following, and many of its fans trek to Provence to take guided tours of the beautiful locations where the film was shot.
That same year, Klein adapted the best-selling novel, A Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, by Melissa Bank. Considered the first modern ”chick lit” book, Klein eventually decided to direct his own screenplay. He cast Alec Baldwin to play the legendary book editor Archie Knox, and Sarah Michelle Gellar to play his young girlfriend. Retitled Suburban Girl, the bittersweet, May-December romance premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival in 2007.
Over the next several years, Klein continued working as a highly-sought after script doctor, with a special emphasis on romantic stories. Among the many films he worked on were the Nicholas Sparks’ films, Dear, John, starring Channing Tatum, Safe Haven, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and The Best of Me. All three were box office hits.
In 2011, Klein was chosen by Pulitzer Prize-winner Lin Manuel Miranda to adapt Miranda's Tony-award winning Broadway musical, In the Heights, for Universal Studios. Klein worked closely with the Macarthur ‘Genius’ songwriter in order to transform the stage musical about Latino immigrants into a full blown cinematic musical. After more than a decade in development, and multiple studio changes, In the Heights will be released by Warner Brothers in the Summer 2021.
In 2012, Klein earned his next credit for the film Mirror, Mirror, a re-imagining of the classic Snow White fairy tale. Starring Academy award-winner Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen, and Lilly Collins as Snow White, Mirror, Mirror received enthusiastic reviews and ultimately grossed $183 million dollars at the worldwide box office.
In 2016, Klein was hired by Relativity Studios to adapt Alyson Richman’s bestselling novel, The Lost Wife. The sweeping love story, set against the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, is currently in development with Emmy-nominated Joey King set to star.
In 2018, Klein adapted the bestselling memoir, Now I See You, by Nicole Kear. The book, a recounting of Kear’s struggle with a genetic disease which left her legally blind, is currently in pre-production with Emma Roberts set to star, and Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) directing.
Also in 2018, Klein began working on a new endeavor: his first novel, The In Between. Inspired by the tragic death of one of his closest friends, The In Between evolved into a supernatural teen love story and ultimately found a home at Little, Brown for Young Readers.
That same year, Klein began developing the feature film version of his debut novel as a vehicle for Joey King – and together they sold the project to Paramount Pictures. The book is now set for release on June 1, 2021, with the movie beginning production in March 2021.
Klein resides in Los Angeles with his wife Karin and his dog, Alvy.
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