Christopher Wilkinson (born March 29, 1950) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Nixon (1995). He also wrote the screenplays for Ali (2001) and Copying Beethoven (2006), the latter of which he also produced. Most of his scripts are historically based and co-written with Stephen J. Rivele.

Early life and education

Wilkinson was born in New York City and raised in Philadelphia. He began his career as a musician before attending film school at Temple University.

Career

Wilkinson has written several biopics with frequent writing partner Stephen J. Rivele, starting with Nixon (1995) and including Ali (2001) and Copying Beethoven (2006). He was a writer and executive producer on Pawn Sacrifice (2014) and Miles Ahead (2015), and wrote and directed the PBS film Virtuosity (2014). Wilkinson worked on the screenplays for Mercury, a biopic about Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, the long-planned All Eyez on Me, about rapper Tupac Shakur, and Birth of the Dragon, inspired by the real-life no-rules fight between Bruce Lee and Chinese kung fu master Wong Jack Man.

Personal life

Wilkinson lives in Los Angeles, California, with his son. He was formerly married to cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (creator of the comic strip Cathy).

Filmography