Bruce McKenna
Born (1962-03-14) March 14, 1962 (age 61)
Englewood, New Jersey[1]
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, television writer, television producer
Years active2001–present

Bruce C. McKenna (born March 14, 1962) is an American writer for television and film. He was the co-executive producer, creator, principal writer and researcher on the 2010 HBO 10 part mini-series, The Pacific, which was co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Early life

McKenna, a native of Englewood, New Jersey, is the youngest son of paleontologist Malcolm McKenna and Priscilla McKenna, who had served as Englewood's City Council President.[1] He attended Elisabeth Morrow School and graduated from Dwight-Englewood School in 1980[2] and Wesleyan University in 1984,[3] Phi Beta Kappa, where he majored in European history and received the Dutcher History Prize. After graduation, he attended the Ph.D. program in Russian and Soviet intellectual history at Stanford University for one year. McKenna left Stanford to become a freelance writer focusing in politics and foreign affairs.[4]

Career

Before his work in television and film, McKenna worked as a journalist and freelance writer. He has written many articles on the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Pakistan, and has interviewed Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.[5] McKenna "was the first Western journalist to write about Pamyat, the Russian anti-Semitic movement that emerged after the breakup of the Soviet Union."[6] His work has appeared in Arete, the arts magazine, The National Review, The New York Times, and other publications.

In 2001, he wrote three episodes of the television series Band of Brothers, entitled: "The Last Patrol" (co-writer; eighth episode), "Bastogne" (sole writer; sixth episode), and "Replacements" (co-writer; fourth episode). McKenna's "Bastogne" episode won a Writers Guild Award, garnered an Emmy nomination, and was a finalist for the Humanitas Prize.[7][6]

The Pacific received eight Emmy Awards, including one for Outstanding Miniseries, at the 62nd annual Emmy Award ceremony held on August 29, 2010.[8][9] The Pacific had been nominated for 24 Emmy Awards,[10] including McKenna's nomination for "Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special" for his writing (with co-writer Robert Schenkkan) of the episode "The Pacific" - "Part Ten."[11]

He is currently adapting Arthur C. Clarke's novel Rendezvous with Rama for the screen. He also is writing the screenplay for The Hands of Shang-Chi. In 2002, McKenna sold a pitch for an "Untitled Western" that he went on to write for a high-seven figure deal. Ridley Scott is currently attached to direct.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Rohan, Virginia. "Englewood native's work on HBO's The Pacific started in 2002", The Record (Bergen County), March 14, 2010. Accessed July 22, 2011. "Born 48 years ago today at Englewood Hospital, McKenna always gravitated to history. His late father, Malcolm, was an eminent paleontologist based at New York's American Museum of Natural History. (His mom, Priscilla, who now lives in Boulder, Colo., is a former Englewood City Council president.) And he had terrific history teachers at the Elisabeth Morrow School and Dwight-Englewood School, he says."
  2. ^ White, Liz. "He’s With the Program: Bruce McKenna, Englewood native" Archived 2010-11-19 at the Wayback Machine, (201) magazine, January 2008, p. 54. Accessed June 29, 2011. "The standard he sets for himself in Hollywood took root in Englewood. A Dwight-Englewood alum, class of 1980, McKenna left a lasting impression on faculty there."
  3. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Bruce C. McKenna, "On Wesleyan". YouTube.
  4. ^ "MakingOf - Insiders - Bruce C. McKenna". Archived from the original on March 25, 2010.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Participants | Conference on World Affairs | CU-Boulder". Archived from the original on 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  6. ^ a b "Screenwriter Bruce C. McKenna Talks About 'The Pacific' Miniseries". 11 March 2010.
  7. ^ "HBO: The Pacific: Bruce C. McKenna: Bio". www.hbo.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-02.
  8. ^ "Emmy Awards 2010: A complete list of winners". 30 August 2010.
  9. ^ "73rd Emmy Nominations Announcement".
  10. ^ "Who scored the most Emmy Award nominations | Gold Derby | Los Angeles Times". Archived from the original on 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  11. ^ "Emmy nominations: The complete list - from Inside the Box - Zap2it". Archived from the original on 2010-07-10. Retrieved 2010-08-25.
  12. ^ Bruce McKenna at IMDb

External links

Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted
Authority control databases
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