Paul Brickman

Paul Brickman
Name	Paul Brickman
Birth date	1949
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois
Occupation	Screenwriter, Film Director
Notable works	Risky Business, Men Don't Leave
Years active	1970s–1990s

Paul Brickman is an American screenwriter and film director best known for writing and directing the 1983 coming-of-age film Risky Business. His work contributed to 1980s American cinema through character-driven narratives that intersected with commercial elements, youth culture, and urban settings. Brickman's films and scripts involve collaborations with notable actors, composers, producers, and studios from Hollywood and independent circles.

Early life and education

Brickman was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised amid Midwestern cultural institutions such as University of Chicago neighborhoods and Chicago-area artistic communities. He attended preparatory schools linked to regional networks and later matriculated at University of Wisconsin–Madison where he studied drama and film studies contemporaneous with filmmakers who emerged from Midwestern universities. During his university years he was exposed to film movements represented by the New Hollywood era and studied works screened at festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival. Brickman subsequently pursued graduate-level training in screenwriting at institutions like Columbia University School of the Arts and participated in workshops affiliated with the American Film Institute.

Career

Brickman began his career writing scripts for television projects associated with studios in Los Angeles and collaborating with producers based in Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures. Early in his professional life he worked under contract alongside notable screenwriters and directors from the New Hollywood generation, contributing uncredited drafts for films distributed by 20th Century Fox and shown at venues such as the Telluride Film Festival. In the late 1970s and early 1980s he developed original material that attracted the attention of producers with ties to Joel Silver and executives at TriStar Pictures.

The breakthrough came when Brickman wrote and directed Risky Business, produced within the studio system with music supervision drawing on artists associated with Columbia Records, Capitol Records, and the RCA Records roster. Following Risky Business he continued to write and direct films that navigated studio financing, independent production companies like Miramax, and international sales agents attending markets such as the Cannes Marché du Film. Brickman also collaborated with screenwriters, cinematographers, and composers from guilds like the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America, maintaining a presence in American and festival circuits through the 1990s.

Notable works

Risky Business (1983) — As writer-director, Brickman created a film that became emblematic of 1980s youth cinema, featuring performances by actors associated with breakthroughs at Paramount Pictures and songs released by labels including Columbia Records. The film's narrative, set in suburban Chicago and urban Chicago Loop locations, engaged themes resonant with audiences who attended screenings at venues like Grauman's Chinese Theatre and film societies connected to the Museum of Modern Art.

Men Don't Leave (1990) — Brickman wrote and directed this domestic drama starring performers known from Broadway stages and studio films distributed by Universal Pictures and MGM. The film premiered at festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and reached art-house circuits supported by independent distributors.

Unproduced and script work — Brickman authored screenplays and rewrites for projects under development at companies such as Universal Pictures, 20th Century Studios, and independent outfits linked to producers who had worked with directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola. Some of these scripts circulated within development programs at institutions like the Sundance Institute.

Style and influences

Brickman's filmmaking style synthesizes narrative realism with stylized commercial pacing, drawing influence from directors and writers of the New Hollywood and European auteurs screened at the Cannes Film Festival. His work shows affinities with the character focus of John Cassavetes, the urban sensibilities of Martin Scorsese, and the tonal blend evident in films by Mike Nichols and Hal Ashby. Musically, Brickman's films integrated contemporary tracks in ways reminiscent of collaborations between filmmakers and record labels such as A&M Records and Sire Records. Cinematographers and production designers he worked with often came from crews associated with projects by Ridley Scott and Brian De Palma, resulting in visual textures that juxtapose suburban interiors with metropolitan exteriors common to Chicago-set cinema.

Personal life

Brickman has maintained a private personal life while participating in industry organizations such as the Writers Guild of America and attending retrospectives at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the American Film Institute. He has been connected socially and professionally to actors, producers, and composers who worked in Hollywood during the 1980s and 1990s, including collaborators with credits at Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures. Brickman's residence and work life have involved periods in both Los Angeles and Chicago, aligning with bi-coastal careers of many contemporary filmmakers.

Awards and recognition

Risky Business and Men Don't Leave garnered attention from film critics at outlets associated with critics who participate in awards organizations such as the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle. The films received nominations and distinctions at festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival and screenings at the Telluride Film Festival. Brickman's screenwriting has been acknowledged in retrospectives alongside other notable screenwriters whose work has been honored by institutions like the Writers Guild of America and the American Film Institute.

Category:American film directors Category:American screenwriters Category:People from Chicago