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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972 she launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, breaking another political barrier.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
David Scarpa | |
|---|---|
 Scarpa in 2017 | |
| Born | Fort Campbell, Kentucky, United States |
| Education | New York University |
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
David Scarpa is an American screenwriter.[1][2][3] He is best known for his collaborations with director Ridley Scott, writing the screenplays for All the Money in the World (2017), about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping, Napoleon (2023), a historical biopic centered on Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gladiator II (2024), a sequel to the 2000 film Gladiator.
Scarpa was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and raised in Tennessee and Connecticut before attending New York University's film program.
He resides in Los Angeles, California.
Scarpa began writing features. In 2005, he began developing a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Scarpa felt everything about the original film was still relevant, but changed the allegory from nuclear war to environmental damage because "the specifics of [how] we now have the capability to destroy ourselves have changed."[4] Scarpa noted the recent events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 informed his mindset when writing the screenplay.[5] He scrapped Klaatu's speech at the conclusion of the story because "audiences today are [un]willing to tolerate that. People don't want to be preached to about the environment. We tried to avoid having our alien looking out over the garbage in the lake and crying a silent tear [from the 1970s Keep America Beautiful ads]."[6] He served as the co-showrunner for Amazon Prime Video series The Man in the High Castle season 4.
After writing All the Money in the World for director Ridley Scott, he reteamed with the director on two more projects: Napoleon, a historical epic centered on Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gladiator II.[7][8]
In 2017, Scarpa was reported to be writing the screenplay for a movie titled Cleopatra for Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Denis Villeneuve due to direct. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scarpa described the film as being "a two-hour, lean, mean political thriller, full of assassinations, etc."[9][10][11] In 2021 Scarpa was reported to be writing for a HBO miniseries Londongrad, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alexander Litvinenko, who died of polonium-210 poisoning in November 2006.[12]
Film
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Last Castle | Co-written with Graham Yost |
| 2008 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | |
| 2017 | All the Money in the World | |
| 2023 | Napoleon | |
| 2024 | Gladiator II | Also story writer with Peter Craig |
Television
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Man in the High Castle | 3 episodes; Also executive producer |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 77th British Academy Film Awards | Outstanding British Film (shared with Ridley Scott, Mark Huffam, Kevin J. Walsh) |
Napoleon | Nominated | [13] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
   | This article about an American screenwriter is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
David Scarpa is an American screenwriter. He is best known for his collaborations with director Ridley Scott, writing the screenplays for All the Money in the World (2017), about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping, Napoleon (2023), a historical biopic centered on Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gladiator II (2024), a sequel to the 2000 film Gladiator.
Scarpa is an Italian surname It may refer to: Andrea Scarpa (born 1987), Italian boxer Antonio Scarpa (1752–1832), Italian anatomist and professor Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978), Italian architect Carola Scarpa (1971–2011), Brazilian actress and socialite Cagnaccio di San Pietro (1897–1946), born Natale Bentivoglio Scarpa, an Italian magic realist painter Daniele Scarpa (born 1964), Italian sprint canoer David Scarpa, American screenwriter Eugenia Scarpa (1886–1961), Italian composer and singer Fernando Scarpa, director and actor Francesco Scarpa (born 1979), Italian football player Gino Scarpa (1924–2022), Italian-born Norwegian painter, printmaker and sculptor, and mountaineer Gregory Scarpa Sr. (1928–1994), American capo and hitman for the Colombo crime family Gregory Scarpa Jr. (born 1951), American capo for the Colombo crime family and informant on international terrorists Gustavo Scarpa (born 1994), Brazilian footballer Lawrence Scarpa (born 1959), American architect Luke Joseph Scarpa (1928–2012), American professional wrestler better known as Chief Jay Strongbow Marc Scarpa (born 1969), American entrepreneur, producer and director Massimo Scarpa (born 1970), Italian golfer Pedro Luís Guido Scarpa (1925–2018), Angolan Roman Catholic bishop of Ndalatando, Angola Renato Scarpa (1939–2021), Italian film actor Rodrigo Scarpa, host of the Brazilian comedy television show broadcast Pânico na Band Romano Scarpa (1927–2005), Italian comics artist Roque Esteban Scarpa (1914–1995), Chilean writer, literary critic and scholar Tiziano Scarpa (born 1963), Italian novelist, playwright and poet
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 2008 American science fiction film serving as a remake of the 1951 film of the same name, which, in turn, was based on the 1940 short story "Farewell to the Master". Directed by Scott Derrickson from a screenplay by David Scarpa, it stars Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, an alien sent to try to change human behavior in an effort to save Earth from environmental degradation; this version replaces the Cold War–era theme of potential nuclear warfare with the contemporary issue of negative human impact on the environment. It co-stars Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, and Kathy Bates. The Day the Earth Stood Still was originally scheduled for release on May 9, 2008, but was released on a roll-out schedule beginning December 12, 2008, screening in both conventional and IMAX theaters. The film was met with mixed reviews from critics but was a box office success, grossing $233.1 million worldwide against its $80 million production budget.
All the Money in the World is a 2017 biographical crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa. Based on John Pearson's 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty, it depicts the events surrounding the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III and the refusal of his grandfather, the multi-billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, to cooperate with the kidnappers' extortion demands. The film stars Michelle Williams as Gail Harris Getty, John Paul Getty III's mother; Christopher Plummer as J. Paul Getty; and Mark Wahlberg as Fletcher Chace, an adviser of the Getty family. Principal photography began in March 2017 and was completed in August for a December 8 release. Two months before the scheduled premiere, sexual misconduct allegations were made against J. Paul Getty's original actor Kevin Spacey, leading to his removal from the film. Plummer was cast by November and 22 scenes were reshot within eight days, one month prior to the rescheduled Christmas release date. It was later reported that Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million for the reshoots, while Williams was only paid $1,000, which sparked a debate on the gender pay gap in Hollywood. The film premiered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on December 18, 2017, followed by a United States theatrical release by TriStar Pictures on December 25. It received generally favorable reviews, many of which praised the performances, and grossed only $57 million against a $50 million budget. Plummer received particular acclaim, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.
