Alvin Sargent

Writing

Alvin Sargent

Born — Died

1927-04-12 — 2019-05-09

Place of birth

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

26 titles

Alvin Sargent (April 12, 1927–May 9, 2019) was an American screenwriter. He won two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Julia (1977) and Ordinary People (1980). Sargent's other works include screenplays of the films The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1970), Paper Moon (1973), Nuts (1987), White Palace (1990), What About Bob? (1991), Unfaithful (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Alvin Sargent was born Alvin Supowitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Esther (née Kadansky) and Isaac Supowitz. He was of Russian Jewish descent. Sargent attended Upper Darby High School, leaving at …

Known for

The Amazing Spider-Man poster
6.8

A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.

The Amazing Spider-Man

2012

The Oscars poster
7.1

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.

The Oscars

1953

Spider-Man 3 poster
6.5

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.

Spider-Man 3

2007

Unfaithful poster
6.7

A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Unfaithful

2002

Spider-Man 2 poster
7.3

Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...

Spider-Man 2

2004

Ordinary People poster
7.4

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.

Ordinary People

1980

Film credits

Series credits

Behind the camera

The Amazing Spider-Man poster
6.8

A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.

The Amazing Spider-Man

2012

Spider-Man 3 poster
6.5

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.

Spider-Man 3

2007

Unfaithful poster
6.7

A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Unfaithful

2002

Spider-Man 2 poster
7.3

Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...

Spider-Man 2

2004

Ordinary People poster
7.4

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.

Ordinary People

1980

Anywhere but Here poster
6.1

Single mother Adele August is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann, is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.

Anywhere but Here

1999

Anywhere but Here poster
6.1

Single mother Adele August is bad with money, and even worse when it comes to making decisions. Her straight-laced daughter, Ann, is a successful high school student with Ivy League aspirations. When Adele decides to pack up and move the two of them from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, Calif., to pursue her dreams of Hollywood success, Ann grows frustrated with her mother's irresponsible and impulsive ways.

Anywhere but Here

1999

The Stalking Moon poster
5.9

While moving a group of Apaches to a Native American reservation in Arizona, an American scout named Sam Varner is surprised to find a white woman, Sarah Carver, living with the tribe. When Sam learns that she was taken captive by an Indian named Salvaje ten years ago, he attempts to escort Sarah and her half-Native American son to his home in New Mexico. However, it soon becomes clear that Salvaje is hot on their trail.

The Stalking Moon

1968

Paper Moon poster
7.9

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.

Paper Moon

1973

Straight Time poster
7.1

After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.

Straight Time

1978

White Palace poster
6.7

Max Baron is a Jewish advertising executive in his 20s who's still getting over the death of his wife. Nora Baker is a 40-something diner waitress who enjoys the wilder side of life. Mismatched or not, their attraction is instant and smoldering. With time, however, their class and age differences become an obstacle in their relationship, especially since Max can't keep Nora a secret from his Jewish friends and upper-crust associates forever.

White Palace

1990

Other People's Money poster
6.1

When a corporate raider threatens a hostile takeover of a 'mom and pop' company, the patriarch of the company enlists the help of his wife's attractive daughter—who is a lawyer—to stop the takeover. However, the raider soon becomes infatuated with her, and enjoys the legal manoeuvring as he tries to win her heart.

Other People's Money

1991

Gambit poster
7.0

Harry Dean is a career burglar set on stealing a piece of priceless art from the world's wealthiest man, Mr. Shahbandar. With the help of exotic showgirl Nicole Chang, he concocts the perfect scheme for how the robbery should go and lays it out point by point. However, when the team tries to execute the plan, perfection and reality don't quite match up, and Harry's vision begins to unravel in this twisty tale of a heist gone wrong.

Gambit

1966

Julia poster
6.5

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

Julia

1977

I Walk the Line poster
5.9

Henry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage seductress Alma, who is the daughter of local criminal and moonshiner Carl McCain. Henry's moral character comes further into question when he is tempted to conceal Carl's crimes in order to prolong his relationship with Alma.

I Walk the Line

1970

Bobby Deerfield poster
5.8

Bobby Deerfield, a famous American race car driver on the European circuit, falls in love with the enigmatic Lillian Morelli, who is terminally ill.

Bobby Deerfield

1977

Bogus poster
5.8

Recently orphaned, a young boy is taken in by his godmother who is shocked to realize that she can see the boy's imaginary friend: a flamboyant, French magician named Bogus.

Bogus

1996

Nuts poster
6.4

A high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent.

Nuts

1987

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds poster
7.3

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

1972

The Sterile Cuckoo poster
5.6

Uptight college freshman Jerry Payne finds a carefree friend in zany Pookie. After an awkward meeting on the bus, Pookie quickly works her way into Jerry's life. She makes an unannounced visit to Jerry's campus, and before long annoyance turns to affection, and friendship turns to romance. But with Pookie's increasingly neurotic behavior, how long can this love affair last?

The Sterile Cuckoo

1969

Footsteps poster
6.5

A football coach is hired by a small college to shape up its football team, and he finds himself in trouble with local gamblers who don't want the team to improve.

Footsteps

1972

Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing poster
6.1

While bicycling through the Spanish countryside, Walter, the aimless young son of a doctor, makes the acquaintance of proper, middle-aged, clumsy and secretive Lila. He falls in love with her, but she is resistant.

Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing

1973

Dominick and Eugene poster
6.8

Dominick and Eugene are twins, but Dominick is a little bit slow due do an accident in his youth. They live together, with Dominick working as garbage man to put Eugene through medical school. Their relationship becomes strained when Eugene must decide between his devotion to his brother, or his need to go away to complete his training. Things are also not helped by Dominick's co-worker, or Eugene's budding romance.

Dominick and Eugene

1988

No artwork available
8.0

A social worker has problems in her private life.

The Impatient Heart

1971