Richard John Briley was an American writer best known for screenplays of biographical films.
17 Facts About John Briley
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John Briley won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 55th Academy Awards for Gandhi.
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John Briley married Dorothy Louise Reichart in 1950, and they had four children.
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John Briley worked in public relations for General Motors before rejoining the air force in 1955.
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John Briley was posted to RAF Northolt airbase at South Ruislip near London, where he was director of orientation activities and started writing.
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John Briley had an uncredited part in the comedy Situation Hopeless.
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John Briley shifted the focus of the narrative away from the point of view of the British in India to that of the Indian independence movement.
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John Briley originally opposed Ben Kingsley in the title role, favouring John Hurt, but was later glad that Attenborough had cast Kingsley.
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John Briley envisaged more emphasis on the relationship between Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, but Kingsley's towering performance came to dominate the finished film.
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In 1985, John Briley began developing a musical about Martin Luther King Jr.
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John Briley left the project in February 1989 after contract negotiations broke down.
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John Briley attempted to obtain an injunction, claiming he had paid the King family $200,000 in personality rights.
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In 1987, John Briley again teamed up with Attenborough for Cry Freedom, about the South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko.
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John Briley had disagreements with Donald Woods, the journalist whose books formed the basis of the script.
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John Briley viewed the nonviolence of the Black Consciousness Movement as principled, whereas Woods felt it was a tactical decision.
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In 1993, John Briley switched agents from International Creative Management to the William Morris Agency.
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John Briley was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival in 2000.