- published: 21 Nov 2014
- views: 1067
Tom Fontana (born September 12, 1951 in Buffalo, New York) is an American writer and producer.
Fontana has been a writer/producer for such series as Oz (which he also created), Copper, The Jury, The Beat, The Bedford Diaries, Homicide: Life on the Street, St. Elsewhere, and The Philanthropist.
Fontana was born on the west side of Buffalo, New York, and is the fourth of five children in an Italian-American family; he is a cousin of actress Patti LuPone. He attended Cathedral School, Canisius High School, and Buffalo State College. He worked at the Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo in various capacities before moving to New York City in 1973. Fontana began writing plays when he was about 9 years old; his early efforts were recorded into a reel-to-reel tape recorder with the neighbor kids as performers. At least one of his plays was produced when he was a student at Buffalo State. His college stage debut as an actor was in a production of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, directed by his frequent mentor, Warren Enters. Fontana's efforts as a playwright never proved financially successful. It was while working at the Williamstown Theater Festival in the early 1980s, that he was offered the opportunity to write for television – the offer coming from Bruce Paltrow who was launching St. Elsewhere on NBC.
No other cultural phenomenon has excited audiences and makers in recent memory as much as the rise of the epic TV series. Fascinating viewers with stories of previously unseen psychological, moral and social complexity, the epic TV series has been hailed as the most important new art form since the arrival of 19th century music drama. Its birth took place on July 12, 1997, when HBO premiered Tom Fontana‘s phantasmagorical prison drama Oz which would awe American audiences for 56 episodes over six seasons. It was the success of Oz which encouraged HBO to commission another epic series for 1999, The Sopranos. The rest is history as they say. Tom Fontana has since been creating, writing and producing several other series, most recently the crime series Copper and the period drama Borgia, the ...
Teen Ink Magazine talks to Tom Fontana. (http://teenink.com/)
Tom talks about the research he undertook while developing OZ, the nature of the penal system, the themes of OZ, the show's reception, how he came up with the title, the origin of the OZ tattoo and the creation of Emerald City.
Artist , author and activist Anthony Papa manager of media relations for the Drug Policy Alliance who wrote a book 15 to Life (www.15tolife.com) now in eBOOK formats KINDLE http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007V5XOZA and NOOK http://tinyurl.com/d3qvymq which is about his 12 years in a maximum security prison ( Sing Sing) appears in this clip with Tom Fontana the creator of HBO's Oz . Oz was a dramatic TV series that chronicled life in prison. Papa appeared in the opening montage of Oz during its first season. Originally producers approached him with the idea to shoot the opening playing a prisoner painting in a cell who loses it and destroys his cell and picks up his painting punching his fist through it and the episode of Oz would begin. Papa was commissioned to paint a copy of his famous se...
Writer and producer Tom Fontana explores an urban experimental prison in his television drama, "Oz." See more on the Authors Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIZqvqbtz9I30kDK7RrKXxtLK9WxA33-T
Television writer and producer Tom Fontana - "St. Elsewhere," "Homicide," "Oz," "Borgia," "Copper," and many other shows - in RICHARD BELZER'S CONVERSATION. Also appearing on the Intelligent Channel: new documentaries, innovative lectures and enlightening presentations, archival video and unedited footage from museums, libraries, and archives, and major conversations with thought leaders & entertainment celebrities. Watch for more! Subscribe to the Intelligent Channel!
Interview de Tom Fontana à propos de la série BORGIA
Tom Fontana on prison drama. Watch the full interview in RICHARD BELZER'S CONVERSATION! Also appearing on the Intelligent Channel: new documentaries, innovative lectures and enlightening presentations, archival video and unedited footage from museums, libraries, and archives, and major conversations with thought leaders & entertainment celebrities. Watch for more! Subscribe to the Intelligent Channel!