Phil Alden Robinson

Biography: After collecting his BA diploma from Union College in Schenectady, New York, Phil Alden Robinson spent three years with the Air Force, then landed a newscasting job at Schenectady's WRGB-TV. Preferring to be a creator rather than a commentator, Robinson began writing and co-directing industrial films. He broke into the Hollywood writing pool with a brace of Trapper John MD TV episodes in 1984. That same year, his first movie script, Rhinestone, made it to the screen; while this Sylvester Stallone-Dolly Parton vehicle was pretty much a washout, it enabled Robinson to obtain a credit in an "A" production, and also afforded him an opportunity to write the film's song lyrics. After his TV directorial bow in a 1986 episode of George Burns Comedy Week, Robinson helmed his first big-screen effort, In the Mood (1987), a fanciful rehash of the life and times of the notorious 1940s teen-aged lothario "The Woo Woo Kid." Two years later, Robinson was able to sell producers Lawrence GordonAfter collecting his BA diploma from Union College in Schenectady, New York, Phil Alden Robinson spent three years with the Air Force, then landed a newscasting job at Schenectady's WRGB-TV. Preferring to be a creator rather than a commentator, Robinson began writing and co-directing industrial films. He broke into the Hollywood writing pool with a brace of Trapper John MD TV episodes in 1984. That same year, his first movie script, Rhinestone, made it to the screen; while this Sylvester Stallone-Dolly Parton vehicle was pretty much a washout, it enabled Robinson to obtain a credit in an "A" production, and also afforded him an opportunity to write the film's song lyrics. After his TV directorial bow in a 1986 episode of George Burns Comedy Week, Robinson helmed his first big-screen effort, In the Mood (1987), a fanciful rehash of the life and times of the notorious 1940s teen-aged lothario "The Woo Woo Kid." Two years later, Robinson was able to sell producers Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon on the notion of a film version of W. P. Kinsella's whimsical baseball novel Shoeless Joe. The resulting film, Field of Dreams, grossed $62 million, cemented the star power of Kevin Costner, earned writer/director nominations for an Oscar, a Writer's Guild Award and a Director's Guild Award--and won Robinson the 1990 "Screenwriter of the Year" prize from the National Association of Theatre Owners. Phil Alden Robinson made a comeback in 1992 as screenwriter-director of an enjoyable all-star "computer hacker" adventure, Sneakers.… Expand