Big Bang Theory: Screenwriter Anthony McCarten

Big Bang Theory: Screenwriter Anthony McCarten Proves that Perseverance Pays Off with The Theory of Everything
By Mark Sells on February 19, 2015
MovieMaker Magazine

According to screenwriter Anthony McCarten, there’s one proven theory about working in the creative arts: You need to have a whole lot of persistence to get things through. Such was the case with Academy Award Best Picture nominee The Theory of Everything, which took no less than a decade to get off the ground.

Since the initial reading of Stephen Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time, and Jane Hawking’s autobiography, Traveling to Infinity, the eight-year journey to build trust, secure Jane and Stephen’s permission, and produce the film itself under the masterful talents of director James Marsh and actors Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything was the kind of labor of love that Richard Linklater might appreciate.

A native of New Plymouth, New Zealand, Anthony McCarten began his career as a journalist, went to school for poetry, and worked as a Shakespearean actor and playwright for many years before venturing into the world of novels, where his first book, Spinners, earned international acclaim. Along the way, he did more writing for television (The English Harem), stage (Ladies’ Night), and film (Show of Hands), before adapting his third novel, Death of a Superhero, to the big screen in 2011. The film starred Andy Serkis and made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. MORE...