Duane Adler

Duane Adler (born 1968 or 1969) is an American screenwriter and film director best known for writing numerous dance films, including Save the Last Dance (2001) and Step Up (2006). The films grossed over $250 million each, which BroadwayWorld noted as being in the top ten all-time box office for dance films.[2] The Baltimore Sun said, "Adler established himself as one of the go-to screenwriters for 21st-century dance movies."[1]

Duane Adler
Born1968 or 1969 (age 54–55)[1]
North Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, film director
Years active2001–present

Step Up became a franchise, and sequel films based on his characters grossed over $651 million worldwide.[3] Adler also had his directorial debut with the 2013 film Make Your Move.

Background

Duane Adler was born in the US state of North Carolina around 1968 or 1969. He grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and in Odenton, Maryland. He went to college at the University of Maryland, College Park.[1]

Career

Duane Adler wrote the original screenplay for the 2001 film Save the Last Dance. Paramount Pictures hired Cheryl Edwards to rewrite the screenplay, and she worked on it in the course of nine months. Paramount tentatively gave both writers their first screenplay credits, and Adler requested arbitration to claim sole screenplay credit based on his primary contribution. The first arbitration case was inconclusive due to a factual error, and a second arbitration case led to Adler receiving story credit, with both Adler and Edwards receiving screenplay credit.[4]

Adler also wrote the film's 2006 sequel Save the Last Dance 2 and co-wrote the 2006 film Step Up with Melissa Rosenberg. In 2008, he began writing Venice Beach, a "music-driven romance" starring singer Ne-Yo, who had appeared in Save the Last Dance 2. The film did not reach production.[5] In 2009, Adler was hired to rewrite a script for the teen dance drama Jump Around, which revolved around a team in a Double Dutch jump rope competition with the intent to direct, though the film was never produced.[6]

Adler's directorial debut came with the 2013 film Make Your Move, which he had tried to make for over seven years. He initially sought to work with Savion Glover to make a film revolving around tap dance, but his pitch did not achieve results. He had another idea of a collaboration between an American boy and an Asian girl who were both musicians, and he sought to merge that with tap dance. After some difficulty, he was inspired by a New York-based Japanese trope named COBU that used taiko drums. Film producer Robert W. Cort supported Adler's project, and Adler wrote and directed Make Your Move.[1]

Adler then directed the 2017 film Heartbeats, which featured an American family going to a wedding in India and shows both American and Indian styles of dancing.[7] Following Heartbeats, the television network Fox committed to the script of Shine, a television film that involved Adler as writer and executive producer. The film was not produced.[3] In 2019, Adler and the studio Entertainment One received a pilot commitment from the TV network ABC to produce House of the Rising Sun, featuring two feuding families with the backdrop being a New Orleans nightclub.[8]

Filmography
Adler's screenwriting credits
Year Film Notes Ref.
2001 Save the Last Dance Story credit; screenplay credit shared with Cheryl Edwards [9]
2001 The Way She Moves Wrote screenplay; also known as When the Music Stops [10]
2006 Step Up Wrote story; wrote screenplay with Melissa Rosenberg [9]
2006 Save the Last Dance 2 Wrote screenplay [5]
2008 Step Up 2: The Streets Based on characters by Duane Adler [10]
2008 Make It Happen Wrote story; wrote screenplay with Nicole Avril; also co-producer [10]
2010 Step Up 3D Based on characters by Duane Adler [10]
2012 Step Up Revolution Based on characters by Duane Adler [10]
2013 Make Your Move Wrote and directed [9]
2014 Step Up: All In Based on characters by Duane Adler [11]
2017 Heartbeats Wrote and directed [7]

References
  1. Kaltenbach, Chris (April 17, 2014). "Maryland native Duane Adler's first film as writer-director is multicultural". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  2. Staff (February 28, 2014). "Step Up Screenwriter Duane Adler Makes Directorial Debut With Make Your Move, Out 4/18". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (October 6, 2017). "Fox Developing 'Shine' Dance Drama From Marc Platt & 'Step Up's Duane Adler". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  4. Friend, Tad (October 20, 2003). "Credit Grab: How Many Writers Does It Take to Make a Movie?". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  5. Simmons, Leslie (October 17, 2018). "On speedway to 'Venice Beach'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  6. Fernandez, Jay A. (December 9, 2009). "'Step Up' writer boards 'Jump Around'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  7. Minow, Nell (March 20, 2018). "Master of Movement: Dance Loving Director Duane Adler on his new Film Heartbeats". The Credits: Profiles Below the Line. Motion Picture Association. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  8. Andreeva, Nellie (September 5, 2019). "'House Of the Rising Sun' New Orleans Music-Driven Drama In Works At ABC From Duane Adler & eOne". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  9. "Duane Adler". catalog.afi.com. American Film Institute. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  10. "Duane Adler". bfi.org.uk. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  11. Debruge, Peter (July 16, 2014). "Film Review: 'Step Up All In'". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
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