Ronald Bass (March 26, 1942 – ), born Ronald Jay Bass and sometimes credited as Ron Bass, is a prolific U.S. screenwriter. Also a film producer, Bass's work is characterized as being highly in demand, and he is thought to be among the most highly paid writers in Hollywood. In 1988, he received the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Rain Man, and films that Bass is associated with are regularly nominated for multiple motion picture awards. March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Credits for A Christmas Story. ... Screenwriters, scenarists or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies are made. ... ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ... Rain Man is a 1988 film which tells the story of a selfish yuppie who discovers that his father has left all of his estate to the autistic brother he never knew he had. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ...

Biography

Early life

Bass was born in Los Angeles, California. One frequently reported "milestone" of his early life is the assertion that he "taught himself to read by age three". The Downtown Los Angeles skyline as seen from Hollywood. ...

From the age of 3 to 11, Bass was afflicted with an undiagnosed condition that kept him bedridden. His symptoms included respiratory problems and stomach pains with high fevers and nausea. It was during this illness, at age six, that Bass is said to have started writing. Respiration can refer to: Cellular respiration, which is the use of oxygen in the metabolism of organic molecules. ... Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. ... Fever, also known as pyrexia, is a medical symptom which describes an increase in internal body temperature to levels which are above normal (37 degrees Celsius, 98. ... Nausea (Greek Ναυτεία) is the sensation of unease and discomfort in the stomach with an urge to vomit. ... Writing may refer to two activities: the inscribing characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other lingual constructs that represent language and record information, or the creation of information to be conveyed through written language. ...

During his teens, Bass began work on a novel, which he entitled Voleur. He completed this work at age 17 and showed it to his English teacher. He took her critique of his first completed project quite hard. She described the writing as very good, but she felt that it was too personal to be published. Bass's response was to later burn his manuscript. Later in life, Bass recalled "it was like the voice of God telling me I didn't have what it takes to be a writer, and I should find something practical to do with my life". Bass would revisit his teenage writings later in life. A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ...

Education

Bass entered law studies, first at Stanford, then Yale, and finally at Harvard Law School, where he graduated from in 1967 with a degree in law. He seemed quite confident about his future prospects: "When I learned there was such a thing as entertainment law, I thought, 'This is where I belong'". Law (a loanword from Old Norse lag), in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments for those who do not follow... (The wind of freedom blows. ... This article is about the institution of higher learning in the United States. ... Harvard Law School (HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Entertainment law

Back in Los Angeles, Bass began a seventeen year career practicing law in the entertainment buisness. He was successful, and eventually rose to the level of partner in his law firm. In the common law, a partnership is a type of business entity in which partners share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which they have all invested. ... A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. ...

Marriage

Bass is married to Diane Bass, who served as an uncredited technical consultant on the film Rain Man.

Novels

While moving up the career ladder in law, the love of writing Bass had aquired as a child never left him. He started writing again, usually during the predawn hours before going to work. Writing and working at unusual hours became a life long habit of his.

In 1974, he began to rework his novel Voleur, appearently from memory, as he had burned the manuscript when he was 17. In 1978, he completed the work, renaming it The Perfect Thief (ISBN 0515046221). This was the first of his three published novels. 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

In 1982, Bass published his second novel, Lime's crisis: A novel (ISBN 0688010253). The Lime referred to in the title is Harry Lime, the central mystery character of the 1949 motion picture The Third Man. 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Third Man (1949) is a film noir directed by Carol Reed. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The Third Man (1949) is a film noir directed by Carol Reed. ...

On January 1, 1984, his third novel was published, The Emerald Illusion (ISBN 0688026222). The following year, he wrote the screenplay Code Name: Emerald, based on this novel. It was his debut as a screenwriter with a produced script. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Screenwriting

Collaborations

Bass is known for successfully working in collaboration with other writers, including Amy Tan on The Joy Luck Club and Al Franken on When a Man Loves a Woman. Amy Tan (Chinese: 譚恩美; pinyin: Tán Ēnměi) (born February 19, 1952) is a Chinese American author. ... The Joy Luck Club is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. ... A recent photograph of Al Franken (credit: Bill Hayward) Al Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American satirist, comedian, bestselling author, and radio host with a predominantly liberal point of view. ... The 1994 drama When A Man Loves A Woman starred Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Ellen Burstyn and Lauren Tom. ...

Criticism

Detractors of Bass's works describe his stories as over sentimental. A director working on a Bass-written movie said "Every character is a little too nice, and everything has to be tied up in a sweet little bundle".

Works

Novels

• The Perfect Thief, 1978, ISBN 0515046221
• Lime's crisis: A novel, 1982, ISBN 0688010253
• The Emerald Illusion, January 1, 1984, ISBN 0688026222

1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Films

Please see the WGA screenwriting credit system for an explaination of the terms story by, screenplay by, and written by. Also note that under the rules of the Writers Guild of America, Bass has not received onscreen credit for every script he has contributed to. It is thought that Bass has helped to write or consulted on over 100 screenplays (not all of which have nessesarily been produced). Credits for A Christmas Story. ... The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the collective bargaining representative, or labor union, for writers in the motion picture and television industries. ...

2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Mozart and the Whale, a 2005 film starring Josh Hartnett and Radha Mitchell is the story of two people with Aspergers syndrome, a form of autism, whose emotional dysfunction impacts their relationship. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Snow Falling on Cedars was a film, based on David Gutersons novel of the same title, Snow Falling on Cedars (novel). ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Entrapment DVD cover Entrapment (1999), directed by Jon Amiel, is a film starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. ... Stepmom is an American film made in 1998. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... DVD cover for What Dreams May Come What Dreams May Come is a 1998 drama film, starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr. ... My Best Friends Wedding is a 1997 romantic comedy film directed by P. J. Hogan. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Waiting to Exhale (1995) directed by Forest Whitaker. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dangerous Minds is a 1995 film that tells the story of a retired Marine who leaves her career to become an English teacher at an inner-city high school. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... The 1994 drama When A Man Loves A Woman starred Andy Garcia, Meg Ryan, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Ellen Burstyn and Lauren Tom. ... Alcoholics Anonymous (known commonly as A.A. or AA) is a world-wide fellowship of alcoholics whose primary purpose is to stay sober and carry the message of recovery from alcoholism through the Twelve Steps. ... The Joy Luck Club is a best-selling novel written by Amy Tan. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Sleeping With the Enemy is an episode from the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rain Man is a 1988 film which tells the story of a selfish yuppie who discovers that his father has left all of his estate to the autistic brother he never knew he had. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Bass's entry at the Internet Movie Database
• Bass's entry at the Screenwriter's Utopia
• A Harvard Alumni article on Bass
• Commentary on Bass from Lukeford.net
• Hollywood.com, lists "milestones" in Bass's life
• Bio page from the official website of How Stella Got Her Groove Back
• A brief excerpt from Reuters/Variety occurs toward the end of this page from Talent Develop.com
• A MovieMaker.com article featuring a sidebar bio on Bass