Hawkeye Screenwriters and Filmmakers

Here are some of the UI's Hollywood storytellers and the notable projects they've written or directed.

Scott Beck (07BA)
A Quiet Place
"What's cool about the University of Iowa is it's such an artistic pocket within the state."

Mitchell Burgess (78BA)
Northern Exposure, The Sopranos, Blue Bloods
"Iowa was instrumental in helping our careers, without a doubt."

Lila Byock (04MFA)
Manhattan, The Leftovers, Castle Rock, Watchmen
"If the Iowa Writers' Workshop wants you, there's not really another place to go."

Patrick Sean Clark (88MFA)
Northern Exposure, Evening Shade, The Commish, Coach, Early Edition

Rick Cleveland (95MFA)
The West Wing, Six Feet Under, Mad Men, House of Cards, The Man in the High Castle

Diablo Cody (00BA)
Juno, Young Adult, Tully

John Falsey (78MFA)
St. Elsewhere, I'll Fly Away, Northern Exposure

Robin Green (77MFA)
Northern Exposure, The Sopranos, Blue Bloods
"All these experiences at Iowa shaped our future."

Tommy Haines (05BA)
Saving Brinton

Don Hall (91MFA) 
Winnie the Pooh, Big Hero 6, Moana

Sarah Heyward (09MFA) 
Girls 
Heyward refers to her time at the Iowa Writers' Workshop as "the best two years of my life," which helped her to "see the different ways there are to be talented at writing."

Keith Huff (94MFA) 
Mad Men, House of Cards, American Crime

John Irving (67MFA) 
The World According to Garp, Simon Birch, The Cider House Rules

David Kajganich (94MFA) 
True Story, A Bigger Splash, The Terror, Pet Sematary (2019)

Barry Kemp (71BA) 
Taxi, Newhart, Coach 
"At Iowa, I had a bright and thoughtful teacher with very high standards, who took the idea of wanting a career [in show business] seriously but was also cautious in painting a picture of what the real world looks like."

Mark Lafferty (04MFA) 
Manhattan, Halt and Catch Fire, Castle Rock

Richard Maibaum (31BA, 32MA) 
classic James Bond films

Nicholas Meyer (68BA) 
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, The Prince of Egypt, Medici: Masters of Florence, Time After Time 
"This is the place that shaped me; I'm a creature of this place. For better or worse, I was invented here."

David Milch (70MFA) 
Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Deadwood, True Detective

John Richard(04BS) 
Saving Brinton

Joe Russo (92BA) 
Arrested Development, Community, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War

Stephanie Savage (93MA) 
The O.C., Gossip Girl, Runaways, Dynasty

Sam Shaw (04MFA) 
Masters of Sex, Manhattan, Castle Rock
"Iowa is the mecca of literary fiction."

Stewart Stern (43BA) 
Rebel Without a Cause

Jeff Tomsic (99BA) 
Tag

D.B. Weiss (98MFA) 
Game of Thrones, Star Wars

Gene Wilder (55BA) 
Young Frankenstein

Vinnie Wilhelm (04MFA) 
Manhattan, The Terror, Castle Rock

Tennessee Williams (38BA) 
The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire

Bryan Woods (07BA) 
A Quiet Place
Woods says he was shaped by "the rich history of writing and amazing writers that are on campus. It was just an inspiring environment to be a part of, and to be around so many talented people helped me be better."