Spider-Man Screenwriter Alvin Sargent Passed Away at 92

Alvin Sargent, a screenwriter credited with the first four Spider-Man live-action films, passed away last Thursday at the age of 92. The man had an impressive long-ranging career, and made major contributions to film interpretations of Spider-Man, although his career predates the character’s existence.

He’s the younger brother of Herbert Sargent, a TV writer best known for cocreating the “Weekend Update” segment of Saturday Night Live. He served in the Navy for three years and initially worked as a part-time actor. A small role in From Here to Eternity provided his first exposure to screenplays. He became a television writer in the early 1960s, working on shows like the police drama The Naked City, the Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and Route 66.

His first screenplay was the 1966 film Gambit, starring Michael Caine as a cat burglar. He adapted Paul Zindel’s pulitzer-winning play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds into a film directed by Paul Newman in 1972. He received an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of David Brown’s novel Addie Pray into Peter Bogdanovich’s film Paper Moon, which also scored Tatum O’Neal the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

He won his first Academy Award for screenwriting in 1977 for the Holocaust drama Julia, which also netted Oscars for Jason Robards and Vanessa Redgrave in their supporting performances.

He won his second Academy Award for Ordinary People, which also won Best Supporting Actor for Timothy Hutton, Best Director for Robert Redford, and Best Picture.

In his speech accepting the Oscar for Ordinary People, he said “I am very proud that you give me this honor, and that you honor this film, which is about all of us, trying to understand all of us, a movie that is about terror and despair, pain and all kinds of anxiety, violence, and yet no bullets, and no rapes, and no guns, and no homicides.” You could see why Sony would think of him as the right guy for Spider-Man films that did include bullets, guns and homicides, but also focused heavily on the private life of Peter Parker.

Due to the collaborative nature of the Spider-Man films, it’s difficult to determine his exact contributions, so this is a cursory overview.

He had been in a relationship with Spider-Man producer Laura Ziskin for decades (they would marry in 2010; she died of complications from breast cancer in 2011.) They had collaborated before on What About Bob? and the Dustin Hoffman action-comedy Hero. He was brought on to provide a dialogue rewrite for the first Spider-Man. His changes focused primarily on Peter and MJ’s relationship, which was at the heart of the film.

Sony and company had to like what he did, since he was the main screenwriter for Spider-Man 2, turning stories by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon, into a coherent screenplay in collaboration with director Sam Raimi. After the success of Spider-Man 2, Sargent had a seven-figure deal to write more Spider-Man films.

He co-wrote Spider-Man 3 with Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi. With all the plot threads (the Alien Costume saga, Harry Osborn as the new Green Goblin, the Sandman as a villain, the downfall of Eddie Brock, Venom) they considered making it two films back to back, but couldn’t determine a satisfying midpoint.

He’s also credited as one of the writers of The Amazing Spider-Man, when he was well into his eighties. For all the concerns about that film (much of which came down to the editing), I don’t recall any criticism that the writing felt too old.

In a New York magazine survey of 40 contemporary screenwriters asked to come up with an all-time Top 100, Sargent was rated  57th, just below Harold Ramis, Ingmar Bergman and Herman Mankiewicz (The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane.)

57. Alvin Sargent
Notable Scripts: Paper Moon (1973), Julia (1977), Ordinary People (1980), Unfaithful (2002)
Oscars: Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay, Paper Moon. Won: Best Adapted Screenplay, Julia; and Ordinary People.

The two-time Oscar winner once lamented his inability to write an anti-hero like Paul Newman’s character in Cool Hand Luke:  “I’m a nice guy,” he said. Maybe, but he consistently demonstrated a fascination with human beings, and how their relationships with one another can sometimes bring happiness or despair: 1973’s Paper Moon (based on the Joe David Brown novel) captured the essence of a father-daughter bond; 1977’s Julia, which won three Academy Awards, examined the friendship between the title character and writer Lillian Hellman. Three years later, Sargent adapted Judith Guest’s novel Ordinary People, turning it into one of the quintessential family drama, which Oscar-nominated screenwriter Billy Ray (Captain Phillips) called “the most perfect monster movie ever written.” Since then, Sargent has helped enrich the interpersonal dynamics in romantic melodramas (Unfaithful) and superhero movies (Spider-Man 2). Sometimes, nice guys finish first. “Gambit, Paper Moon, Straight Time — he can do it all. Funny, clever and deadly serious; a smart body of work,” says Larry Karaszewski.

Looking at Sargent’s filmography, he didn’t tell his own stories. His skill was in adaptation and collaboration, taking other people’s stories and turning those into functional screenplays.

He exemplified one of the reasons the Spider-Man films were so successful. The people involved took the material seriously, balancing the spectacle with heart and humanity.