Deric Washburn

Deric Washburn is an American screenwriter.

Washburn graduated from Harvard College in 1959.[1] He began his career as a playwright, penning the off-Broadway plays Ginger Anne[2] and The Love Nest.[3]

He is best known for having written the original screenplay of The Deer Hunter after having co-written the story with Michael Cimino, with whom he had previously worked on scripting the science fiction film, Silent Running in 1971.[4] The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1978.

Washburn and Cimino spent three days writing the story, and then Washburn spent a month writing the script. Cimino then tried to deny him screenwriting credit. Washburn went to arbitration and was given full credit.[5]

  1. ^ "New York Beat". Jet. February 21, 1963. p. 63 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Corrigan, Robert Willoughby; Hoffman, William M. (1965). New American Plays: Volume 1. Hill and Wang. ISBN 9780809007349.
  3. ^ Taubman, Howard (January 28, 1963). "Theater: Lost Evening - 'The Love Nest' has Leueen McGrath". New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "The 51st Academy Awards (1979) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  5. ^ Staff (July 13, 2016). "Peter Biskind on Michael Cimino's Twisted, Tortured Legacy: "A Mystery in Death as He Was in Life"". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 11, 2021.