Paul Attanasio

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Paul Attanasio (born on November 14, 1959 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American screenwriter and producer of film and television, who is currently an executive producer on the television series House.

Attanasio was a film critic for The Washington Post from 1984 to 1987. He started writing for television with the CBS sitcom Doctor Doctor and the NBC crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street, which he created. In 1994 he wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay adaptation for the drama Quiz Show. He would later write the screenplays for the thriller Disclosure, the gangster movie Donnie Brasco, the science fiction film Sphere, and the political thriller The Sum of All Fears . In 2000 he returned to television and started executive producing in addition to writing the medical drama Gideon's Crossing and the pilot for R.U.S.H.

In 2006 he wrote the screenplay for the unsuccessful film The Good German. Critically panned, it lost millions of dollars and was a career setback.

He is the brother of Mark Attanasio, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a graduate of Harvard College where he lived in Currier House, and Harvard Law School. His wife Katie Jacobs is his producing partner.

[edit] TV Appearances

Attanasio was featured in The Dialogue interview series. In this 90 minute interview with producer Mike DeLuca, Attanasio describes how he went from lambasting movies as a “snotty” Washington Post film critic to developing explosive and rewarding creative partnerships with Oscar-winning directors Robert Redford, Barry Levinson, and Steven Soderbergh.