--- name: "Larry Karaszewski" canonical: "https://film.one/person/larry-karaszewski" fi1m_id: "larry-karaszewski" imdb_id: "nm0438989" tmdb_id: 7131 wikidata_id: "Q15963308" roles: ["Writer","Producer"] born: "20 November 1961" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 64 average_as: "writer" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-04T21:26:41.806595+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Larry Karaszewski ## Identity Larry Karaszewski - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/larry-karaszewski - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** larry-karaszewski - **IMDb ID:** nm0438989 - **TMDB ID:** 7131 - **Wikidata ID:** Q15963308 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Karaszewski, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15963308, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0438989/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7131 Writer and producer. Born 20 November 1961 in South Bend, Indiana, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Writer, Producer - **Born:** 20 November 1961, South Bend, Indiana, USA - **Active:** 1990–2016 - **Also known as:** L.A. Karaszewski - **Frequently works with:** [Scott Alexander](https://film.one/person/scott-alexander.md), [Tim Burton](https://film.one/person/tim-burton.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 64, as writer, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 58 (2), 2010s 71 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 64 to 64 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 2, Crime 1, History 1 - **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $107m across 3 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Karaszewski, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15963308, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0438989/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/7131 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*American Crime Story*](https://film.one/tv/american-crime-story.md) (78) - **Apple TV:** [*Big Eyes*](https://film.one/film/big-eyes.md) (64) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Larry Karaszewski > Larry Karaszewski, with Scott Alexander, writes the biopic the other way round: not the whole life but the few years when a nobody insisted on being taken seriously. The method made *Ed Wood* one of the kindest films about failure we know, and it still holds. Johnny Depp's Ed Wood never doubts that the next film is worth making, and the script gives him no evidence at all that he will make it well. That is the comedy of *Ed Wood* (1994), and Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who wrote it together, never once tell the joke against him. They build the film around persistence and friendship rather than a career, so there is something to follow other than a rise and a fall. Tim Burton lets the pleasure of working together count for something. It runs long, and there are stretches where the writers' affection leaves Depp with little to do but beam. Karaszewski and Alexander began on *Problem Child* (1990) and its sequel, comedies the studio softened from the darker films they had in mind, and the reviews were poor. *Ed Wood* was the turn. After it they made a trade of what they call anti-biopics: *The People vs. Larry Flynt* (1996), *Man on the Moon* (1999), *Big Eyes* (2014), *Dolemite Is My Name* (2019), each about a fringe figure the respectable version of the form would not have touched. Karaszewski has said, "Biopics were always three hours long, really boring, and kind of cradle-to-the-grave. We wanted to cover the least amount of time possible." The films pick a few years or a single relationship and stay there. That habit is why the pair could move to television without changing method. They created *American Crime Story* (2016) and wrote its Simpson season as a workplace drama: prosecutors with a case they believe in, a boss who wants to be seen winning it, a judge who likes the cameras. Sarah Paulson plays Marcia Clark as a woman who has never had to be liked before and is bewildered to find it is now part of the job, and we felt for her more than we had bargained for, because the writing never pauses to ask us to. Sterling K. Brown's Darden counts the cost of every sentence before he says it. The later seasons, which they produced rather than wrote, are lumpier; the one they wrote is as sharp as courtroom television gets. Their strength is making obscure or awkward true stories playable for a large audience without sanding off the awkwardness, and the trick depends on the director. Burton, twice, and Milos Forman, twice, understood that the subjects were to be enjoyed before they were judged. The weakness is the same thing in reverse: liking a subject this much can leave too little for the actor to play, which is what happens to Depp for stretches. The Flynt film drew complaint for seeming to celebrate its subject, and that is the risk they run every time. If you want to know whether the method is for you, *Ed Wood* is the test, and it has not stopped working. ## Biography Larry Karaszewski is an American screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with writing partner Scott Alexander. Their credits include the screenplay for *Ed Wood* (1994), directed by Tim Burton. The pair are known for biopics and unusual true stories, among them *The People vs. Larry Flynt* (1996), *Man on the Moon* (1999), *Big Eyes* (2014) and *Dolemite Is My Name* (2019). They created the television series *American Crime Story* (2016), for which they received Emmy, Golden Globe, PGA and WGA awards. Karaszewski was born on 20 November 1961 in South Bend, Indiana, and attended the University of Southern California. *Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, themoviedb.org.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *American Crime Story* (2016), Fi1m 78, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — [page](https://film.one/tv/american-crime-story.md) - *Big Eyes* (2014), Fi1m 64, Writer, Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/big-eyes.md) - *Ed Wood* (1994), Fi1m 84, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/ed-wood.md) - *Problem Child* (1990), Fi1m 32, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/problem-child-1990.md) ## Complete filmography (21) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Dolemite Is My Name* (2019), Writer - *American Crime Story* (2016), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/american-crime-story.md) - *Goosebumps* (2015), Story - *Big Eyes* (2014), Writer, Producer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/big-eyes.md) - *1408* (2007), Screenplay - *Agent Cody Banks* (2003), Screenplay - *Auto Focus* (2002), Producer - *Screwed* (2000), Director, Writer - *Man on the Moon* (1999), Writer - *That Darn Cat* (1997), Screenplay - *The People vs. Larry Flynt* (1996), Screenplay - *Problem Child 3* (1995), Executive Producer, Characters - *Ed Wood* (1994), Writer — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/ed-wood.md) - *The Nutt House* (1992), Creative Consultant - *Problem Child 2* (1991), Writer - *Problem Child* (1990), Screenplay — Fi1m 32, [page](https://film.one/film/problem-child-1990.md) - *Warm Place Tonight* (1986), Editorial Consultant - *Acts of Contrition* (1983), Writer, Director - *Untitled Grateful Dead Film*, Writer, Producer - *Untitled Bela Lugosi Biopic*, Writer - *King of the Jungle*, Screenplay --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/larry-karaszewski