Stephen Geller

Who is Stephen Geller?

Stephen Geller is an American screenwriter and novelist. Most famous for writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, Geller has worked in the film industry in Hollywood and Europe, and recently directed his own independent feature, Mother's Little Helpers.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Geller's father was musician and composer Harry Geller who, in the 1950s, found himself the victim of the Hollywood blacklist. As a result, Geller spent much of his youth abroad in Europe.

Educated at Dartmouth College and Yale University, Geller moved to Rome, Italy in 1969-79 to work for the Italian producer, Dino De Laurentiis, where he wrote the screenplay for The Valachi Papers, among other films. Rome became his home for the next sixteen years. He worked in the Italian, French, British and independent film industries. He also commuted to LA, and wrote for every major studio during that period. Eventually, in 1986, he returned to Hollywood, working there for a time, but leaving eventually to found screenwriting programs at Arizona State University, and at the Boston University College of Communication.