Topic: Gary Ross

Gary Ross (born November 3, 1956) is an American writer, director and actor. He is best known for directing Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, both of which featured Tobey Maguire in the lead role.

Ross was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of screenwriter Arthur A. Ross.

Ross's first produced screenplay was 1988's Big, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also received a Best Original Screenplay nomination for 1993's Dave. He wrote early drafts of 1992's Mr. Baseball and 1994's Lassie. He wrote the screenplay for 1998's Pleasantville, which also marked his directorial debut. In 2003, he wrote, directed and produced Seabiscuit based on Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He wrote the screenplay for 2008's The Tale of Despereaux based on the Newbery Medal-winning children's book by Kate DiCamillo. He has also written the screenplay for the forthcoming remake of 1954's Creature From the Black Lagoon on which his father was a screenwriter. He has written scripts titled Dog Years and The Free State of Jones which have not yet been produced as feature films.