Lawrence Kasdan

Lawrence Kasdan (born January 14, 1949, in Miami, Florida) is an American movie producer, director and screenwriter. George Lucas commissioned Kasdan in 1979 to complete the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back after the death of Leigh Brackett. Lucas then commissioned Kasdan to write the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark and the last installment of the Star Wars original trilogy, Return of the Jedi.

Raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he graduated from Morgantown High School in 1966, he went on to attend the University of Michigan as an education major.

After working as a freelance advertising copywriter, the introduction of Kasdan into the film business came in the mid-1970s when he sold his script for The Bodyguard to Warner Bros. as a vehicle for Diana Ross. The script became stuck in "development hell" and became one of several scripts successively called "the best un-made film in Hollywood"; it was eventually produced as 1992 film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Kasdan made his directing debut with Body Heat in 1981.

Kasdan is known for both writing and directing his films, which have ranged from Westerns to romantic comedies to, most prominently, thought-provoking rams. He has received four Academy Award nominations, for screenplays to The Big Chill, Grand Canyon, and The Accidental Tourist, for which he also earned a directing nod. He has cast Kevin Kline in five of his films.

Behind the Scenes
It is unknown whether the mad Jedi Master Kazdan Paratus is named after him.