Bettina Gilois

Bettina Gilois (July 9, 1961 – July 5, 2020)[1] was a German-American screenwriter and author, known for her work on the HBO film Bessie, and Disney's Glory Road and McFarland, USA. Gilois won an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Writing of a Television Movie and a Black Reel Awards of 2016 nomination for Bessie. She also won two Image Award nominations for Bessie and McFarland, USA. Gilois was a Humanitas Prize nominee in 2006 and a Black Reel Awards of 2007 nominee for Glory Road.[2]

Bettina Gilois
Gilois at the 47th NAACP Image Awards in 2016
Born(1961-07-09)July 9, 1961
West Berlin, Germany
DiedJuly 5, 2020(2020-07-05) (aged 58)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationScreenwriter, author
NationalityGerman-American
Alma materBarnard College (1985)
Notable worksBessie (2015)
McFarland, USA (2015)
Glory Road (2006)
Notable awardsCritics Choice Award, Emmy nomination

Gilois was an associate professor in the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.[2]

Biography

Gilois graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with an art history degree in 1985.[2][3] She was hired as director Slava Tsukerman's assistant in the independent science fiction film, Liquid Sky. She later worked at Andy Warhol's Factory in New York on the television series Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes. Gilois began her screenwriting career working with Joel Silver and Warner Bros.[2]

Gilois was co-screenwriter with Christopher Cleveland on the Disney film, Glory Road (2006). The film was based on a true story about Texas Western's men's basketball coach Don Haskins, and his first all African-American starting lineup and their journey to the 1966 NCAA Championship.

Gilois co-wrote the screenplay for the HBO television movie, Bessie (2015) with director Dee Rees and Christopher Cleveland. The film, starring Queen Latifah, is the life story of blues singer Bessie Smith. Gilois and her co-writers won an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Writing of a Television Movie, a Black Reel Awards of 2016 nomination and two Image Award nominations for their work.[2] She worked on the Disney film McFarland, USA along with screenwriters Christopher Cleveland and Grant Thompson. The sports drama centers around a 1987 Central Valley, California high school cross-country team. The coach, played by Kevin Costner, along with multiple challenges, leads his Hispanic runners to a state championship. The film won the Cesar Chavez Award and the Truly Moving Pictures Award in 2015.[4]

Gilois later worked on a series based on Rick Hall's autobiography: The Man From Muscle Shoals: My Journey from Shame to Fame[5] and a 2020 television movie for Lifetime.

Gilois was co-author of the books Mi Vida Loca: The Crazy Life of Johnny Tapia and Billion Dollar Painter: The Triumph and Tragedy of Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light.[2] She also wrote for the Huffington Post in the Arts and Culture section.[6]

Death

Gilois died in her sleep on July 5, 2020, four days before her 59th birthday. She had been suffering from an advanced cancer.[1]

Film and television
Year Film Role Notes Ref
1999 The Hurricane Writer Uncredited [1]
2001 The Mists of Avalon Writer Uncredited [1]
2006 Glory Road Screenwriter Humanitas Prize nomination
Black Reel Awards of 2007 nomination		 [7]
2015 Bessie Screenwriter Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Writing
Critics' Choice Television Awards winner
NAACP Image Award nomination
Black Reel Awards of 2016 nomination		 [8]
2015 McFarland, USA Screenwriter NAACP Image Award nomination [9]
2017 The Lost Wife of Robert Durst Screenwriter Lifetime TV movie [10]
2020 Muscle Shoals Writer/Creator ABC television series in production [5]
2020 Mahalia Writer Lifetime television movie in production [2]
2021 A Million Miles Away Writer Netflix television movie in production [2]

Selected publications
  • Gilois, Bettina; Kuskey, G. Eric (2014). Billion Dollar Painter: The Triumph and Tragedy of Thomas Kinkade Painter of Light. Hachette Books. p. 298. ISBN 978-1602862449.
  • Gilois, Bettina; Tapia, Johnny (2010). Mi Vida Loca: The Crazy and Unbelievable Life of Johnny Tapia by Johnny Tapia. Volt Press. p. 308. ISBN 9781630761103.

References
  1. Haring, Bruce (July 5, 2020). "Bettina Gilois Dies: Award-Winning Screenwriter For 'Bessie' And Author". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  2. "Bettina Gilois". Chapman University. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  3. "Alumnae in the News Archive". our.barnard.edu. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. "McFARLAND, USA". Archived from the original on July 6, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  5. Petski, Denise. "'Muscle Shoals': Nancy Wilson Named Executive Music Producer, Bettina Gilois To Write Johnny Depp-Produced Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  6. "Bettina Gilois". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  7. "Glory Road (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  8. "Bessie (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  9. "McFarland USA (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  10. "The Lost Wife of Robert Durst (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
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