The Business
Noah Oppenheim on writing 'Jackie' and running NBC's 'Today'
Noah Oppenheim spent his 20s working on NBC news shows. Then he left, hoping to make it as a writer in Hollywood. After a stint as an executive in reality TV, his first-ever script, Jackie landed on The Black List. Six years later, the film is finally premiering. Oppenheim tells us about watching Darren Aronofsky hand the project over to Chilean director Pablo Larrain, and his unusual career path, which has now taken him back to NBC, as a senior vice president in charge of Today.
By Kim Masters • • 29m ListenNoah Oppenheim thought he was living a screenwriter's dream when Darren Aronofsky agreed to direct Jackie, the first film Oppenheim had ever written. But the project stalled for years until Aronofsky handed it off to Chilean director Pablo Larrain. Now the film is out, and Natalie Portman is on the short list for her portrayal of the first lady. Oppenheim tells about his experience with Jackie, as well as his exceptionally varied career. He worked in TV news, quit to work as an executive in reality television, quit that to be a full-time screenwriter, and then went full circle back to TV where he's now in charge of NBC's Today show.
Photo: Noah Oppenheim, Jackie screenwriter and NBC senior vice president, in charge of Today.
In this episode
2 storiesHollywood news banter
It's a great year for movie-lovers, though the gap between what critics and the Academy likes and what the movie-going masses like has never been wider. Scott Feinberg, awards analyst for the Hollywood Reporter, joins Kim Masters for a special awards-season banter.
Read the story6 minScreenwriter Noah Oppenheim on 'Jackie' and 'Today'
In the new film Jackie , Natalie Portman portrays First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the week following her husband's assassination. The movie depicts her trauma and her iron-willed planning of a funeral that would cement his legacy. Then she works to burnish the legend of Camelot in a magazine interview that she carefully controls.
Read the story21 min
