Ron Leshem
 | This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. (May 2024) |
Ron Leshem | |
|---|---|
רון לשם | |
 Ron Leshem, by Eldad Refaeli at the 2006 Sapir Prize | |
| Born | December 20, 1976 Tel-Aviv, Israel |
| Nationality |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1998–present |
Ron Leshem (Hebrew: רון לשם; born December 20, 1976) is an Israeli-American television writer and producer, known for co-creating and co-writing the Israeli TV series Euphoria and for co-writing the Israeli war film Beaufort, based on his novel of the same name.[1] He has co-created and wrote for the television series No Man's Land (Hulu), Valley of Tears, The Gordin Cell, and the film Incitement. In addition to his career as a television executive, he was an executive producer of the American adaptation of Euphoria, which premiered on HBO in 2020.
Early life and education
[edit]Leshem was born on December 20, 1976, in Tel Aviv, Israel, into a Jewish family. During his childhood, Leshem spent his summers at his family's Kibbutz, which he characterized as a left-wing community that has consistently positioned itself at the forefront of the struggle for Palestinian rights and independence from Israeli occupation.[2]
News career
[edit]Leshem served as a soldier in the Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense Forces. Subsequently, he spent three years as an Israeli reporter from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, later on was promoted to the head of the news division at Yediot Ahronot upon writing as an analyst for military affairs. At the age of 26, he started serving as deputy chief editor for Ma'ariv, one of the three major newspapers in Israel, becoming the youngest deputy editor in the paper's history.[3][4]
Additionally, he wrote short stories for Le Monde newspaper in France and columns in several European newspapers.[5]
Leshem has been invited as a speaker to Harvard University, Yale University, Boston University and Berkeley University.
Career
[edit]Keshet and Beaufort
[edit]In 2005, Leshem left print media and began working in television.[3] From 2006 until 2009, Leshem was head of content and programming for Keshet Broadcasting. He oversaw development and production for Israeli TV series such as Arab Labor, the A-word, Traffic Light,[6] and Homeland, an American adaptation of his show Prisoners of War.[6]
As a novelist, he won the Sapir Prize for Literature in 2006[7] for his debut novel Beaufort,[8][9] which was published in 2006 in Hebrew.[9] The story is written as the diary of a young army officer, when IDF soldiers were protecting Beaufort Castle in Southern Lebanon.[9] Beaufort was on the Israel bestseller list for 2 years,[10] distributed in 22 countries,[11] translated into more than 20 languages[12] and sold 120,000 copies in Israel. The film version of Beaufort,[11] which Leshem co-wrote,[13] was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film[14] and won the Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear for Best Director.[15]
Leshem's second book, The Underground Bazaar, also reached the bestseller list.[16]
Executive producing and co-writing
[edit]Leshem created and co-wrote the drama series The Gordin Cell,[13] which received 11 nominations for the Israeli Academy of Film and Television awards in 2011. The TV series was adapted by NBC as Allegiance.[6] In 2014, he was commissioned to develop the script for Crater Lake.[17]
Furthermore, Leshem co-created and co-wrote the series Euphoria[13] for Hot (2012). In 2018, he joined the American production of Euphoria as an executive producer.[18] It was released on HBO.[13]
He and Amit Cohen struck a long-term development deal with Red Arrow Studios International in 2018, preparing to create a new scripted drama label.[19]
The Israeli film Incitement (dir. Yaron Zilberman), which Leshem co-wrote, premiered at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival. The film received 10 nominations for the Israeli Academy of Film and Television awards. He served as a story editor for the series Beauty and the Baker. Alongside his long-time writing partner, Amit Cohen, Leshem co-wrote and co-created the Syrian Civil War drama No Man's Land, an American-French co-production, which Hulu and Arte ordered straight to series in spring 2019.[citation needed]
In the summer of 2019, production began on Israel's Valley of Tears,[citation needed] an 8-part mini-series set in the Yom Kippur War, which Leshem co-created with Cohen, Daniel Amsel, Yaron Zilberman, Gal Zaid, and Izhar Has-Lev.[20] It was picked up by HBO in 2020[21] and released as the "biggest-budget TV drama series" in Israel.[22]
In 2019, Leshem published in Israel his novel When we were beautiful (Hebrew: יפים כמו שהיינו), and announced it will be translated to English by Jessica Cohen.[citation needed]
In 2019, he signed with Anonymous Content along with his frequent co-writer Amit Cohen, with whom he'd recently worked on the Hulu series Fertile Crescent, about the Syrian Civil War starring James Purefoy.[13] Leshem, Cohen, and Xabi Molia wrote the eight episodes of Fertile Crescent.[23] In November 2020, he again partnered with West End Films and Cohen on a new TV thriller, along with the company Anton.[24]
Personal life
[edit]Leshem lives between Boston and Los Angeles.[25]
Filmography
[edit]Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Credited as | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Writer | Producer | Editor | ||
| 2011–2013 | The Gordin Cell | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2012 | Euphoria | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2015 | Allegiance | No | Yes[26] | Yes | No |
| 2015 | Spy | Yes | No | No | No |
| 2013–2015 | Beauty and the Baker | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2019-present | Euphoria (HBO) | No | Yes[27][13] | Yes | No |
| 2020-present | No Man's Land[28] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2020-present | Valley of Tears[29] | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Film
[edit]| Year | Title | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Executive Producer | ||
| 2007 | Beaufort | No | Yes[3][13] | Yes |
| 2019 | Incitement | No | Yes | Yes |
As development executive
[edit]- Arab Labor (2007–2011)
- Ramzor (Traffic light) (2008–2013)
- Prisoners of War (2010–2012)
- the A-word (2010–2014)
- Polishuk (2010)
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Sapir Prize for Literature | Best Novel of The Year | Beaufort | Won | [7] |
| Yitzhak Sadeh Prize | Best Novel of The Year | Beaufort | Won | ||
| 2007 | Ophir Award, Israeli Academy Awards | Best Screenplay | Beaufort | Nominated | [30] |
| 2008 | 80th Academy Awards | Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film[31] | Beaufort | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Israeli Television Academy Awards | Best Drama Series | The Gordin Cell | Nominated | [15] |
| Best Screenplay for Drama Series | Nominated | ||||
| Series Mania Festival | Forum Des Images[32] | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Israeli Television Academy Awards | Best Drama Series | Euphoria | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay for Drama Series | Nominated | ||||
| 2014 | Israeli Television Academy Awards | Best Drama Series | The Gordin Cell (2nd season) | Nominated | |
| Best Screenplay for Drama Series | Nominated | ||||
| 2019 | Ophir Award, Israeli Academy Awards | Best Film for 2019 | Incitement | Won | [33] |
| 2020 | Series Mania Festival | The Official Competition | No Man's Land | Nominated | [34] |
| Valley of Tears[22] | Nominated | ||||
| British Academy Television Awards | Best International Programme | Euphoria | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ Ford, Lily (November 26, 2024). "Israeli Drama 'Bad Boy' From 'Euphoria' Creator Ron Leshem, Hagar Ben-Asher Gets Netflix Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
- ^ Leshem, Ron (October 18, 2023). "'Euphoria' Creator Ron Leshem on Israel-Hamas Conflict: "The World Must Prevent Further Escalation" (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
- ^ a b c Rudzki, Justin (December 21, 2007). "Looking for paradise with author Ron Leshem [VIDEO]". Israel 21 C. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ "Ron Leshem". The Ohio State University.
- ^ We-Ha (April 9, 2015). "'Beaufort' Author and Screenwriter to Speak at JCC". We-Ha | West Hartford News. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Ron Leshem". America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "Sapir Prize goes to Ron Leshem". Haaretz. 2006.
- ^ Beaufort, British trade paperback edition. London: Harvill Secker
- ^ a b c Sarah Pres, Viva (December 28, 2006). "Right to Left". The Jerusalem Post.
- ^ "Beaufort | Jewish Book Council". www.jewishbookcouncil.org. 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Leshem, Ron. "Ron Leshem, Our man in Tehran". Haaretz.
- ^ "Ron Leshem". AICF. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sun, Rebecca (June 26, 2019). "Original 'Euphoria' Creator Ron Leshem Signs With Anonymous Content (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ "Ron Leshem". The Program in Jewish Culture & Society. September 12, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ a b "Ron Leshem – Awards". IMDb.
- ^ "Ron Leshem". AICF. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
- ^ "Ron Leshem signs French-UK TV deal". Times of Israel. June 30, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Porter, Rick (July 30, 2018). "HBO Orders 'Euphoria' to Series, Drake Joins as Executive Producer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ White, Peter (November 20, 2018). "'The Gordin Cell' Creators Amit Cohen & Ron Leshem Launch Red Arrow Studios International-Backed Drama Label". Deadline. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Parfitt, Orlando (February 19, 2020). "Series Mania reveals 2020 competition line-up". ScreenDaily. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Steinberg, Jessica (October 14, 2020). "HBO purchases rights for Israeli TV series about Yom Kippur War". The Times of Israel. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Hopewell, John (March 25, 2020). "Official SeriesMania Competition 2020". Variety.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 13, 2019). "James Purefoy to Star in Syrian Civil War Drama for Hulu". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Barraclough, Leo (November 12, 2020). "Ron Leshem, Amit Cohen Thriller to Spearhead Anton, WestEnd TV Series Slate". Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ "Representing Israel's Top Speakers Authors, Filmmakers, and Cultural Icons". Lion House Agency. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- ^ Based on his original series "The Gordin Cell".
- ^ Based on his original series "Euphoria".
- ^ Fienberg, Daniel (November 18, 2020). "'No Man's Land': TV Review". Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Filming began on spring 2019
- ^ "Beaufort, Academy Awards".
- ^ "80th Academy Awards Nominations Announced" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. January 22, 2008. Archived from the original on January 27, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2008.
- ^ "Forum Des Images, Paris 2020".
- ^ Caspi, David (2020). "Incitement wins the Israeli Oscars". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Leshem's two series entering the Series Mania 2020 official competition". Series Mania. 2020.
External links
[edit]- Ron Leshem bio note at Random House, Inc.
- Ron Leshem (in Hebrew)
- Leshem, Ron. "English excerpt from Beaufort". Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture.
