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Gary Parker

Gary Parker

Writer, Producer, Script and Continuity Department

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Biography

"Bull Durham" analogy. I'm the Crash Davis of entertainment: maybe the most experienced screenwriter and filmmaker you never heard of. I make the hardest of films -- serious documentaries for a mass audience -- in the impatient arena of television. I've worked as an Emmy-winning writer-producer for PBS, Nat Geo, Discovery, History, Animal Planet, Smithsonian, and major production companies on five continents. More than 400 films (IMDb lists a fraction) -- and not one flop. A hard record to match.

During Discovery Networks' documentary heyday, I spent five years as its resident script doctor. My job: boost profits by boosting ratings. I did. Most filmmakers are stronger with a camera than a pen. Most of the rough cuts that crossed my desk needed surgery. I didn't give drive-by notes; I waded in and fixed the problems, and with the filmmaker's endorsement to boot. Then my work was judged by an unforgiving standard: the Nielsens. I not only hit the target, I typically surpassed it -- sometimes astronomically. Not ... one ... flop.

Drama directors start with a story, then shoot. In documentaries, I'm typically forced to create the story after we shoot. I start with thousands of raw shots, facts, and sound bites. Shot by shot and line by line, I winnow that chaos to crack the code of structure: where to start, where to end, and how to arrange what comes between. I make thousands of choices about words and pictures, sound and music, guided solely by my gut. As writer-director John Sayles says, I'm "thinking in pictures." I have more experience as a film writer than most directors, and more experience as a filmmaker than most writers -- and more hours as a script and film doctor than maybe anyone.

My career in docs has given me a Midas Touch for drama: adaptation. I turn riveting books into Emmy- and Oscar-caliber scripts that can be shot on fat-free budgets and yield hefty profits. I've adapted fiction but largely stick to the bankable genre of inspiring true stories. Among my scripts: a true NASA drama to rival "Apollo 13"; a true POW thriller to rival "The Great Escape"; a true Cold War drama to rival John le Carre; a real-life "Rain Man" drama based on Daniel Tammet's acclaimed "Born on a Blue Day"; the greatest submarine mission ever; the "Hidden Figures" of the U.S. military; a pilot based on James Kaplan's definitive biography of the original American idol: Sinatra; a rom-com that taps the lucrative, global audience of "Downton Abbey." In development: a limited series drawn from history that makes "Game of Thrones" look like child's play; a real-life "Master and Commander" with a teenage hero; a civil rights mystery to outshine "Selma"; a "House of Cards"-esque diplomatic thriller; and dozens more movies and series.

The difference between a documentary and a drama is who's in front of the camera. The challenge remains the same: entertain the viewer and reward the investor. I do. What story can I tell for you?

(See my interview with NPR's Scott Simon on my LinkedIn profile.)

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Filmography

Writer

48

Type

Year

Free to Speak - The One True Faith Poster

Free to Speak - The One True Faith Feature Film2023

Free to Speak - Thought Police Poster

Free to Speak - Thought Police Feature Film2023

We Hold These Truths: The Global Quest for Liberty Poster

We Hold These Truths: The Global Quest for Liberty Feature Film2023

A More or Less Perfect Union Poster

A More or Less Perfect Union Mini-Series2020

X-Ray Earth Poster

X-Ray Earth Mini-Series2020

Sea of Hope Poster

Sea of Hope Documentary2017

Sea of Hope: America's Underwater Treasures Poster

Sea of Hope: America's Underwater Treasures Documentary2017

America's National Parks Poster

America's National Parks TV Series2015

Heart of the Civil War Documentary2012

Kennedys' Home Movies Poster

Kennedys' Home Movies TV Movie2011

Megastructures: Spaceport Location TV Movie2011

Shark Men Poster

Shark Men TV Series2010

World's Deadliest Poster

World's Deadliest TV Series2010

Saved by the Lioness Poster

Saved by the Lioness Documentary2009

Turf War: Lions and Hippos Poster

Turf War: Lions and Hippos Documentary2009

Great White Odyssey Poster

Great White Odyssey Documentary2008

Lions of Crocodile River Poster

Lions of Crocodile River Documentary2007

National Geographic: Hitler and the Occult Poster

National Geographic: Hitler and the Occult Documentary2007

Super Comet: After the Impact Poster

Super Comet: After the Impact TV Series2007

Fight Science Poster

Fight Science TV Series2006

Hyperspeed Documentary2006

Planet Earth Poster

Planet Earth Mini-Series2006

Secret History of Religion: Doomsday - Book of Revelation Poster

Secret History of Religion: Doomsday - Book of Revelation Documentary2006

Secret History of Religion: Knights Templar TV Movie2006

Jesse James: Legend-Outlaw-Terrorist Documentary2005

Killer Jellyfish Poster

Killer Jellyfish Documentary2005

Mega Cities Poster

Mega Cities TV Series2005

Science of the Bible Poster

Science of the Bible TV Series2005

Supersonic: Pushing the Envelope Documentary2005

Discovery Quest: Billy the Kid Unmasked Documentary2004

Lizzie Borden Had an Axe... Poster

Lizzie Borden Had an Axe... TV Movie2004

Quest for Columbus: In Search of the Santa Maria Poster

Quest for Columbus: In Search of the Santa Maria Documentary2004

Rameses: Wrath of God or Man? Poster

Rameses: Wrath of God or Man? Documentary2004

Cha Ching! Money Makers TV Series2003

Dinosaur Planet Poster

Dinosaur Planet Mini-Series2003

Nefertiti Resurrected Poster

Nefertiti Resurrected Documentary2003

Wright Brothers: First in Flight Poster

Wright Brothers: First in Flight Documentary2003

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Poster

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom TV Series2002

The Feds: U.S. Postal Inspectors TV Series2002

Crash Landing: Stories of Survival Documentary2001

Gold! Mini-Series2001

Daring Capers Poster

Daring Capers TV Series1999

On the Brink: Doomsday Documentary1997

Top Gun Academy: The Real Story Documentary1997

Survival in the Sky Mini-Series1996

The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science Poster

The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science TV Series1996

Paleoworld Poster

Paleoworld TV Series1994

National Geographic Explorer Poster

National Geographic Explorer TV Series1985

Producer

4

Type

Year

We Hold These Truths: The Global Quest for Liberty Poster

We Hold These Truths: The Global Quest for Liberty Feature Film2023

Kennedys' Home Movies Poster

Kennedys' Home Movies TV Movie2011

Supersonic: Pushing the Envelope Documentary2005

Great Castles of Europe Poster

Great Castles of Europe TV Series1993

Script and Continuity Department

4

Type

Year

Big Pacific Poster

Big Pacific Mini-Series2017

The Real Story Poster

The Real Story TV Series2008

Naked Science Poster

Naked Science TV Series2004

Globe Trekker Poster

Globe Trekker TV Series1994

Other Crew

3

Type

Year

Nefertiti Revealed Poster

Nefertiti Revealed Documentary2003

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Poster

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom TV Series2002

Operation Thunderbolt: Entebbe Poster

Operation Thunderbolt: Entebbe Documentary2000

Director

1

On the Brink: Doomsday Documentary1997

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