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Alvin Sargent

Alvin Sargent

Writer · Died May 9, 2019, aged 92 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Alvin Sargent (April 12, 1927–May 9, 2019) was an American screenwriter. He won two Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Julia (1977) and Ordinary People (1980). Sargent's other works include screenplays of the films The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1970), Paper Moon (1973), Nuts (1987), White Palace (1990), What About Bob? (1991), Unfaithful (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Spider-Man 3 (2007), and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Alvin Sargent was born Alvin Supowitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Esther (née Kadansky) and Isaac Supowitz. He was of Russian Jewish descent. Sargent attended Upper Darby High School, leaving at age 17 to join the Navy. As of 2006, he was one of 35 alumni to be on the school's Wall of Fame. Sargent began writing for television in 1953, and through the 1960s, he scripted episodes for Route 66, Ben Casey, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He collaborated on his first screenplay for a film on Gambit (1966) and gained recognition for I Walk the Line (1970) and Paper Moon (1973), for which he won the WGA Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and was nominated for an Academy Award. He won the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay in 1978 for the film Julia (1977) and again in 1981 for Ordinary People (1980). He collaborated on the 2004 screenplay for Spider-Man 2 and the 2007 screenplay for Spider-Man 3. He'd also collaborate on the screenplay for the 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. He had a long-time relationship with producer Laura Ziskin; they were married from 2010 until her death in 2011. His brother was writer and producer Herb Sargent. Sargent died from natural causes at his home in Seattle on May 9, 2019, four weeks after his 92nd birthday. Description above from the Wikipedia article Alvin Sargent, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 12, 1927
Died
May 9, 2019 (aged 92)
From
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Works as
Writer
Titles
25 on MovieCove · 29 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 37 days to Oct 26Down 34% in 30 days

What are Alvin Sargent's films like?

Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Drama9 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 69th percentile
: browse their Drama movies
Comedy8 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 66th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Action3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 82nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
35%
Self
23%
Morality
19%
Survival
12%
Society
7%
Power
4%
Family bonds8 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity6 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age4 titles, browse their movies with this themeGuilt3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 21 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 15 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 9 · Intense 8

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 11 · Shifting 9 · Whiplash 1

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 11 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 12 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

A split, not a type: Casual 10 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 9

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 15 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
11
Tense
9
Warm
7
Bittersweet
6
Romantic
6
Other
18

How their films linger

Bittersweet9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful10 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 3 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet13
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Alvin Sargent's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (4).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Alvin Sargent's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

29 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • The Amazing Spider-Man(2012)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Spider-Man 3(2007)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Spider-Man 2(2004)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Unfaithful(2002)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Anywhere But Here(1999)

    Screenplay · Writer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Bogus(1996)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films

  • Hero(1992)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Other People's Money(1991)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • What About Bob?(1991)

    Story

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • White Palace(1990)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Dominick and Eugene (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Writer

  • Nuts(1987)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Ordinary People(1980)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • Straight Time(1978)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Julia(1977)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Bobby Deerfield(1977)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Ginny And Johnny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Original Film Writer

  • The Way We Were(1973)

    Additional Writing

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Paper Moon(1973)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing(1973)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds(1972)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Footsteps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)

    Writer

  • The Impatient Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    Writer

  • I Walk the Line(1970)

    Writer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • The Sterile Cuckoo(1969)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • The Stalking Moon(1968)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Gambit(1966)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • The Alfred Hitchcock Hour(1962)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows

  • From Here to Eternity(1953)

    as Nair (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

Career shape

A full career of 29 titles from 1953 to 2012.

Biggest box office

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

$887M worldwide

Highest rated

Paper Moon (1973)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 29: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleWriting27 of 29: 27 only writing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thOther crew1 of 29: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1950s1 · acting1960s4 · crew1970s11 · crew1980s3 · crew1990s6 · crew2000s3 · crew2010s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Alvin Sargent's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 70th percentile, the median of all 24; across their 21 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Approval · how many liked their films

70thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Reach · how many have seen their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 21

Midcredits score across 25 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up12
  • 50th to 74th9
  • 25th to 49th4

Shape of the crowd

None of their 25 titles divides audiences: 17 are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved5
  • Crowd Pleaser17
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed2

Most loved · writer

Paper Moon (1973)

Midcredits 99th · 90% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 60/100 and the plot and story 51/100 in their films, across 21 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Alvin Sargent's work okay for kids?

Across up to 10 MovieCove titles with content scores, frightening / intense runs heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore9 titles23–63 · median 53 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity10 titles14–66 · median 28 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity9 titles29–63 · median 42 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs8 titles20–46 · median 32 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense9 titles15–64 · median 57 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Alvin Sargent work with?

People who share at least 2 of Alvin Sargent's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Laura Ziskin shares the most, 4.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers