Vanessa Taylor Wiki: Everything To Know About 'The Shape of Water' Screenwriter

Vanessa Taylor is an American screenwriter and television producer. Taylor is known for her writing in films like, 'Hope Strings', 'Divergent' and 'The Shape of Water'. Her work as a writer and co-executive producer on seasons two and three of 'Game of Thrones' was also acclaimed. Taylor is currently working on Disney's upcoming live-action remake of 'Aladdin'. Vanessa Taylor was nominated for the Oscar 2018 award for Best Original Screenplay for her film, 'The Shape of Water'. Oscar 2018 will be held on March 4th, this year.

Vanessa used to write fairy tales as child. From the age of 12, she pursued singing and acting. Taylor attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan and she later joined the Groundlings for two years. On television Taylor has worked on some incredible series like 'The Game of Thrones', 'Gideon's Crossing', 'Alias', 'Everwood', 'Tell Me You Love Me' and 'Cupid'. Vanessa Taylor also co-created Jack & Bobby. Taylor wrote the film 'Hope Springs' in 2012, directed by David Frankel. The film starred Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell. Carell played Dr. Feld, “a marriage therapist who tries to help a couple rekindle their loveless relationship after 31 years of marriage.” Taylor also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2014 sci-fi action film 'Divergent'. Taylor co-wrote the fantasy romance film, 'The Shape of Water' along with director, Guillermo del Toro. It was announced in 2017 that a live-action reboot of Disney's Aladdin was being worked upon. Taylor is writing the film 'Aladdin' along with John August and Guy Ritchie. Guy Ritchie will also direct the film.

Screenwriter Vanessa Taylor has a net worth of $2 million.

Taylor has been nominated for many awards and accolades during her career as a scriptwriter. She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series for 'Game of Thrones' in 2012 and 2013. Taylor was also nominated for a WGA Award for Drama Series in 2013 for Game of Thrones. In 2012, she was nominated for a WIN Outstanding Writer Award for Outstanding Film or Show written by a woman for 'Hope Springs'. Alongside her 'The Shape of Water' co-writer and director, Guillermo del Toro, Taylor was honored with the 2017 PEN Center USA Screenplay Award at the 27th Annual Literary Awards Festival. She is currently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Shape of Water.

Given that Vanessa Taylor has some exceptional scriptwriting skills, she is most sought after by interviewers to give her own opinions and experiences on writing a film. Here we have jotted down the best excerpts from her interviews on her films. Vanessa Taylor in a phone interview on her film 'The Shape of Water' revealed many interesting things. Vanessa Taylor and Guillermo Del Toro did not speak to each other while writing the script of 'The Shape of Water'. The film was about a mute cleaning lady to falls in love without saying a word. Both the Screenwriters also did not speak to each other not because they considered it to be a meta exercise or conscious choice but because it was a practical outcome of them sharing views and opinions over emails and drafts for six months. There were things that he put in that I took out, and then he would put back in,” and vice versa, Taylor said in the interview. “Obviously, as the director, he could choose to do whatever he wanted to do.” Vanessa's film 'hope Springs' was about a middle-aged husband and wife who were lost in a marriage gone stale. They go to see a therapist about livening things up. Unmarried and younger than her main characters, who are somewhat inspired by her divorced parents, Taylor had to read books about marriage and sex counseling, and also had to check in with her psychiatrist father. And she’s no stranger to the therapist’s couch, she admits. She said, “I was interested in the question of intimacy and distance, when it creeps into a previously close relationship. Is it possible to bridge that distance, the physical and emotional of it? I wondered about it in my own life. These characters were my way in to exploring that. Their problems were so stark. I wanted to see if I could imagine them solving their problems. I didn’t know where I was going. I usually outline in a more detailed way.” When she read the pilot for 'Game of Thrones', Vanessa told her agent that she wanted to write the script for the film. She said that “Game of Thrones” was not the usual writing room, as Benioff and D.B. Weiss wrote most of the ten scripts per season. She got to write two, and was in the middle of season three when this interview took place. She added that while writing the script for GOT, she was not sure that she could pull it off well. She said, “It was 50/50. But I love it. It is challenging, adapting the book. The TV series has a different tone; you flesh things out and expand the world. A lot of scenes go different ways; you’re locating what’s most interesting. It’s about clarity and streamlining". We are glad that you managed to write the script for GOT and all of us GOT fans cannot wait for watch the final season!