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René Balcer (born 1954) is a Canadian television writer and producer.
He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and attended the Lower Canada College in Montreal. He earned his B.A. Magna Cum Laude in Communication Studies from Concordia University in 1978. He began his career as a journalist, covering the Yom Kippur War as a cameraman. He later worked as a reporter and editor for various Canadian publications, and made documentary films for the National Film Board of Canada. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles, where he collaborated with the cult film director Monte Hellman on a number of film projects. He later worked for a variety of notable film producers including Francis Coppola, Steven Tisch and Mace Neufeld. In 1990, he wrote his first television project for Steve Tisch, the MOW "Out On The Edge".
He is most noted for his writing and production work for the television series Law & Order, and for creating its spin-off series Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Balcer has received four Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, three for his writing for Law & Order, and a fourth for Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He also wrote for the series Star Trek: The Next Generation', and has penned three made-for-television movies, one of which "Out On The Edge" (1990) won the American Psychological Association Award for best television program.
Balcer won an Emmy in 1997 as Executive Producer of "Law & Order." He has also won a Peabody Award, a Writers Guild Award for his television writing, two Silver Gavel Awards from the American Bar Association, a Career Award from the Reims International Television Festival, a Career Angie Award from the International Mystery Writers Festival, and a Maggie from Planned Parenthood for his teleplay "The Third Horseman". In 2004, he was awarded the Alumnus of the Year from Concordia University. On November 17, 2008, he received an honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) from Concordia at their fall convocation and delivered the Commencement Address (http://alumni.concordia.ca/news/notable/balcer_hondoc_speech.php?&print=1).
He was showrunner for Law & Order: Criminal Intent through the fifth season. In March 2007, Balcer returned to "Law & Order" at the end of its 17th season as executive producer and head writer. He has continued on as showrunner for the show's 18th, 19th and 20th seasons. He is currently writing a four-hour miniseries about the Sixties in conjunction with George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions and the A & E Network.
See also
- List of famous Montrealers
- List of Quebec actors and actresses
- Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
External links
- The apocrypha Interview: Rene Balcer by Kitteridge
- Alumni Recognition Awards — Concordia University
- René Balcer at the Internet Movie Database
- Balcer debates FCC commissioner on TV Violence Wall Street Journal
- Rene Balcer on NPR's Talk of the Nation
- Vanity Fair Article
- CBC Interview with Rene Balcer and Tonight Show's Peter Sears
- September 25 2009 interview by Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald on torture and L & O 20th Season premiere
- Sept. 21 2009 Interview about L & O and LOCI's new seasons
- NPR Interview with Rene Balcer and Walter Moseley
- NPR interview with Balcer re:choosing stories
- Harper's Magazine Interview with Rene Balcer
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