Stephen Geller
Writer · Born January 1, 1940 (86) · Los Angeles, California, USA
Stephen D. Geller (born 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is an American screenwriter and novelist. He wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five, and has worked in the film industry in Hollywood and Europe. Geller recently directed his own independent feature titled Mother's Little Helpers. Geller grew up in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His father, a musician and arranger for CBS, was subpoenaed by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the '50s, forcing the family to move to Paris, France. Educated at Dartmouth College and Yale University, Geller moved to Rome, Italy from 1969 to 1979 to work for the Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, where he wrote the screenplay for The Valachi Papers and other films. Rome became his home for the next 16 years. He worked in the Italian, French, British and independent film industries. He also commuted to Los Angeles and wrote for every major studio during this period. In 1986, he returned to Hollywood, working there for a time, but leaving to found screenwriting programs at Arizona State University and at Boston University. His screenwriting credits, in addition to Slaughterhouse-Five, include Ashanti, The Valachi Papers, and Warburg: A Man of Influence, and "Mother's Little Helpers." In 1997, Geller directed, co-wrote and acted in the play Opportunities in Zero Gravity with Kae Geller, his writing partner and wife. This two-actor, seven-character play thematically wove monologues around popular cultural mythology, capitalism, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Aside from screenwriting, he has published 11 novels and a book on screenwriting, written several plays, and directed both theater and film. He currently teaches Shakespeare, satire, and the personal essay at Savannah College of Art and Design. His most recent novel is 'Jews in Dark Matter.' His most recent non-fiction book is 'Sabbath-on-Swathe,' an 'author-ized' autobiography. Source: Article "Stephen Geller" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 1, 1940 (86)
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Writer
- 6 on MovieCove
What are Stephen Geller's films like?
Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.
Genres
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
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 6
Light 0 · Serious 3 · Dark 3
Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 2
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 2
Resolved 2 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- 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 Stephen Geller's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Stephen Geller'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
6 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page.
Pretty Poison(1996)
Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films
Ashanti(1979)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
Chino(1973)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films
Slaughterhouse-Five(1972)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all films
The Valachi Papers(1972)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Pretty Poison(1968)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 5 titles from 1968 to 1996.
Biggest box office
Pretty Poison (1968)
Highest rated
Pretty Poison (1968)
Most popular right now
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
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 Stephen Geller's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 49th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th1
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 6 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 48/100 and the plot and story 49/100 in their films, across 6 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 Stephen Geller's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Stephen Geller work with?
People who share at least 2 of Stephen Geller's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Lorenzo Semple Jr. shares the most, 2.
Writers
- Lorenzo Semple Jr.Shared titles: Pretty Poison (1996), Pretty Poison (1968)See all 2 shared titles with Lorenzo Semple Jr.
- Dino MaiuriShared titles: Chino (1973), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Dino Maiuri
- Massimo De RitaShared titles: Chino (1973), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Massimo De Rita
Actors
- Charles BronsonShared titles: Chino (1973), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Bronson
- Fausto TozziShared titles: Chino (1973), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Fausto Tozzi
- Jill IrelandShared titles: Chino (1973), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Jill Ireland
Cinematographers
- Aldo TontiShared titles: Ashanti (1979), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Aldo Tonti
Producers
- Lawrence TurmanShared titles: Pretty Poison (1996), Pretty Poison (1968)See all 2 shared titles with Lawrence Turman
- Dino De LaurentiisShared titles: Chino (1973), The Valachi Papers (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Dino De Laurentiis
