Nick Schenk (born November 12, 1965) is an American screenwriter known for writing the Clint Eastwood-directed feature film Gran Torino in 2008 for which he won Best Original Screenplay from the National Board of Review. He continued his collaborations with Eastwood on The Mule (2018) and Cry Macho (2021). Description above from the Wikipedia article Nick Schenk, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- November 12, 1965 (60)
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Writer and producer
- 7 on MovieCove · 9 credits in all
What are Nick Schenk's films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
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 5
Light 2 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
Grounded 5 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
A split, not a type: Gentle 3 · Charged 1 · Intense 1
Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 0
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 2
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet4
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 Nick Schenk's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 4 of their 7 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Nick Schenk'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
9 credits, 7 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films
Cry Macho(2021)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
The Mule(2018)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Manhunt(2017)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows
Harley and the Davidsons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Narcos(2015)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all shows
The Judge(2014)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
Gran Torino(2008)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Bitcoin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 9 titles, 8 of them dated from 2008 to 2022.
Biggest box office
Gran Torino (2008)
Highest rated
Gran Torino (2008)
Most popular right now
The Judge (2014)
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.
Awards
2 major nominations and no wins, 2017–2018.
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Long Form - Original
- Writers Guild Award, nominated · Long Form - Original
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Nick Schenk's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 7 titles divides audiences: 4 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed1
Reviewers score the dialogue 53/100 and the plot and story 52/100 in their films, across 5 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 Nick Schenk's work okay for kids?
Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, profanity runs heavier than most films and violence & gore lighter.
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 Nick Schenk work with?
People who share at least 2 of Nick Schenk's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Clint Eastwood shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Clint EastwoodShared titles: Cry Macho (2021), The Mule (2018), Gran Torino (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Clint Eastwood
Editors
- Joel CoxShared titles: Cry Macho (2021), The Mule (2018), Gran Torino (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Joel Cox
Producers
- Tim MooreShared titles: Cry Macho (2021), The Mule (2018), Gran Torino (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Tim Moore