A native New Yorker, BARBARA TURNER (Screenwriter) began writing with her husband, the late Vic Morrow, who directed their screen adaptation of Jean Genet's play "Deathwatch." A writer of complex, subtle dramas that often center on personal relationships, she has received critical recognition for her work over the past decades, including a Writers Guild nomination for her adaptation of "Petulia," the prestigious Christopher Award for "Eye of the Sparrow," and an Emmy nomination for "The War Between the Tates." She has also been a Humanitas Award Finalist for "Widow" and "Out of Darkness," for which Diana Ross' performance received a Golden Globe nomination.

In 1994, Turner produced her screenplay "Georgia." The film, starring her daughter Jennifer Jason Leigh, was directed by Ulu Grosbard. "Georgia" won the 1995 Montreal Film Festival's Grand Prix of the Americas and garnered Leigh the Festival's Best Actress Award. The New York Film Critics Circle also honored Leigh for her performance, and co-star Mare Winningham received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Turner's screenplay, "Pollock," is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith. In addition to "Pollock," she wrote "Dead Ringer" in 1996, a psychological thriller for Warner Bros., based on their 1964 film by Albert Beich and Oscar Millard. At the end of that same year, Turner and Mehrdad Azarmi secured the option to Jane Smiley's first novel "Barn Blind." In early 1997, she completed the screen adaptation, with which she will make her directorial debut. Also, in 1997, she wrote an original screenplay "Watseka," based on a 19th century account of possession in a small Illinois town. She also completed an adaptation of Jill Paton Walsh's novel "Knowledge of Angels," short listed for the Booker Prize, for Reiner Mockert's company Entertime. Michael Radford is set to direct.

Turner most recently completed and is set to direct "Beautiful View," a psychological thriller for FilmFour Productions, starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. She is currently working on a screenplay on the life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, which will star Jennifer Beals. In addition, she is about to embark on a screenplay starring Neve Campbell for Killer Films.