John Gatins

John Gatins is a native New Yorker, where his father was a New York City police officer. The family relocated to the Hudson Valley, near Poughkeepsie, where Gatins grew up and later attended Vassar College, graduating in 1990 as a Drama major.

Gatins then moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote the screenplay for "Summer Catch," which was directed by Michael Tollin. Gatins' second script, "Hard Ball," was also directed by Tollin, and starred Keanu Reeves and Diane Lane. He created and executive produced the Tollin/Robbins Warner Brothers pilot "Learning Curve" and co-wrote the basketball drama "Coach Carter," starring Samuel L. Jackson. Gatins made his directorial debut with his own screenplay, "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story," starring Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell.

John's screenplay "Real Steel," directed by Shawn Levy, was released in the summer of 2011 and starred Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly and Anthony Mackie. As an actor in "Real Steel," Gatins plays a character named "Kingpin." Gatins also served as executive producer on Brian Robbins' comedy "Ready To Rumble."

Paramount Pictures