American screenwriter and producer (born 1953)
Philip LaZebnik (born February 8, 1953) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is known for writing the animated films "Pocahontas" (1995), "Mulan" (1998), "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), and "The Road to El Dorado" (2000).
Early life and education.
He grew up in Columbia, Missouri, attended Hickman High School, and graduated from Harvard College in 1976, with a B.A. in classics. His brothers are Ken LaZebnik and Rob LaZebnik.
Career.
LaZebnik has written screenplays for films including "Pocahontas", "Mulan", "The Prince of Egypt", and "The Road to El Dorado". LaZebnik also wrote episodes for "Wings", ', ', "The Torkelsons" and "Almost Home". LaZebnik has served on the board of directors of the Writers Guild of America West (2001–02) and the Writers Branch Executive Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (2001–03). The screenplay for "Mulan" won the 1998 Annie Award for best animation screenplay. He has written numerous films and television series in Europe and the US.
He wrote the book for the musical "Fairy Tale" about Hans Christian Andersen with songs by Stephen Schwartz, and wrote the book and lyrics for "Oktoberfest: the Musical" (2016) with music by Harold Faltermeyer. In collaboration with Mads Æbeløe Nielsen he wrote the book for the theatrical musical version of "" (or "The Devil's Apprentice"), a best-selling Danish fantasy novel of the same name by Kenneth B. Andersen, with songs and music by Madeline Myers.
He co-wrote the book for the theatrical musical "Snow White and Me" with Ronald Kruschwak, music and lyrics by Pippa Cleary, which premiered in Brno, Czech Republic at Meska Divadlo in 2022. He wrote book and lyrics for "Oktoberfest" with music by Harold Faltermeyer, which premiered in Los Angeles and opens in Berlin, Germany at the Renaissance Theatre on July 7, 2024.
He wrote the book for DreamWorks' theatrical musical version of "The Prince of Egypt" with songs by Stephen Schwartz which opened October 14, 2017, at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California and then April 6, 2018, at Fredericia Theatre in Denmark. The Prince of Egypt premiered at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End February 25, 2020. The London West End production was filmed live and is available digitally.