# Rospo Pallenberg
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{{short description|English screenwriter and film director (b. 1939)}}
{{BLP sources|date=November 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rospo Pallenberg
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Robert Pallenberg
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1939}}
| birth_place = [England](/source/England)
| death_date =
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = [Screenwriter](/source/Screenwriter), [film director](/source/film_director)
| years_active =
| known_for = Work with [John Boorman](/source/John_Boorman)
| notable_works =
}}
'''Robert "Rospo" Pallenberg[{{Cite web |title=Rospo Pallenberg Collection |url=https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8862pwr/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=oac.cdlib.org}}]''' (born 1939[{{cite web |last=Noble |first=Holcomb B. |date=June 30, 1985 |title=Pondering Man in 'The Emerald Forest' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/30/movies/pondering-man-in-the-emerald-forest.html |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}]
== Early life ==
Pallenberg was born in England in 1939. His father was Corrado Pallenberg (1912–1989), an Italian physician and journalist who worked as a [papal](/source/Pope) medical adviser. He moved to New York City in the 1960s to study [architecture](/source/architecture), where he met director [John Boorman](/source/John_Boorman).[{{Cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/67647 |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=catalog.afi.com}}][{{Cite web |last=cinephiliabeyond |date=2019-06-27 |title='The Past, Present and Future of Humanity': John Boorman's 'Excalibur' • Cinephilia & Beyond |url=https://cinephiliabeyond.org/excalibur/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |language=en-US}}]
== Career ==
While working professionally as an architect, Pallenberg collaborated with Boorman on the screenplay for his [unproduced film adaptation](/source/Middle-earth_in_motion_pictures) of ''[The Lord of the Rings](/source/The_Lord_of_the_Rings)''. He was an uncredited [script doctor](/source/script_doctor) on ''[Deliverance](/source/Deliverance)'' (1972)[{{Cite web |date=2009-09-24 |title=Story of the Scene: 'Say it again, Bobby' and other greats |url=https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/story-of-the-scene-say-it-again-bobby-and-other-greats-1792684.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=The Independent |language=en}}] and ''[Zardoz](/source/Zardoz)'' (1974). He wrote the shooting script for ''[Exorcist II: The Heretic](/source/Exorcist_II%3A_The_Heretic)'' (1977), though due to [Writers Guild of America](/source/Writers_Guild_of_America) rules he was credited as "Creative Associate". He was also a [second unit director](/source/second_unit_director), and according to [Linda Blair](/source/Linda_Blair) co-directed several scenes with Boorman. He also contributed to the scripts for [''Crazy Joe''](/source/Crazy_Joe_(film)) (1974, dir. [Carlo Lizzani](/source/Carlo_Lizzani)) and ''[Avalanche Express](/source/Avalanche_Express)'' (1979, dir. [Mark Robson](/source/Mark_Robson_(film_director))).
Pallenberg's first credited screenplay was for Boorman's Arthurian fantasy epic ''[Excalibur](/source/Excalibur_(film))'' (1981), which earned him and the director a [Hugo Award](/source/Hugo_Award) nomination for [Best Dramatic Presentation](/source/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Dramatic_Presentation). He then wrote his 1985 film ''[The Emerald Forest](/source/The_Emerald_Forest)''.[{{Cite web |title=In Development |url=https://merlin-films.com/works/in-development/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Merlin Films |language=en-US}}]
He directed the 1989 slasher comedy film ''[Cutting Class](/source/Cutting_Class)'', starring [Brad Pitt](/source/Brad_Pitt) in an early role. During the 1990s, he collaborated with [Stephen King](/source/Stephen_King) on a film adaptation of ''[The Stand](/source/The_Stand)'', which was later retooled into a [TV miniseries](/source/The_Stand_(1994_miniseries)) without his involvement.[{{Cite web |last1=King |first1=Stephen |last2=Pallenberg |first2=Rospo |date=1989 |title=[Screenplay]: Stephen King's The Stand |url=https://www.betweenthecovers.com/pages/books/312824/stephen-king-rospo-pallenberg/screenplay-stephen-kings-the-stand?soldItem=true |website=Between the Covers}}] He wrote an adaptation of [Frank Herbert](/source/Frank_Herbert)'s [''Dune''](/source/Dune_(novel)) during the early 1970s, for producer [Arthur P. Jacobs](/source/Arthur_P._Jacobs).