Frank Pierson is a former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the artistic director of the Center for Advanced Film Studies of the American Film Institute. He is a veteran screenwriter and director whose first screenplay, for Cat Ballou (1965), received an Oscar® nomination (several would follow), and he won an Oscar® in 1975 for his screenplay for Dog Day Afternoon. Directing credits include Looking Glass War, King of the Gypsies, and the 1975 version of A Star Is Born. He has also directed numerous award-winning films for television, including Citizen Cohn, starring James Woods as Roy Cohn; Truman, starring Gary Sinise, and Conspiracy, starring Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci. He is a member of the teaching staff of the Sundance Institute and past president of the Writers Guild of America. Awards include the WGA Laurel Award for Lifetime Achievement in Screenwriting and its Valentine Davies Award for Service to the Motion Picture Industry.