Eric Heisserer | |
---|---|
![]() Heisserer in 2021 | |
Born | Eric Andrew Heisserer 1970 (age 53–54) Norman, Oklahoma, U.S |
Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, comic book writer, television writer, television producer |
Years active | 2005–present |
Spouse |
Eric Andrew Heisserer (born 1970) is an American filmmaker, comic book writer, television writer, and television producer. His screenplay for the film Arrival earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the 89th Academy Awards in 2016.
Heisserer's professional screenwriting career was launched with the sale of The Dionaea House to Warner Bros. in 2005, [1] based on an online epistolary story of the same name [2] that he wrote from autumn 2004 to winter 2006. [1] The Dionaea House was a multimedia novel told across multiple blogs run by fictional characters, and concerned an ominous house that existed in multiple places across the United States. It is considered to be one of the first popular creepypasta stories. He then developed an original television pilot for Paramount Pictures and CBS, and wrote feature projects for Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Warner Bros. [3] In 2007, he sold a pitch to Regency Enterprises and Fox called Inhuman, a supernatural thriller set in Tokyo that combines live action and anime sequences, as well as a coming-of-age horror script titled Dustycats, about a teenage girl who discovers she transforms into a werecat when aroused. [4]
In December 2008, Heisserer was hired to re-envision and rewrite the script for the franchise reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street , produced by Platinum Dunes. [5] An early draft had been written by Wesley Strick. The script went on to land director Samuel Bayer, actor Jackie Earle Haley, and began filming in May 2009. [6]
He rewrote the prequel to director John Carpenter's 1982 remake The Thing . [7] In April 2010, Heisserer signed on to write Final Destination 5 , [8] the fifth film of the horror film franchise.
Heisserer made his directorial debut with the film Hours , starring Paul Walker. [9] Heisserer co-wrote The Conjuring 2 along with the brothers Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes. [10] Heisserer wrote along with artist Felipe Massafera and Colorist Wes Dzioba, the comic book series Shaper. [11]
Heisserer wrote the 2016 film Arrival based on Ted Chiang's short story "The Story of Your Life". Heisserer has said that he was attracted to the challenge of adapting the non-linear story by its emotional content. [12] After the release of the film, he was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 89th Academy Awards.
In July 2017, Heisserer announced that he was developing a science fiction series based on another Ted Chiang's story, "Liking What You See: A Documentary", for AMC. The series will explore concepts such as beauty, relationships, and advertising. [13]
On September 27, 2017, there was an announcement that Heisserer would write the script for the live-action remake of the sci-fi romance anime Your Name . By September 2020, he was replaced by Lee Isaac Chung and Emily V. Gordon. [14]
Heisserer wrote the script for Bird Box (2018), based on the thriller book Bird Box , by Josh Malerman. [15] [16] Released by Netflix, the film stars Sandra Bullock and was directed by Susanne Bier. [17]
Heisserer formerly served as creator, head writer, show runner, and executive producer of the adapted 2021 Netflix series Shadow and Bone , an adaptation of the fantasy book series The Grisha Trilogy and the Six of Crows Duology . [18] The show ran for two seasons before being cancelled by Netflix in November 2023. [19]
Heisserer is the son of Margaret L., a senior editor for a publishing company, and Andrew J. Heisserer, a professor of ancient history, of Norman, Oklahoma. Heisserer married television producer/writer Christine Boylan in 2010. His previous marriage ended in divorce. [20]
Heisserer identifies as agnostic. [21]
Film
Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | A Nightmare on Elm Street | Yes | No | Co-written with Wesley Strick |
2011 | Final Destination 5 | Yes | No | |
The Thing | Yes | No | ||
2013 | Hours | Yes | No | Also director |
2016 | Lights Out | Yes | Yes | |
Arrival | Yes | Executive | Saturn Award for Best Writing Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Screenplay Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | |
2018 | Bird Box | Yes | Executive | |
2020 | Bloodshot | Yes | No | Co-written with Jeff Wadlow |
Television
Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer |
---|---|---|---|
2021–2023 | Shadow and Bone | Yes | Yes |
He wrote the book "150 Screenwriting Challenges", containing exercises to help screenwriters develop their skills. [22] It was published in November 2013.
Christopher McQuarrie is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film The Usual Suspects (1995).
Charles Stuart Kaufman is an American screenwriter, film director, and novelist. He wrote the films Being John Malkovich (1999), Adaptation (2002), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). He both wrote and directed the films Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015), and I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). In 2020, Kaufman released his first novel, Antkind.
David Koepp is an American screenwriter and director. He is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial success in a wide variety of genres: thriller, science fiction, comedy, action, drama, crime, superhero, horror, adventure, and fantasy.
Frank Árpád Darabont is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In his early career, he was primarily a screenwriter for such horror films as A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), The Blob (1988) and The Fly II (1989). As a director, he is known for his film adaptations of Stephen King novellas and novels, such as The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), and The Mist (2007).
Joseph William Stefano was an American screenwriter, known for adapting Robert Bloch's novel as the script for Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho, and for being the producer and co-writer of the original The Outer Limits television series.
David Samuel Goyer is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998), the Blade trilogy (1998–2004), Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012), Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). He has also directed four films: Zig Zag (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Invisible (2007) and The Unborn (2009). He is the creator of the science fiction television series Foundation which is loosely based upon the Foundation series written by Isaac Asimov.
David Friedman, known professionally as David Benioff, is an American writer and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known for co-creating Game of Thrones (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R. Martin's series of books A Song of Ice and Fire. He also wrote 25th Hour (2002), Troy (2004), City of Thieves (2008) and co-wrote X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).
Terry Rossio is an American screenwriter and film producer. He co-wrote the films Aladdin, Shrek, and all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek, and won the Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek. He often collaborates with fellow screenwriter Ted Elliott.
David Ayer is an American filmmaker known for making crime films that are set in Los Angeles and deal with gangs and police corruption. His screenplays include Training Day (2001), The Fast and the Furious (2001), and S.W.A.T. (2003). He has also directed Harsh Times (2005), Street Kings (2008), End of Watch (2012), Sabotage (2014), and The Beekeeper (2024). In 2016, he directed the superhero movie Suicide Squad from the DC Extended Universe, and then the urban fantasy film Bright (2017) for Netflix. He has twice collaborated with actor Shia LaBeouf: first with the World War II drama Fury (2014), then the crime thriller The Tax Collector (2020). He has also collaborated with his friend Cle Shaheed Sloan who has appeared in four of his films.
Andrew Brion Hogan Goddard is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He began his career writing episodes for the television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alias, and Lost. After moving into screenwriting in film, he wrote Cloverfield (2008), World War Z (2013), and The Martian (2015), the latter earning him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2011, he made his directorial debut with The Cabin in the Woods.
Paul Harris Boardman is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for his work in the horror genre. Boardman has also written other screenplays for various studios and production companies, including TriStar, Disney, Bruckheimer Films, IEG, APG, Sony, Lakeshore, Screen Gems, Universal and MGM.
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter, producer and novelist.
Laeta Kalogridis is an American screenwriter and television and film producer of Greek descent. She has written scripts for Alexander (2004), Night Watch (2004), Pathfinder (2007) and Shutter Island (2010). She also served as an executive producer for the television series Birds of Prey and Bionic Woman, and she co-wrote the screenplay for Terminator Genisys (2015) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019). She is the creator and executive producer of the Netflix series Altered Carbon (2018).
Bird Box is a 2018 American post-apocalyptic horror thriller film directed by Susanne Bier and written by Eric Heisserer, based on the 2014 novel by Josh Malerman. The film follows the character Malorie Hayes, played by Sandra Bullock, as she tries to protect herself and two children from entities which cause people who look at them to kill themselves.
Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted by Eric Heisserer, who conceived the project as a spec script based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist enlisted by the United States Army to discover how to communicate with extraterrestrials who have arrived on Earth, before tensions lead to war. Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg appear in supporting roles.
Bird Box is a 2014 post-apocalyptic novel and the debut novel by American writer and singer Josh Malerman. The book was first published in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2014, through Harper Voyager and in the United States on May 13, 2014, through Ecco Press. The book follows a woman who must find a way to guide herself and her children to safety despite the potential threat from an unseen adversary. The story is partially told via flashbacks and takes place during three time periods.
Andrés Walter Muschietti is an Argentine film director and screenwriter who achieved wide recognition with the 2013 film Mama. He gained further recognition for directing both films in the It film series, the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel and its sequel, It Chapter Two. In 2023, he directed the DC Extended Universe film The Flash.
Justin Marks is an American screenwriter, producer and television showrunner. He was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 95th Academy Awards as one of the writers of Top Gun: Maverick. Marks alongside his wife Rachel Kondo is the creator and showrunner of the FX epic series Shōgun, based on the novel by James Clavell.
Krysty Norma Lesley Wilson-Cairns is a Scottish screenwriter. Born and raised in Glasgow, she studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the National Film and Television School. During her teenage years, she was a runner on television series including the detective show Taggart. Her script for the unproduced science fiction thriller Aether made the 2014 Black List and led to a staff writer role on the television show Penny Dreadful. Her feature film debut was the screenplay for the Sam Mendes-directed 2019 war film 1917. She co-wrote it with Mendes and received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Greg Russo is an American screenwriter and director. He is best known for writing the 2021 film adaptation of Mortal Kombat. He is also set to write a sequel to the 2017 film Death Note, adaptations of F.E.A.R.Saints Row, Space Invaders and System Shock, which he will also direct.