The Sci Fi Guy

One thing that’s always puzzled me about the world of film fandom is the question, “Why don’t the film’s writers share more of the glory?” It strikes me as odd that we glorify the actors, and the directors, and occassionally the producers, but rarely the writers. After all, a film is only as good as the story that set it in motion, right? So here’s a look at some of the best science fiction screenwriters of our time, and what they might be up to next.

George Lucas (see his latest projects here)

The creator of Star Wars, both the riveting classic originals and the less-than-spectacular “prequel” trilogies. George is actually a fixture of my own home town of Marin County, and his Skywalker ranch is known for producing some of the  greatest special effects (Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Star Wars, etc…)

Looking in to his production future, it looks like he’s working feverishly on a variety of projects, including several Star Wars television series’, as well as a new Indiana Jones. Jones may not be science fiction, but Lucas’ knack for creating great characters and storylines isn’t forgotten. It looks, though, like Lucas has gotten out of the writing game and is staying in place almost entirely as a producer nowadays. Considering how (the new) Star Wars movie dialogue panned out – maybe that’s a good thing.

David Webb Peoples (see his latest projects here)

There are basically two movies that earn David Webb Peoples the right to sit next to George Lucas. The first one is the Phillip K. Dick inspired Blade Runner, and the second is the reality-fiction / time-travel dark tale 12 Monkeys. Okay. I almost kept Peoples off the list here because of his involvement with Soldier (Kurt Russel with a gun on a planet with bad guys that can’t hit anything).

Peoples earns a spot on the list here because he does have a strong background in focusing on the science fiction genre. Obviously Blade Runner was not his original story, but the screenplay adaptation from the Dick saga was good in most respects.

Alex Proyas (see his latest projects here)

Here’s another example of a writer who’s stories have heavily influenced the world of science fiction storytelling. Proyas has been involved in several sci-fi hits, including writing Dark City, as well as directing I, Robot, and The Crow. I suspect if Proyas has the ability to create a story like Dark City, if he sets his mind to writing another science fiction screenplay, we’ll all be in for a compelling story and visually detailed movie.

You can also see what Proyas is up to on the entertaining Hollywood Stock Exchange.

Rising Prospects

There are a couple of screenwriters that I think might become the “next big thing”. Charles Leavitt was one of the writers on K-PAX and Blood Diamond, two very well received movies. I expect if he gets involved in more science fiction, it’ll be worthwhile. Another writer (and now Producer) that looks like his star is on the way up is Roberto Orci. Orci is the top-line screenwriter for Transformers: The Movie, and has also been pegged to write the latest Star Trek film, another SF flick titled 2012: The War for Souls, and he worked on several episodes of Alias as well.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 8:44 am and is filed under Science Fiction Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.