American screenwriter and author
Jon Spaihts
Born (1970-02-04 ) February 4, 1970 (age 54) New York City, U.S.
Occupations Years active 1996–present Spouse Johanna Watts
Jon Spaihts ()[ 1] (born February 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter and author. He is best known for co-writing Denis Villeneuve 's Dune (2021) and its sequel Dune: Part Two (2024), both films based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert . He also wrote the screenplays for the films Prometheus (2012), Passengers (2016) and Doctor Strange (2016). For his work on Dune , Spaihts was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay .
Early life and education
Spaihts was born in New York City, the son of Jean, a computer programmer , and Jim Spaihts, an electronics engineer .[ 2] Spaihts is an alumnus of Princeton University .[ 3]
Career
His science fiction romance Passengers was included on the 2007 Black List of unproduced high-value screenplays.[ 4] At the request of Keanu Reeves and Stephen Hamel, Relativity Media co-founder Lynwood Spinks[ 5] had hired Spaihts to write the film after Reeves originally became[ 6] attached to Spaihts' abandoned science fiction script Shadow 19 .[ 7] After Reeves agreed to produce with Hamel and star in Passengers ,[ 8] Spaihts was commissioned by Scott Free to write the next installments in the Alien saga , two prequel films to be directed by Ridley Scott , which eventually turned into the more autonomous story Prometheus , ultimately revised by Damon Lindelof .[ 9] For New Regency Spaihts also wrote the screenplay to the alien invasion thriller The Darkest Hour , based on a story by Leslie Bohem and M.T. Ahern.[ 10]
Spaihts has worked on a film version of St. George and the Dragon for Sony Pictures , and originated a Disney film project called Children of Mars . In 2012 he entered a two-picture deal at Jerry Bruckheimer Films to adapt Ashley Wood 's graphic novel World War Robot [ 11] and write a space adventure film based on his own original pitch .[ 12]
He co-wrote the script for Marvel Studios ' 2016 live action Doctor Strange film.[ 13] Spaihts also co-wrote the reboot of The Mummy franchise for Universal , directed by Alex Kurtzman .[ 14]
In 2013, Spaihts began work on the story for the Black Hole remake by Walt Disney Studios .[ 15] The rights to his early science fiction screenplay had originally been sold to the Weinstein Company , with Keanu Reeves and Reese Witherspoon set to star, and Game of Thrones director Brian Kirk at the helm.[ 16] The project was later made into the 2016 film Passengers by Sony Pictures , produced by Original Film and Company Films, directed by Morten Tyldum , and starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt .[ 17]
In 2018, it was revealed that Spaihts would be co-writing Legendary Pictures 's feature film adaptation of the science fiction novel Dune , alongside Eric Roth and director Denis Villeneuve .[ 18] For his work on Dune , Spaihts was nominated alongside Roth and Villeneuve for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay .[ 19]
Personal life
He has written several books for The Princeton Review .[ 20] Spaihts lives and works in Venice, California ,[ 3] [unreliable source? ] and is married to actress Johanna Watts.[ 21] [unreliable source? ] He is also a photographer.[ 22]
Filmography
References
^ Geri Cole (November 12, 2021). "Episode 62: Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve, "Dune" " . OnWriting (Podcast). Writers Guild of America, East. Event occurs at 2:34. Retrieved February 19, 2022 .
^ Olson, Pamry (May 1, 2012), "Prometheus Screenwriter: Humans Will Never Reach Another Star, And Other Sobering Views On The Future" , Forbes , p. 2, archived from the original on July 22, 2021, retrieved May 2, 2012 .
^ a b Cf. Spaihts' profile on Facebook.
^ Leonard F (ed.). 2007. 2007 Black List Archived July 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine , s.v. "Passengers by Jon Spaihts". 5. Cf. Halbfinger DM. 2007. "Tomorrow’s Oscar Hopefuls Today" . The New York Times (December 8, 2007).
^ personal knowledge
^ personal knowledge
^ Fleming M. 2009. "Alien prequel takes off" . Variety (July 30, 2009).
^ Sciretta P. 2007. "The Hottest Unproduced Screenplays of 2007" Archived October 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine . Slashfilm (December 9, 2007).
^ Aspin, M. 2012. "Read The Original Alien-Style Prometheus Script". Archived October 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . What Culture (November 13, 2012).
^ Siegel T. 2010. "Hirsch signs on for The Darkest Hour " . Variety (April 10, 2010).
^ Radish, Christina (April 9, 2012), "Screenwriter Jon Spaihts Talks Prometheus , World War Robot , Children of Mars , George and the Dragon , and More" , Collider , archived from the original on April 12, 2012, retrieved April 10, 2012 .
^ Chitwoold, Adam (February 11, 2012), "Jerry Bruckheimer to Produce Space Adventure Film" , Collider , archived from the original on April 17, 2012, retrieved April 2, 2012 .
^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 18, 2014). "Marvel Setting Jon Spaihts To Script 'Doctor Strange' " . Deadline . Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014 .
^ Goldberg, Matt (April 4, 2012), "Prometheus Co-Writer Jon Spaihts to Reboot The Mummy Franchise" , Collider , archived from the original on May 2, 2012, retrieved April 10, 2012 ; Universal Studios press release in (May 1, 2012), "Universal Signs Kurtzman and Orci; Pair Takes On The Mummy and Van Helsing " , Deadline , archived from the original on May 2, 2012, retrieved May 1, 2012 .
^ Baxter, Joseph (April 5, 2013). "The Black Hole Remake Lands Prometheus Writer" . TheFeed. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013 .
^ Brzeski, Patrick (May 21, 2013), "Cannes: Weinstein Co. Picks Up Reeves-Witherspoon Space Romance Passengers " , The Hollywood Reporter , archived from the original on June 23, 2013, retrieved June 23, 2013 .
^ Donnelly, Matt (June 16, 2015), "Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence Sci-Fi Romance "Passengers" Greenlit at Sony Pictures" , TheWrap , archived from the original on June 17, 2015, retrieved June 17, 2015 .
^ Kit, Borys (September 5, 2018). "Rebecca Ferguson in Talks to Star in Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune' " . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 18, 2022 .
^ "The 94th Academy Awards (2022) Winners and Nominees" . Retrieved August 18, 2022 .
^ E.g. Spaihts J. 1997. Student advantage guide to the best graduate programs: humanities and social sciences . New York: Random House (The Princeton Review Series). ISBN 978-0-679-76911-8 ; cf. also WorldCat entries of Spaihts' publications below .
^ Cf. Watts' profile on Facebook; see also Johanna Watts at IMDb .
^ "Interview (Part 1): Jon Spaihts" . December 20, 2016.
External links
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