Hack Writers

Alex Kurtzman is an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He directed People Like Us and the panned 2017 reboot The Mummy starring Tom Cruise and Sofia Boutella. He wrote Transformers 1 and 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Star Trek, The Island and Cowboys & Aliens. He also created the TV show Fringe.

Skip Woods is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplay for "Swordfish", the film adaptation of the Hitman video game series, and the 5th installment of the Die Hard franchise, "A Good Day to Die Hard". He lives in Los Angeles, CA. Woods is also a partner in Wetwork Tactical, LLC - a weapons handling and tactics consulting firm; this motivated him to begin writing action films.

Roberto Gaston Orci was born in Mexico City to Roberto Orci Sr. and Macuqui Robau-Garcia, one of four siblings. The family moved from Mexico to Texas when he was eleven years old and subsequently settled in Los Angeles. Orci attended Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica where he met and befriended his future producing and writing collaborator and fellow film buff Alex Kurtzman.

In the wake of further film studies at the University of Texas in Austin, Orci began his career in the late 90s as screenwriter and co-executive producer on episodes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995). He worked as a writer, executive producer and executive story editor on the J.J. Abrams spy series Alias (2001) prior to his long-standing creative partnership with Kurtzman on several big budget franchises, including Transformers, Mission Impossible and the Star Trek movie reboots Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016). In developing the relationship between the young emotive Kirk and the young logical Spock, Orci later explained: "We didn't even realize we were writing about ourselves until we were halfway through the script. That was a little embarrassing."

Introduced to science fiction by an uncle during childhood, Orci remained firmly invested in the genre. He was co-creator (with Abrams and Kurtzman), plus writer and executive producer of Fox's excellent sci fi series Fringe (2008), later serving in the same capacities on the supernatural fantasy Sleepy Hollow (2013). According to his 2013 interview regarding the latter: ...we like rich mythologies and we like things to build, and we like the characters to have an emotional memory, but we are also dealing with a treasured short story. Some of the elements are familiar to audiences and allow us to anchor the show in something that audiences may already know about, so it's potentially easier to follow without necessarily being less rich or less dense." Orci's last credited work was in developing for television (alongside Kurtzman and Peter M. Lenkov) the reboot of Hawaii Five-0 (2010).

Latterly, Orci battled alcoholism, was repeatedly hospitalised and several times in rehab. He died in Los Angeles from kidney disease on February 25 2025, aged just 51.

Ehren Kruger is an American film producer and screenwriter who is known for writing The Ring starring Naomi Watts and Daveigh Chase. He also wrote a majority of the Transformers sequels, Scream 3 & 4, Reindeer Games, The Ring Two, Blood & Chocolate, Dumbo, The Skeleton Key, The Brothers Grimm and Ghost in the Shell.

Akiva Goldsman was born on 7 July 1962 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for A Beautiful Mind (2001), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) and Batman & Robin (1997).

Chris Terrio is an American filmmaker and screenwriter who had written the Ben Affleck film Argo and the Zack Snyder DC Extended Universe films Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League before Joss Whedon rewrote the script during re-shoots when Snyder stepped down as director. Terrio's original screenplay was restored for Zack Snyder's Justice League, a critically acclaimed director's cut of the panned film.

Joby Harold is known for Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014). He has been married to Tory Tunnell since 14 April 2001. They have three children.

David Benioff was born on 25 September 1970 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Game of Thrones (2011), The Kite Runner (2007) and 25th Hour (2002). He has been married to Amanda Peet since 30 September 2006. They have three children.

D.B. Weiss was born on 23 April 1971 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Game of Thrones (2011), 3 Body Problem (2024) and Metal Lords (2022). He is married to Andrea Troyer.

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, the son of TV producer parents. At 15, he wrote the music for Don Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). In his senior year of college, he and Jill Mazursky teamed up to write a feature film, which became Taking Care of Business (1990). He went on to write and produce Regarding Henry (1991) and Forever Young (1992). He also co-wrote Gone Fishin' (1997) with Mazursky. Along with other Sarah Lawrence alumni, he experimented with computer animation and was contracted to develop pre-production animation for Shrek (2001).

Abrams worked on the screenplay for Armageddon (1998) and co-created (as well as composing the opening theme of) Felicity (1998), which ran for four seasons. He founded the production company Bad Robot in 2001 with Bryan Burk. He created and executive-produced Alias (2001) and Lost (2004), composing the theme music for both, and co-writing episodes of "Lost". He also co-wrote and produced thriller Joy Ride (2001). He made his feature directing debut with Mission: Impossible III (2006), reinvigorating the series. He produced the hit mystery film Cloverfield (2008) and co-created Fringe (2008).

He directed the Star Trek (2009) reboot, proving successful with fans and newcomers to the franchise. He next directed Super 8 (2011), co-produced by Steven Spielberg and produced Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011). He returned to direct the follow-up to his reboot, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). Disney and Lucasfilm announced J.J. as their choice for director of the first episode in the new 'Star Wars' trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015). He initially resisted, as he didn't want to travel away from his family to London, but Kathleen Kennedy convinced him that his voice would be the best to reinvigorate this franchise, as he had done with two others before. He also produced Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) and Star Trek Beyond (2016), and executive-produced Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017). When it was announced that Colin Trevorrow would no longer direct Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019), it was announced that J.J. would return to complete the trilogy he started.

Born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, Colin Trevorrow started making short films when he was 12 years old. He studied film and dramatic writing at New York University. After graduation, he wrote and directed "Home Base" a digital short that became one of the early viral successes on the internet. His first feature film, "Safety Not Guaranteed" was written by fellow NYU graduate Derek Connolly, who met Trevorrow while they were both interns on Saturday Night Live.

Matt Sazama is known for Madame Web (2024), Morbius (2022) and Gods of Egypt (2016).

Burk Sharpless is known for Madame Web (2024), Morbius (2022) and Gods of Egypt (2016).

Simon Kinberg is a British film producer, director and screenwriter who is known for producing the X-Men films, Fant4stic, Logan, the Deadpool films, Cinderella and The Martian. He directed Dark Phoenix, the finale of the X-Men Beginnings films. He created Star Wars Rebels, an animated series set after Revenge of the Sith and before Rogue One. He also wrote Mr. and Mrs. Smith, X-Men: The Last Stand and Jumper.

David Gordon Green was born on 9 April 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Halloween Kills (2021), Prince Avalanche (2013) and Joe (2013).

Joshua Trank is an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He got his big break by directing the found footage superhero film Chronicle for 20th Century Fox in 2012. He was later hired to direct Fant4stic, an ill-fated reboot to the Tim Story Fantastic Four film series of the 2000s starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell and Kate Mara. Trank's film resulted in a reevaluation of the Jessica Alba Fantastic Four films for keeping the lighthearted tone and chemistry of the Marvel franchise compared to the 2015 failure. The failure of Fant4stic resulted in Josh Trank doing small-scale projects such as Capone starring Tom Hardy.

Randall Wallace was born on 28 July 1949 in Jackson, Tennessee, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for We Were Soldiers (2002), Pearl Harbor (2001) and Braveheart (1995).

Damon Lindelof was born on 24 April 1973 in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Lost (2004), The Leftovers (2014) and The Hunt (2020). He has been married to Heidi Fugeman since 28 May 2005. They have one child.

Jeff Loveness was born on 6 June 1989 in Shasta County, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003), The Office (2005) and The Oscars (2017).

Max Landis was born on 3 August 1985 in Los Angeles County, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (2016), Bright (2017) and Mr. Right (2015).

Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, best known for action and science fiction films. Snyder made his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead and has gone on to be known for his comic book movies and superhero films, including 300 (2007), Watchmen (2009), Man of Steel (2013) and its upcoming sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Snyder is the co-founder of Cruel and Unusual Films, a production company he established in 2004, alongside his wife Deborah Snyder and producing partner Wesley Coller.

Michael Waldron was born on 23 April 1987. He is a producer and writer, known for Loki (2021), Rick and Morty (2013) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).

Eli Raphael Roth was born in Newton, Massachusetts, to Cora (Bialis), a painter, and Sheldon H. Roth, a psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and clinical professor. His family is Jewish (from Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland). He began shooting Super 8 films at the age of eight; after watching Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and vomiting, and deciding he wanted to be a producer/director. With his brothers and friends, ketchup for blood, and his father's power tools, he made over 50 short films before attending film school at NYU, where he won a student Academy Award and graduated summa cum laude in 1994.

Eli worked in film and theater production in New York City for many years, doing every job from production assistant to assistant editor to assistant to the director. At the age of 20, Roth was development head for producer Fred Zollo, a position he soon left to write full time. To earn a living, Roth did budgets and schedules for the films A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Illuminata (1998), and often worked as a stand-in, where he could watch directors work with the actors. In 1995, Roth co-wrote the script that would eventually become Cabin Fever (2002) with friend Randy Pearlstein, and the two spent many years unsuccessfully trying to get the film financed. Roth left New York in 1999 to live in Los Angeles, and within four months got funding for his animation series Chowdaheads (1999). Roth and friend Noah Belson (Cabin Fever (2002)'s Guitar Man) wrote and voiced the episodes, which Roth produced, directed, and designed. The episodes were due to run on WCW's #1 rated series WCW Monday Nitro (1995) but the CEO was fired a day before they were scheduled to air, and the episodes never ran. Roth used the episodes to set up a stop motion series called The Rotten Fruit (2000) which he produced, directed, and animated, as well as co-wrote and voiced with friend Belson. Between the two animated series, Roth worked closely with director David Lynch, producing content for the website davidlynch.com.

In 2001, Roth filmed Cabin Fever (2002) on a shoestring budget of $1.5 million, with private equity he and his producers raised from friends and their family. The film was the subject of a bidding war at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, eventually won by Lion's Gate, instantly doubling their investors' money. It went on to not only be the highest-grossing film for Lion's Gate in 2003, but the most profitable horror film released that year, garnering critical acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Empire Magazine, and such filmmakers as Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, and Tobe Hooper. Roth used the film's success to launch a slew of projects, including The Box (2009), a horror thriller he co-wrote with Richard Kelly. In May 2003, Roth joined forces with filmmakers Boaz Yakin, Scott Spiegel, and Greenestreet Films in New York to form Raw Nerve, LLC, a horror film production company.

In 2014, Eli married Chilean model and actress Lorenza Izzo.

DGA award nominee Jeff Wadlow's forthcoming theatrical film, Imaginary, marks his third collaboration with Jason Blum under a first look deal that launched Jeff's own production company, Tower of Babble Entertainment. Last year, he was the director and executive producer of The Curse of Bridge Hollow, starring Marlon Wayans (White Chicks), which debuted at number one on Netflix. This followed the two feature films he had in theaters at the same time: Bloodshot, the big screen adaptation of the critically acclaimed comic book that Jeff developed and wrote for Sony/Columbia Pictures staring Vin Diesel (The Fast and the Furious); and Fantasy Island, the re-imagining of the classic TV show that Jeff directed, wrote, and produced for Blumhouse. His first collaboration with Blum, the original theatrical feature, Truth or Dare (Universal Studios), grossed approximately 100 million in theaters from a budget of just 3.5. Before that, Jeff wrote and directed True Memoirs of an International Assassin, staring Kevin James and Andy Garcia, a movie that was at the forefront of Netflix's expansion into original features, while his preceding writing/directing effort, Kick Ass 2, was named one of the ten best films of the year by Quentin Tarantino, who stated it demonstrated a "real auteur approach."

A graduate of Dartmouth College, Jeff received his Masters degree from the prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program at USC where he conceived and directed his thesis film, tHE tOWeR oF BabBLe, winning more than a dozen awards before taking the top prize in the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. Jeff used the million-dollar grant to make his first feature, Cry_Wolf, which was released by Universal Studios. His next feature, the action/drama Never Back Down, starring two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou, beat out big-budget competition to win "Best Fight" at the MTV Movie Awards, kicking-off an MMA franchise with three sequels and counting. Jeff also developed and executive produced the worldwide hit, Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson, as well as selling multiple pitches to CBS, NBC, and ABC for original TV shows, with two of them going to pilot. Jeff collaborated with Cartlon Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (The Morning Show) to help launch the Emmy-nominated series, Bates Motel, and then re-teamed with Cuse as a writer and Co-EP on the final season of The Strain, co-created by Guillermo Del Toro. In addition to directing/executive producing the star-studded second season of the action-comedy, Ryan Hansen Solves Crime on Television, (Jane Lynch, Stephen Merchant, Rob Cordry, and more), Jeff has also directed such beloved actors as Vanessa Williams, Danny DeVito, and Meryl Streep in award-winning short subjects. For his work as the director/executive producer of the re-boot of the classic 90's TV show, Are You Afraid of the Dark? for Paramount/Nickelodeon, Jeff received a DGA award nomination.

For the last two decades, Jeff has returned to his hometown every fall to lead The Adrenaline Film Project, a program he founded to help filmmakers of all ages, write, shoot, and screen a short film in just 72 hours. Through the Adrenaline Film Project, Jeff has helped produce more than two hundred short films, personally mentoring over six hundred aspiring filmmakers.