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Ronald Shusett

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Ronald Shusett
BornJune 1935 (1935-06) (age 89)
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • producer
Years active1974–present
SpouseLinda Turley

Ronald Shusett (born June 1935) is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for his works in the science fiction and horror film genres. Along with co-writer Dan O'Bannon, he is the creator of Alien film franchise.[1]

Early life and education

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Shusett was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but raised in Los Angeles from the age of 3.[2] His brother, Gary Shusett, is the founder of the Sherwood Oaks Film School. Shusett studied drama at the University of California, Los Angeles, and initially worked as a playwright. He cites Alfred Hitchcock as a major inspiration.[1]

Career

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In 1974, Shusett's psychological thriller screenplay W was produced by Bing Crosby Productions into a film directed by Richard Quine and starring Twiggy. That same year, Shusett optioned the Philip K. Dick short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale", that became the basis of the film Total Recall.

It was during this time he met his writing partner Dan O'Bannon, after being impressed by his student film Dark Star. The two wrote several spec scripts, with the one entitled Star Beast eventually evolving into Alien (1979). The final script was heavily re-written by producers Walter Hill and David Giler, but in the end Dan O'Bannon received sole screenwriting credit, while O'Bannon and Shusett shared story credit.

Off the success of Alien, Shusett wrote or co-wrote the horror films Phobia (1980), Dead & Buried (1981), and The Final Terror (1983). During the decade, he formed a new writing partnership with Steven Pressfield.[3] Together they wrote the monster adventure film King Kong Lives (1986), the Steven Seagal film Above the Law (1988), and the sci-fi action film Freejack (1992). They were uncredited script doctors on Seagal's next film Hard to Kill (1990).[4]

Shusett (with Dan O'Bannon) was the writer and producer of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Total Recall, a project he had begun 16 years prior.[1] He began writing a sequel film, based on Philip K. Dick's short story "The Minority Report," which would eventually become the standalone 2002 film Minority Report. Shusett received an executive-producer credit.

Shusett and O'Bannon received story credits for Alien vs. Predator, as the film incorporated unused elements from their original 1979 screenplay.[5][6] He likewise received a story credit for the 2012 remake of Total Recall.

Filmography

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Year Title Writer Producer Director Other notes
1974 W Story No Richard Quine
1979 Alien Story Executive Ridley Scott
1980 Phobia Story No John Huston
1981 Dead & Buried Yes Yes Gary Sherman
1983 The Final Terror Yes No Andrew Davis
1986 King Kong Lives Yes Executive John Guillermin
1988 Above the Law Yes No Andrew Davis
1990 Total Recall Yes Yes Paul Verhoeven
Hard to Kill Rewrites No Bruce Malmuth Uncredited revisions[4]
1992 Alien 3 Characters No David Fincher
Freejack Yes Yes Geoff Murphy
1997 Bleeders Yes No Peter Svatek
Alien Resurrection Characters No Jean-Pierre Jeunet
2002 Minority Report No Executive Steven Spielberg
2004 Alien vs. Predator Story No Paul W. S. Anderson
2007 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem Characters No Greg Strause
Colin Strause
2012 Total Recall Story No Len Wiseman
2012 Prometheus Characters No Ridley Scott
2017 Alien: Covenant Characters No
2024 Alien: Romulus Characters No Fede Álvarez

References

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  1. ^ a b c Magazine, Script (August 13, 2015). "WRITERS ON WRITING: Ronald Shusett Discusses 'Alien' Creating The Fear Factor". Script Magazine. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  2. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQhyFMhqHjw
  3. ^ "Writing Wednesdays: A Writer's Apprenticeship, Hollywood version". April 20, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  4. ^ a b https://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/HardToKill.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ Raw, Laurence (September 28, 2009). The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia. Scarecrow Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8108-6952-3. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  6. ^ Loreti, Nicanor. "The Resurrection of Dan O'Bannon". Fangoria. No. 239. Starlog Group. pp. 36–39. ISSN 0164-2111 – via Internet Archive.
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