Steven E. de Souza | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, director, producer |
| Years active | 1972−present |
Notable work | Commando Running Man Die Hard Street Fighter Judge Dredd |
| Awards | Nominated for: Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture |
Steven E. de Souza (born 1948) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television[1] widely known for writing blockbuster action films[2] like Commando, Die Hard, and Judge Dredd. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over US$2 billion at the worldwide box office.
Life and career[]
De Souza was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 1948, the son of Evelyn (Green) and H. Walton Henriques de Souza, a Jamaican,[3] who owned a real estate company.[4][5] He attended Pennsylvania State University, where he was a student of science fiction author Philip Klass (better known by his pseudonym William Tenn).[6] He began his career as a story editor for primetime television series such as The Six Million Dollar Man and The Hardy Boys Mysteries, before graduating to the role of producer and writer. He produced the first season of Knight Rider, and was the creator of the short-lived sci-fi series The Powers of Matthew Star.
De Souza started his film career writing, directing, and producing the low-budget stoner comedy Arnold's Wrecking Co., which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Atlanta Film Festival.[7] Beginning in the early 1980s, he became a prolific screenwriter of feature films, specializing in blockbuster action and thriller films like Commando and Die Hard. He wrote some of the most successful films of the era, including 48 Hrs., The Running Man,[8] The Flintstones (film), and Die Hard 2.[9] He was frequently hired by studios as a script doctor in order to rewrite preexisting screenplays during production to add more action and humor. He has been nominated twice for the Edgar Allan Poe award, an award given to any piece of media for excellence in mystery writing. The first in 1984 for 48 Hrs. and again in 1989 for Die Hard. De Souza also "won" the 1991 Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay for Hudson Hawk. He wrote and directed the 1994 video game adaptation Street Fighter after being introduced to the franchise by his son.[10] Though the film received negative critical reception and failed to spawn an intended franchise, it has since become a cult classic in some circles.
In 2000, he was honored with the Norman Lear Award for Lifetime Achievement in writing. In 2004, he received the Dr. Bird award, which is given for achievement in the arts to people of Jamaican descent.[11] De Souza appeared in the feature-length documentary Dreams on Spec, which profiled three aspiring screenwriters and featured comments from a number of distinguished writers like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and him. His Web series Unknown Sender became a triple honoree at the 2009 Webby Awards for Best Writing,[12] Best Dramatic Series,[13] and Best Individual Performance.[14]
In 2011, he teamed with Family Guy director Pete Michels for the Fox Network animated pilot "Spyburbia."[15]
De Souza has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Premiere, Empire magazine, Buzz, and Fade In. Recently, he was responsible for the critically acclaimed graphic novel re-boot of Will Eisner's classic comic character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Arnold's Wrecking Co. | Himself | Atlanta Film Festival Gold Medal Award |
| 1982 | 48 Hrs. | Walter Hill | Nominated- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture |
| 1983 | The Return of Captain Invincible | Philippe Mora | |
| 1985 | Commando | Mark L. Lester | |
| 1986 | Jumpin' Jack Flash | Penny Marshall | Uncredited |
| 1987 | The Running Man | Paul Michael Glaser | |
| 1988 | Bad Dreams | Andrew Fleming | |
| Die Hard | John McTiernan | Nominated- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Renny Harlin | |
| 1991 | Hudson Hawk | Michael Lehmann | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay |
| Ricochet | Russell Mulcahy | ||
| 1994 | The Flintstones | Brian Levant | |
| Beverly Hills Cop III | John Landis | ||
| Street Fighter | Himself | ||
| 1995 | Judge Dredd | Danny Cannon | |
| 1997 | Turbulence | Robert Butler | Uncredited |
| 1998 | Knock Off | Tsui Hark | |
| 2003 | Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life | Jan de Bont | |
| 2004 | Blast | Anthony Hickox |
Television[]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–77 | The Six Million Dollar Man | No | Yes | No | 3 episodes |
| 1976 | Gemini Man | No | Yes | No | 3 episodes |
| 1977 | Rosetti and Ryan | No | Yes | No | 1 episode |
| 1977–79 | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | The Bionic Woman | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| Lucan | No | Yes | No | 1 episode | |
| 1981 | Foul Play | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 1982 | The Renegades | No | Yes | No | TV movie |
| 1982–83 | The Powers of Matthew Star | No | Yes | Yes | Creator |
| Knight Rider | No | Yes | Yes | 2 episodes | |
| 1984 | V | No | Yes | Supervisor | 1 episode |
| 1987 | The Spirit | No | Yes | Supervisor | TV movie |
| 1988 | Supercarrier | No | Yes | Executive | Creator |
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Yes | Yes | No | Episode "Carrion Death" |
| K-9000 | No | Yes | Executive | TV movie | |
| 1993–94 | Cadillacs and Dinosaurs | No | Yes | Executive | |
| 2002–03 | Adventure Inc. | No | No | Executive | |
| 2008–12 | Unknown Sender | Yes | Yes | Executive | Creator |
Awards and nominations[]
Won[]
- 2000 Norman Lear Award for Lifetime Achievement
References[]
- ↑ "Steven E. de Souza on Earwolf". www.earwolf.com. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Steven E. de Souza Writes the Most Explosive Hits" (in en-US). EW.com. July 15, 1994. https://ew.com/article/1994/07/15/steven-e-de-souza-writes-most-explosive-hits/.
- ↑ "Jamaica Gleaner Online".
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Steven E. de Souza Biography (1948?-)". filmreference.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "H. Walton Henriques De Souza - tribunedigital-mcall". The Morning Call. November 19, 1996. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ amazon (May 9, 1920). "Remembering Golden Age Science Fiction Author William Tenn". Io9.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Arnold's Wrecking Co." Boxoffice Magazine. January 7, 1974.
- ↑ "Interview: THE RUNNING MAN Writer Steven E. de Souza on Living in the Future of 1987" (in en-US). ScreenAnarchy. February 28, 2017. http://screenanarchy.com/2017/02/interview-the-running-man-writer-steven-e-de-souza-on-living-in-the-future-of-1987.html.
- ↑ "Street Fighter: The Movie — What went wrong | Polygon". polygon.com. March 10, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW (PART 1): Steven E. DeSouza (writer/director of STREET FIGHTER)". Bristol Bad Film Club. March 19, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Tomb Raider Chronicles - DE SOUZA SCORES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT". tombraiderchronicles.com. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Best Writing | 2009 | The Webby Awards Gallery + Archive". webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Drama: Series | 2009 | The Webby Awards Gallery + Archive". webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Best Individual Performance | 2009 | The Webby Awards Gallery + Archive". webbyawards.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (February 9, 2011). "Kids Series Producer Cookie Jar Expands into Primetime With Development Slate". Deadline.
{{cite web}}:
External links[]
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