Dan O'Bannon
Dan O'Bannon | |
---|---|
Los Angeles, California , US | |
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, director, actor |
Spouse |
Diane Lindley (m. 1986) |
Children | 1 |
Daniel Thomas O'Bannon (September 30, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American film screenwriter, director and visual effects supervisor, usually in the science fiction and horror genres.[1]
O'Bannon wrote the screenplay for Alien, adapted from a story he wrote with Ronald Shusett. He also wrote and directed the cult horror comedy The Return of the Living Dead. He contributed computer animation to Star Wars and worked on cult classics such as Dark Star, Heavy Metal, and Total Recall.
Early life
O'Bannon was born in
Career
1970s
It was at USC that he met
He was retained to supervise special effects for an Alejandro Jodorowsky production of Frank Herbert's Dune.[7][8] That project fell apart in 1976 and the movie was never made, reportedly because the major Hollywood studios were wary of financing the picture with Jodorowsky as director. O'Bannon's role is prominently featured in the 2013 documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. The collapse of Dune left O'Bannon broke, homeless, and dependent on friends for his survival.[9] According to The Guardian, "George Lucas was impressed enough with his hand-animated, faux computer screen graphics to hire him to do similar work on Star Wars, but otherwise this was an incredibly lean period for him."[10] He eventually abandoned technical film work for scriptwriting. While living with his friend Ronald Shusett, they came up with the story for O'Bannon's career-making film Alien (1979), for which he wrote the screenplay and supervised visuals.
1980s
In 1981, O'Bannon helped create the animated feature
In 1985, O'Bannon moved into the director's chair with The Return of the Living Dead, a sequel to George Romero's Night of the Living Dead.[13] Like Alien, the film met with success, spawned numerous sequels, and became a cult classic. That year, he was awarded the Inkpot Award.[14]
1990s
In 1990, O'Bannon and Shusett again teamed up as writers on Total Recall, an adaptation of the short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick.[15] This was a project the two had been working on since collaborating on Alien. With a cast featuring Sharon Stone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall earned well over US$100 million.
An earlier screenplay by the duo titled Hemoglobin was also produced as the low budget feature Bleeders (1997).
O'Bannon's second directorial feature, The Resurrected (1991), was a low-budget horror effort released direct-to-video. Based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, it focused on a family's ancient rituals that awaken the dead. In 1995, O'Bannon received a co-writing credit for the sci-fi film Screamers adapted from the Philip K. Dick story "Second Variety", having written the initial version of the screenplay with Michael Campus in the early 1980s.[16]
2000s
In 2001, O'Bannon was the filmmaker-in-residence at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.[17]
O'Bannon and Shusett were credited as writers on the 2004 science fiction film Alien vs. Predator, a prequel to Alien.[18]
Posthumous
In 2013, Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure was released, co-written with Matt R. Lohr.[19]
Personal life and death
He and his wife Diane had a son, Adam.[20] O'Bannon died from complications of Crohn's disease in Los Angeles on December 17, 2009.[1][21] He credited his experiences with Crohn's for inspiring the chest-bursting scene from Alien.[22]
Filmography
Title | Year | Director | Writer | Other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blood Bath | 1969 | Yes | Yes | No | Short film |
Foster's Release | 1971 | No | No | Yes | Short film / Role: "The Killer" |
Dark Star | 1974 | No | Yes | Yes | Role: "Sergeant Pinback" / Editor / Special effects supervisor / Production designer |
Star Wars | 1977 | No | No | Yes | Computer animation and graphic displays: miniature and optical effects unit |
Alien | 1979 | No | Yes | Yes | Visual design consultant |
Dead & Buried | 1981 | No | Yes | No | Claims he didn't actually write this screenplay |
Heavy Metal | 1981 | No | Stories | No | Segments: "Soft Landing" and "B-17" |
Blue Thunder | 1983 | No | Yes | No | |
Blue Thunder | 1984 | No | Yes | Yes | Writer (episode: "Arms Race") / Story (episode: "The Island") / Executive story consultant (6 episodes) |
The Return of the Living Dead | 1985 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Role: "Helicopter Loudspeaker Officer / Bum Outside Warehouse (voice)" |
Lifeforce | 1985 | No | Yes | No | |
Invaders from Mars | 1986 | No | Yes | No | |
Total Recall | 1990 | No | Yes | No | |
The Resurrected | 1991 | Yes | No | No | |
Screamers | 1995 | No | Yes | No | |
Bleeders | 1997 | No | Yes | No | |
Area 51: The Alien Interview | 1997 | No | No | Yes | Documentary film / Role: "Interviewer 1989" |
Delivering Milo | 2001 | No | No | Yes | Role: "Clerk" |
Alien vs. Predator | 2004 | No | Story | No | |
Total Recall | 2012 | No | Story | No | Posthumous release |
Also uncredited re-writer in Phobia (1980).
References
- ^ a b Bruce Weber (December 20, 2009). "Dan O'Bannon, 63, Who Wrote Screenplay for 'Alien,' Is Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
Dan O'Bannon, whose screenplays for "Alien," "Total Recall," "The Return of the Living Dead" and other films made him a cult hero among science fiction aficionados, died on Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 63.
- ^ "Dan O'Bannon Biography (1946-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
- ^ McClellan, Dennis. "Dan O'Bannon dies at 63; screenwriter of 'Alien'". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Newton, Steve (May 1992). "Dan O'Bannon: A Career Resurrected". Fangoria (112): 36–39, 68 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Los Angeles Times op cit".
- ^ "Los Angeles Times op cit".
- ^ "Los Angeles Times op cit".
- ^ O'Neill, Phelim. "Remembering the Late, Great Dan O'Bannon". The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Miska, Brad (December 18, 2009). "R.I.P. Dan O'Bannon". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "The Guardian op cit".
- ^ "Invaders from Mars". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ "Financing". chudfacts.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011.
- ^ "The Return of the Living Dead". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Inkpot Award
- ^ "Total Recall". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ "Rest in Peace: Dan O'Bannon". Dread Central. Archived from the original on December 19, 2009.
- ^ Script Magazine (February 13, 2013). "Screenwriting the Dan O'Bannon Way". Script Magazine. F+W. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ^ "Alien vs. Predator". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ Hurwiztz, Mathew (December 1, 2012). "Dan O'Bannon's Guide to Screenplay Structure by Dan O'Bannon & Matt R. Lohr". Cinemachine. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (December 18, 2009). "'Alien' writer O'Bannon dies, aged 63". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Williams, Owen (December 18, 2009). "Dan O'Bannon 1946–2009". Empire. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
- ^ Levi, Lawrence (July 5, 2011). "The Horror! The Horror! Fright Flicks Finally Get Their Due". The New York Observer. Retrieved August 17, 2012.