Dan Harmon

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Dan Harmon at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International

Dan Harmon (born January 3 , 1973 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin ) is an American screenwriter . He is the creator and showrunner of the comedy series community and the animated series Rick and Morty . Harmon came through his blunt manner in the press several times and is considered one of the most controversial showrunners. In 2012 he was fired from the community as a showrunner and reinstated in the following year with great media interest. Harmon is also known as the host of the live podcast Harmontown and a co-founder of Channel 101 , a monthly film festival in Los Angeles .

childhood

Brown Deer High School

Dan Harmon was born in 1973 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , USA . He grew up in the lower middle class in northern Milwaukee with a sister and an older brother. Since his parents often worked, he watched a lot of television, recognized connections and developed an initial interest in the medium. With seven years he received from his mother a used electric typewriter with which he wrote his first films. As a child, Harmon was a loner. At school he compensated for his fear of social contact with humor and became a class clown. At Brown Deer High School he met Bob Orvis, a co-founder of Milwaukee's oldest improvisational theater, ComedySportz. So Harmon started playing improv as a student .

Early years

After graduating from high school , Harmon moved to Milwaukee and studied journalism at Marquette University , but dropped out after a year. In Milwaukee, Harmon appeared on stand-up shows . He met Rob Schrab , a comedian and comic book writer. The two became co-authors and wrote skits, radio skits and comics together . In 1992 they joined the comedy troupe "The Dead Alewives". This was a splinter group of ComedySportz that was more daring and less family-friendly. The group was best known for a Dungeons and Dragons kit, which was quoted in numerous computer games, for example in World of Warcraft , and which later found viral distribution on the Internet as a CGI short film. The "Dead Alewives" released a comedy album entitled Take Down the Grand Master and a "Sketch Comedy Show" on videotape. On this, Harmon can be seen in various sketches, some of which he also wrote.

In 1994 Rob Schrab developed the action-packed robot comic series Scud: The Disposable Assassin . Harmon wrote several volumes of the successful indie comics as well as the spin-off comic series La Cosa Nostroid . Based on the comic, other comic series, a Sega game, a computer game, action figures appeared, and Oliver Stone's comic was soon optioned for a film. Understanding that the two would write the script, they moved to Hollywood in 1997 . But Stone had more experienced scriptwriters in mind. In the end, the film was never produced and the rights reverted to Schrab. To prove Stone that they were good writers, they wrote a spec script in 1998, a writer without an order. It was called Big Ant Movie and it was an action comedy about giant ants usurping the world over. Based on the script, the United Talent Agency signed the two and made a contract with Robert Zemeckis for two films, one of which was the animated film Monster House , which was conceived as a real film but, to Harmon's displeasure, was rewritten, released in 2006 and for one Oscar was nominated.

Heat Vision and Jack

In 1998 Harmon and Schrab met Ben Stiller , who was taken with their spec script. Through him they got a deal with the television broadcaster ABC to develop a series. Harmon pitched The Protagonist , a series about a screenwriter who can improve scripts by jumping into and living through the scripts. ABC initially accepted the deal, but a month later, ABC rejected the project. Since the contract was still in place, the two should come up with a new idea. To get out of this contract, the two wrote to Heat Vision and Jack within a weekend . In terms of content, the series was reminiscent of Knight Rider and the six million dollar man . As expected, ABC didn't like the idea and instead paid the two off. Ben Stiller was enthusiastic about the series, the phone rang incessantly and numerous actors expressed their interest. A bidding war between NBC , FOX and UPN then began , which led to Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab eventually becoming executive producers of the series at Fox . The pilot was filmed in 1999 under the direction of Ben Stiller with the then unknown Jack Black in the lead role. In the style of a 1980s low-budget series, the history of the former was in the pilot episode NASA astronauts Jack Austin tells who came too near the sun, and was exposed to radiation, which led to a super-intelligence. Since then he has been on the run from NASA, which Jack wants to have killed in order to examine his brain, always accompanied by his friend in the form of the talking motorcycle Heat Vision. In addition to Jack Black, Owen Wilson spoke the motorcycle Heat Vision, Ron Silver played himself in the series, as an actor and at the same time a NASA agent. But then FOX did not order Heat Vision and Jack . Harmon then fell into a deep depression , did not leave his house for a month and doubted his ability. Later, the pilot episode appeared as a bootleg - VHS , was shown at the festival The Other Network and won a large fan base online. Years later, Heat Vision and Jack was still being talked about as a film or web series.

Channel 101

Dan Harmon on Channel 101 in 2007

Frustrated with the system and with an abundance of time, Harmon and Schrab began making parodies of films , short films, and skits for fun in the early 2000s . Good equipment was just getting cheaper, and soon they found more artists, scriptwriters and directors who felt they were being treated unfairly by Hollywood. They screened the films monthly in Schrabs' living room until space became scarce because new filmmakers joined them and more and more films were shown. In 2003, Harmon and Schrab finally founded Channel 101. Channel 101 is a film festival that works like a television station, with the viewers setting the program. Participants can submit their own five-minute “pilot” online. At a monthly film festival in Los Angeles, viewers decide which series will be extended and which will be canceled. With Channel 101, Harmon and Schrab established a successful comedy website before YouTube . For years, Channel 101 was one of the few places where comedy industry talent could showcase their work. There is no given genre for the films, there is no censorship and no film is too absurd. Harmon used his contacts in Hollywood to integrate well-known actors into Channel 101. Jack Black, Sarah Chalke and Bob Odenkirk have had roles on Channel 101 series. Several actors began their careers on Channel 101, such as the comedy troupe and band The Lonely Island known from Saturday Night Live . At Channel 101, web series such as Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager , House of Cosbys , Yacht Rock and The Bu emerged . In 2006, Channel 101 became known nationwide in the United States. Harmon starred in a number of series on Channel 101 as an actor and was in part responsible for the script, direction, camera and editing.

In 2004, the cable broadcaster FX became aware of Channel 101 and created a pilot to bring the concept to television, but then decided against it. In 2007, the broadcaster VH1 adopted the concept as "Acceptable TV". Harmon developed, wrote, and played several series of sketches. The weekly broadcast resulted in the team burned out at the end of the short-lived series.

While Dan Harmon was writing series for Channel 101, he developed a simple structure for writing stories based on Joseph Campbell's cycle of a hero's journey . Harmon broke the twelve-part Campbell cycle down to eight basic points. Harmon calls these circles embryos and sees them in every story. He develops every script with them, uses them as a basic framework for seasons, an episode or to build up a single scene.

Harmon also met Sarah Silverman on Channel 101 . In 2006, Harmon and Schrab were hired by Silverman for the television series The Sarah Silverman Program. to help develop. Harmon was one of the scriptwriters, but had problems working with Silverman as they both had different ideas about the direction of the show. After a few episodes, Harmon was released. Since Rob Schrab stayed with the series, the two ended their long-term collaboration for the time being.

At the 2009 Academy Awards , they both worked together again as the show's writers. They received an Emmy for the opening number Hugh Jackman .

Community

Leading actor in the series Community (2012)

In 2009 Harmon developed the television series Community for NBC , which is about a study group in a community college that grows together into a real community over the course of the series. Harmon had the idea for community for a long time: In 2003 he attended a community college in Glendale and became part of a study group there. Community receives critical acclaim, and in 2012 the series received the Critics' Choice Television Award for best comedy series. The series uses many pop cultural allusions, parodies films, television and clichés. The series gained a dedicated following online, but the community had poor audience ratings.

During the production of the series, Harmon came into the press several times. Harmon is known for his unpredictable behavior and dislike of authority. Harmon was disrespectful to some directors, in the editing room he went crazy. There was always friction in the writer's room. Especially in the early days, Harmon was bad at working with others. Even later, each script had to be rewritten by Harmon, "harmonized" as the other scriptwriters called it. Harmon's conflicts with actor Chevy Chase were picked up by the press. The fact that Harmon sleeps at work has been documented by his employees on the Sleepy Harmon blog . His scripts were often late, several reading samples had to be postponed, and even his friends describe his lifestyle as highly dysfunctional. When Harmon's contract expired in 2012, he was fired from NBC.

Despite its quirks, Harmon was the driving force behind Community . The fourth season without Harmon disappointed fans, critics and its own cast. The new showrunners were told to imitate Harmon’s style without creating a loveless copy of the series without his vision. As Community was renewed for a fifth season in 2013, the actor sat Joel McHale committed retrieve Dan Harmon. For the sake of the actors, NBC did this with great media interest. Hollywood Reporter dedicated a cover story to Harmon in July 2013. In early 2014, the fifth season of the series aired on NBC. It received good reviews, but struggled with poor ratings, so NBC discontinued the series. Then Yahoo decided to produce a sixth season of the series with Harmon.

Other Projects

After Harmon was fired, he developed series concepts for CBS and FOX . With Justin Roiland , whom Harmon knows from Channel 101, he wrote the animated series Rick and Morty , which received very positive reviews and was renewed. The series tells of a brilliant scientist who has alcohol problems and his less intelligent grandson, who experience adventures in other dimensions together. In the animation series he took on several small speaking roles.

In 2010, together with Dino Stamatopoulos , he founded Starburns Industries , a company that mainly produces animated films.

Harmon communicates openly on the Internet, writes long blog posts about his work and personal life. In his live show and podcast Harmontown , which he has hosted with Jeff Davis since July 2012 , he speaks straightforwardly what he thinks. A documentary of the same name premiered on March 8, 2014 at the SXSW Festival. Under the title You'll Be Perfect When You're Dead: The Collected Online Writings of Dan Harmon , a book with Harmon's online contributions was self-published in 2013.

Harmon lived with the author of the This Feels Terrible podcast, Erin McGathy, in Los Feliz , Los Angeles, and they met for the first time in 2011. The two were engaged in late 2013 and married on November 15, 2014. After less than a year, the two divorced.

literature

Web links

Commons : Dan Harmon  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rob Thomas (January 24, 2013, Cap Times): 'Community' creator Dan Harmon plays D&D on home turf at Majestic , accessed March 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Brian Raftery (September 22, 2011, Wired ): How Dan Harmon Drives Himself Crazy Making Community , accessed March 7, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b Lesley Goldberg (October 12, 2011, The Hollywood Reporter ): Top 50 Power Showrunners 2011 - Dan Harmon, Community (NBC) , accessed March 7, 2014.
  4. ↑ Tim Cuprisin (March 25, 2011, OnMilwaukee.com): Milwaukee Talks: Dan Harmon of NBC's "Community , accessed March 7, 2014.
  5. ^ Dan Harmon (February 19, 2010, Dan Harmon Poops): The Dead Alewives , accessed March 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ Todd McCarthy (July 4, 2006, Variety ): Review: 'Monster House' , accessed March 7, 2014.
  7. ^ Rob Schrab (February 13, 2006, robschrab.com): Scud: What happened? ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 7, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.robschrab.com
  8. ^ Rob Schrab (December 20, 2004, robschrab.com): Heat Vision & Jack - What happened? ( Memento of the original from February 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 7, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.robschrab.com
  9. ^ Rob Schrab (December 20, 2004, robschrab.com): Heat Vision & Jack - What happened? ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 7, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.robschrab.com
  10. ^ A b Sean Gandert (May 5, 2010, Paste Magazine): Catching Up With ... Community Creator Dan Harmon , accessed March 7, 2014.
  11. ^ Rob Schrab (December 20, 2004, robschrab.com): Heat Vision & Jack - What happened? ( Memento of the original from June 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 7, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.robschrab.com
  12. ^ Susan Stone (February 14, 2010, National Public Radio ): Alternative Comedy from 'The Other Network' , accessed March 7, 2014.
  13. ↑ Bradford Evans (May 24, 2012, Splitsider): The Lost Projects of Dan Harmon , accessed March 7, 2014.
  14. ↑ channel101.com: The History of Channel 101 , accessed March 7, 2014.
  15. ↑ Kevin Pollak's Chat Show: Dan Harmon , accessed March 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ VH1 : Acceptable TV >> Cast Bios , accessed March 7, 2014.
  17. ↑ Denise Martin (June 30, 2004): FX paints project Black , accessed March 11, 2014.
  18. ↑ Ivan Cohen (January 24, 2014, Vulture): Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland on Rick and Morty, How Community Is Like Star Trek, and Puberty , accessed March 7, 2014.
  19. ↑ Megan O'Neil (March 5, 2010, Glendale News Press): Dan Harmon screens 'Community' at GCC , accessed March 7, 2014.
  20. ↑ a b c Lacey Rose (January 17, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter ): 'Community's' Dan Harmon Reveals the Wild Story Behind His Firing and Rehiring , accessed March 7, 2014.
  21. ↑ Andrew Wallenstein (December 3, 2012, Variety ) Dan Harmon on why he was fired: “money” , accessed March 7, 2014.
  22. ↑ Mike Hale (February 6, 2013, The New York Times ): Same Classroom, New Curriculum on 'Community' , accessed March 7, 2014.
  23. ↑ Metacritic : Community: Season 5 Reviews , accessed March 7, 2014.
  24. ↑ Philiana Ng (July 31, 2012, The Hollywood Reporter ): Community Creator Dan Harmon Inks Script Deal With CBS , accessed March 7, 2014.
  25. ↑ Lesley Goldberg (February 12, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter ): Dan Harmon's 'Rick and Morty' Renewed for Second Season , accessed March 7, 2014.
  26. ↑ starburnsindustries.com: Starburns Industries , accessed March 7, 2014.
  27. ^ Andy Downing (January 17, 2013, 77 Square): Dan in real life: 'Community' creator talks about creativity on the show and after , accessed March 7, 2014.
  28. ↑ Megan Gibson (March 4, 2014, Time ): Harmontown and The Cult of Dan Harmon , accessed March 7, 2014.
  29. ↑ Dan Harmon, Erin McGathy: (February 14, 2014, The AV Club) Dan Harmon and Erin McGathy answer your questions about love and relationships , accessed March 7, 2014.
  30. ↑ greenweddingshoes.com (June 9, 2015): Dan Harmon + Erin McGathy's Natural History Museum Wedding , accessed July 3, 2015.
  31. ↑ Dustin Rowles (October 12, 2015, pajiba.com): Dan Harmon and Erin McGathy Are Divorcing After Less than a Year of Marriage , accessed October 19, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Harmon, Dan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American screenwriter, television producer, and comic book writer
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd January 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Milwaukee , Wisconsin , United States