Ronald Shusett

Ronald "Ron" Shusett (* 1935 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) is an American screenwriter and film producer . He mainly worked on science fiction films .

Life

Shusett was born in Pittsburgh in 1935 as one of three children to David and Fanny Shusett. When he was three years old, the family moved to Los Angeles . Shusett's parents divorced in the early 1950s. His younger brother Gary Shusett (1941-2013) founded the Sherwood Oaks Film School in the early 1970s and occasionally worked as a film producer.

Shusett attended UCLA for two years . From 1967 he produced smaller theater productions and wrote his first scripts. Shusett's early works were heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock , the "Master of Suspense ".

In 1974 Shusett met Dan O'Bannon and exchanged ideas with him about various script ideas. Shusett presented his idea for a film based on Philip K. Dick's short story Memories in Wholesaling , from which the script for Total Recall would later emerge. O'Bannon explained to Shusett his idea for a film about a space monster that at that time was still known as Star Beast . Shusett thought it was a "good B-movie " at first, but was then convinced by O'Bannon to work on the script together. This is how the template for the science fiction film Alien came about, which was filmed by Ridley Scott in 1979 and founded a successful franchise . O'Bannon was the actual writer of the script, while Shusett contributed individual ideas and scenarios and linked them.

Then Shusett and O'Bannon worked on the script of Total Recall , the adaptation of which Shusett had acquired an option in 1976. The film was made into a film by Paul Verhoeven in 1990 with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role. Shusett, O'Bannon and Gary Goldman were nominated for the screenplay at the 1991 Saturn Awards for Best Screenplay .

After completing Total Recall , Shusett and Gary Goldman began adapting The Minority Report , another short story by Philip K. Dick. There were three script drafts, but in the end the final script did not contain enough of Shusett's work, so that he was denied a writing credit. When director Steven Spielberg finally filmed the script as Minority Report in 2002 , Shusett was named executive producer .

The 2012 remake Total Recall and the alien prequel Prometheus, shot in the same year , were rejected by Shusett. Although he received a writing credit each because the films were based on ideas he had created, he was not involved in the implementation of either film.

Filmography (selection)

Screenwriter

• 1974: Madness - 'W' (W)
• 1979: Alien - The uncanny creature from a strange world (Alien)
• 1980: Phobia - Labyrinth of Fear (Phobia)
• 1981: Dead & buried (Dead & Buried)
• 1983: Horror at Mill Creek (The Final Terror)
• 1986: King Kong Lives (King Kong lives)
• 1988: Nico (Above the Law)
• 1990: Total Recall (Total Recall)
• 1992: Freejack - Hostage of the Future (Freejack)
• 1997: Hemoglobin (Bleeders)

Producer

• 1981: Dead & buried (Dead & Buried)
• 1990: Total Recall (Total Recall)
• 1992: Freejack - Hostage of the Future (Freejack)

Executive Producer

• 1979: Alien - The uncanny creature from a strange world (Alien)
• 1986: King Kong Lives (King Kong lives)
• 2002: Minority Report

Web links

• Ronald Shusett in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Valerie J. Nelson: Gary Shusett dies at 72; co-founder of Sherwood Oaks film school . In: Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2013.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Laurence Raw: The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia . Scarecrow Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0810869516 , p. 285.
3. ↑ About Sherwood Oaks Film College  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at sherwoodoakscollege.com, accessed January 24, 2017.  
4. ^ Writers on Writing: Ronald Shusett Discusses 'Alien' Creating The Fear Factor . In: Script Magazine, August 13, 2015.
5. ↑ Ron Shusett, Not a One Trick Pony, Part One . In: Justforlaughspall Blog of November 21, 2012.
6. ↑ Ron Shusett, Part Two . In: Justforlaughspall Blog of November 22, 2012.
7. ↑ Interview: Writer Ron Shusett on ALIEN, Dan O'Bannon, Ridley Scott and PROMETHEUS . In: midniteticket.com from January 15, 2013.
8. ↑ Steve Biodrowski: Executing Alien: Ronald Shusett . In: Cinefantastique Online of September 20, 2008.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Interview: Writer Producer Ron Shusett on TOTAL RECALL (Part 1) In: midniteticket.com from January 14, 2013.
10. ↑ ^{a b} Interview: Ron Shusett on Sequels, Schwarzenegger and Minority Report (Part 3) In: midniteticket.com from January 16, 2013.
11. ^ Brendon Conelly: Alien Co-Creator Ron Shusett Critiques Prometheus And Total Recall, Pitches Two New Script Ideas . In: bleedingcool.com of January 7, 2013.