Gregory Widen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Gregory Mario Widen |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of California Los Angeles |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Known for | Highlander , Backdraft , The Prophecy |
Gregory Widen is an American screenwriter and film director. [1] He is the creator of the Highlander film and television franchise, and the writer-director of the cult horror film The Prophecy .
A native of Laguna Beach, California, Gregory Widen holds a master's degree from UCLA and once worked full-time as a city firefighter.
While still an undergrad film student at UCLA, he sold his script for Highlander (1986). [1] The film stars Christopher Lambert, Clancy Brown, and Sean Connery. Its tagline, "There can be only one" has gained pop culture fame. [2] The original movie became a cult classic, spawning five sequels and Highlander: The Series , tie-in novels and video games.
Widen worked as a firefighter for three years while still an undergraduate at UCLA. He witnessed a person being killed by an explosive backdraft, which became the basis for the screenplay he wrote for the movie Backdraft , directed by Ron Howard and starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Donald Sutherland, Robert De Niro. Released in 1991, Backdraft received three Academy Award nominations.
Backdraft was turned into a ride for Universal Studios Hollywood (opened 1992, closed 2010) and Universal Studios Japan where it is still active.
A sequel ( Backdraft 2 ) began production in April 2018.
In 1995, Widen wrote and directed the supernatural thriller The Prophecy starring Christopher Walken, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen. The film spawned four sequels: The Prophecy II (1998), The Ascent (2000), Uprising (2005) and Forsaken (2005).
Widen was the creator, writer and executive producer of the series Rescue 77 and wrote for Tales from the Crypt .
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Highlander | Yes | ||
| 1991 | Backdraft | Yes | Cameo as "Engine Lieutenant" | |
| 1995 | The Prophecy | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | OtherLife | Yes | ||
Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Prophecy II | Yes | |
| 2000 | The Prophecy 3: The Ascent | Yes | |
| 2019 | Backdraft 2 | Yes |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Weekend War | Yes | Co-producer | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Space Rangers | Yes | Episode "The Replacements" | ||
| Tales from the Crypt | Yes | Yes | Episode "Half-Way Horrible" | ||
| 1999 | Rescue 77 | Yes | Executive | Also creator; Wrote 3 episodes | |
| 2000 | Green Sails | Yes | Co-executive | TV movie | |
In 2013 he released his debut novel, Blood Makes Noise published by Thomas & Mercer. [3] The book received critical praise, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly [4] and Booklist. [5]
Highlander is an American-British film and television franchise created by American screenwriter Gregory Widen. The series began with Highlander, a 1986 fantasy film starring Christopher Lambert, who played Connor MacLeod, the titular Highlander. There have been four theatrical Highlander films, one made-for-TV film, two live-action television series, an animated television series, an anime film, a flash animation series, original novels, comic books, and various licensed merchandise.
Christophe Guy Denis "Christopher" Lambert is a French actor. He started his career playing supporting parts in several French films, and became internationally famous for portraying Tarzan in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). For his performance in the film Subway (1985), he received the César Award for Best Actor. His most famous role is Connor MacLeod in the adventure-fantasy film Highlander (1986) and the subsequent franchise of the same name.
Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classic horror characters such as Baron Victor Frankenstein, Count Dracula, and the Mummy, which Hammer reintroduced to audiences by filming them in vivid colour for the first time. Hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and comedies, as well as, in later years, television series.
Backdraft is a 1991 American action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. Starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Donald Sutherland, Robert De Niro, Jason Gedrick, and J. T. Walsh, it follows Chicago firefighters on the trail of a serial arsonist.
Thomas Lee Holland is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, penning the 1983 sequel to the classic Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho, directing and co-writing the first entry in the long-running Child's Play franchise, and writing and directing the cult vampire film Fright Night. He also directed the Stephen King adaptations The Langoliers and Thinner. He is a two-time Saturn Award recipient. Holland made the jump into children’s literature in 2018 when he co-wrote How to Scare a Monster with fellow writer Dustin Warburton.
Edward Neumeier is an American screenwriter, producer and director best known for his work on the science fiction movies RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He wrote the latter's sequels Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars.
The Prophecy is a 1995 American fantasy thriller horror film starring Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, and Viggo Mortensen. It was written and directed by Gregory Widen in his feature directorial debut, and is the first film of The Prophecy series. The film tells the story of the Archangel Gabriel (Walken) and his search for an evil soul on Earth, and a police detective (Koteas) who unknowingly becomes caught in the middle of an angelic civil war. It was followed by four sequels.
Connor MacLeod, also known as The Highlander, is a fictional character in the Highlander film series, and appears in the extended franchise of the television programs: Highlander: The Series and Highlander: The Animated Series. In the films and live-action series, he is portrayed by Christopher Lambert. In the animated series, he is voiced by Lorne Kennedy.
Piranha is a 1978 American horror film directed and co-edited by Joe Dante from a screenplay by John Sayles, based on a story by Richard Robinson and Sayles. The film stars Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele and Dick Miller. It tells the story of a river being infested by lethal, genetically altered piranha, threatening the lives of the local inhabitants and the visitors to a nearby summer resort.
Highlander: Endgame is a 2000 American fantasy action film directed by Doug Aarniokoski and starring Adrian Paul, Christopher Lambert, Bruce Payne, and Lisa Barbuscia. It is the fourth theatrical release in the Highlander film series and it serves as a continuation of both the Highlander film from 1986 and the Highlander television series. The film reunites Duncan MacLeod, the lead character of the series, and Connor MacLeod, the lead character of the films. In the film, the Macleods need to deal against a new enemy named Jacob Kell, a powerful immortal who is willing to break any rule to win the Prize. This marks Lambert's fifth and final appearance as Connor. Highlander: Endgame was released on September 1, 2000. A stand-alone sequel, Highlander: The Source was released seven years later, with Paul reprising his role.
Highlander is a 1986 British-American fantasy action-adventure film directed by Russell Mulcahy from a screenplay by Gregory Widen, Peter Bellwood, and Larry Ferguson. It stars Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, Clancy Brown, and Sean Connery. The film chronicles the climax of an age-old war between immortal warriors, depicted through interwoven past and present-day storylines. It is the first film in the Highlander franchise.
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is a fictional supervillain in the comic book series Hellboy. The character was created by Mike Mignola and John Byrne, and was based on the real life Russian mystic of the same name. Rasputin serves as the second archenemy of Hellboy after the Ogdru Jahad.
David Maxwell Kirschner is an American film and television producer and screenwriter. His producing credits include Don Bluth's An American Tail and Titan A.E. animated features as well as the Child's Play horror film series.
The Prophecy: Uprising is a 2005 fantasy-action-horror-thriller film and the fourth installment in The Prophecy series. This chapter does not feature series regular Christopher Walken, instead starring Doug Bradley, British actor Sean Pertwee, and frequent horror film actress Kari Wuhrer in the lead roles.
Russell Mulcahy is an Australian director of film, television, and music videos. He began his career directing music videos for artists like Elton John and Duran Duran, before making his feature directorial debut with the horror film Razorback (1984). He achieved international prominence by directing the fantasy action film Highlander (1986), which spawned a multimedia franchise.
Richard Walter is an American author, educator, screenwriter, commentator, consultant, and chairman of the University of California, Los Angeles graduate program in screenwriting.
The Prophecy is an American fantasy horror-thriller film franchise, which focuses on angels fighting each other to protect the survival of the human race on Earth. Produced by Dimension Films, the series was established in 1995 with the eponymous first installment, The Prophecy, which has since been followed by four direct-to-video sequels. In 2005, its latest sequel The Prophecy: Forsaken was released on DVD instead of VHS.
Philip Anderson Lord and Christopher Robert Miller are American filmmakers. They are the creators and co-stars of the adult animated sitcom Clone High, and the writers and directors of the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as the directors of the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014).
Backdraft 2 is a 2019 American action thriller film directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego and written by Gregory Widen. A sequel to the 1991 film Backdraft, also written by Widen, it stars Joe Anderson, with William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland reprising their roles as Brian McCaffrey and Ronald Bartel from the original film. It was released on a direct-to-video format on May 14, 2019.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen is a 2020 American black comedy slasher film directed and produced by McG, from a screenplay he wrote with Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, and Jimmy Warden. It is a sequel to the 2017 film The Babysitter and stars Judah Lewis, Emily Alyn Lind, Jenna Ortega, Robbie Amell, Andrew Bachelor, Leslie Bibb, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Thorne, Samara Weaving, and Ken Marino. The film continues the story of Cole Johnson, two years after the events of the first film, who must again fight to ensure his survival after a secret is unburied, as he is hunted by demonic enemies, both old and new.
