John C. Schulte

Last updated

John C. Schulte
BornJohn Christopher Schulte
1959 (age 64–65)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation
  • Writer
  • director
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of Oklahoma
ParentsRalph W. Schulte Jr.
Pauline Schulte

John Christopher Schulte (born 1959) is an American writer, director, and producer of animation, toys and entertainment properties. [1] He has developed many iconic intellectual properties from the 1980s, 1990s and on into the 21st-century. Working as a developer and writer, he served on the development team for the wildly popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , which became a multibillion-dollar franchise internationally and has enjoyed several resurgences since its original inception by the comic book duo, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. He provided seminal development for licensee, Playmates Toys, and contributed stories to the animated series, helmed by veteran satirist, Jack Mendelsohn. [2]

Contents

He developed the short-lived but treasured original toy and animation property, B.C. Bikers, about a rogue band of "chrome age" dinosaurs who ride motorcycles through their prehistoric end times. He worked on interpolating the Troma feature film, The Toxic Avenger into an animated program for kids, called Toxic Crusaders . In 2006, he worked with creator/producer, Rick Ungar, to develop Zorro: Generation Z. [3] He penned a script for an introductory animated series called Gormiti: The Invincible Lords of Nature, [4] based on the Italian toy phenomenon from Giochi Preziosi, which made its way to the United States via Playmates Toys, and debuted on Cartoon Network in 2009.

Creating story content for digital products has resulted in Schulte's co-development of a number of noteworthy projects, including smart toys for Bandai America (Tamagotchi) and Playmates Toys (Nano). [5]

Schulte collaborates with his longtime writing partners, John C. Besmehn, Fred Fox Jr., [6] and his wife, Cheryl Ann Wong. Their business is Pangea Corporation where he serves as president. [7]

Biography

Early years

John Schulte was born in 1959 in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of aviation. His father, Ralph W. Schulte Jr. (b. 1928) was a former Marine, Libertarian candidate, and entrepreneur; [8] his mother Pauline (1929–2007) was an executive secretary and homemaker, and his grandmother Alice Barnett (1907–1977) was a composer and pianist for silent films. [9] Schulte's brother, Lee (b. 1951), is a German scholar, teacher, composer, and writer. [10] His sister, Betty (born 1955), is a pharmaceutical technician. Schulte married Cheryl Ann Wong (b. 1960) in 1989 and they have one daughter, Blythe Abigail Su-Ren Schulte (born 1997), [11] an actress, singer, conductress, and innovator, who has performed with Carol Channing and is a graduate of Musical Theatre University and a Professional Music graduate of the Berklee College of Music. [12] Blythe also appeared as a finalist in several episodes of ABC's The Toy Box, placing her toy concept with Mattel. [13]

Education

Schulte moved from Ohio to Oklahoma City, whereupon he attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He studied film writing with his mentor, Arnost Lustig, and Dwight Swain, poetry with Pulitzer Prize winner Maya Angelou, Madison Morrison, and Larry Griffin, fiction writing with Clayton Lewis and Jack Bickham, author of The Apple Dumpling Gang, playwriting with Theodore Herstand and film making with Ned Hockman. [14] In 1985, Schulte won a CAN Festival Award for a video documentary he produced with Hollywood sound supervisor, Tim Boggs. [15] He was the editor-in-chief of Imbroglios, a literary magazine for the University of Oklahoma. [16] Following his university days, he moved and settled in Southern California, attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and the Hollywood Scriptwriting Institute. He wrote dialogue for Days of Our Lives and got his start writing for the toy and animation industry thanks to actor, screenwriter, Elliott Apstein, [17] whose father, Ted Apstein, [18] coincidentally wrote soap operas and television shows and taught at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

Career

Schulte worked as a camera operator for sundry American Film Institute (AFI) projects, then focused on writing and producing videos with actor and soap opera writer, Elliott Apstein for clients such as Tomy Toys. [19] Following Schulte's work on Kathryn Nesmith's AFI project, An All Consuming Passion, [20] he co-wrote and produced a television pilot for Garry Marshall, called Four Stars. [21] Schulte went on to develop and write episodes for the mixed live action and animated kids show, Gina D, [22] for Sullivan Entertainment. [23] He worked on entertainment projects with producer Claudia Mokarow, [24] manager of world chess champion, Bobby Fischer. He retains the rights to the Bobby Fischer book, I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse, and collaborated with Miloš Forman and Peter Falk on the entertainment project.

He co-produced a teenage novel trilogy with his brother, Lee, called Time Capsule Murders. The first book of the series, Why Begins With W, was published in late 2009 under the pseudonyms Hamish De'Lamet and Chandral Ramon, by Potocki Press, an imprint of WingSpan. [25] Schulte also completed work editing a self-help martial arts book, The 7 C's of Success, written by actor/director/martial artist, Shaunt Benjamin and a new book, Diary of a Little Devil, by Edgar Award-winning author, Barbara Brooks Wallace. He also edits and agents the oeuvre of Barbara Brooks Wallace. [26] One of his original intellectual properties, The Brotherhood, was included in Miriam Van Scott's The Encyclopedia of Hell. [27] He is a member of The Academy of American Poets [28] and The Authors Guild. [29]

Schulte collaborated with songwriter, singer and record producer Ron Dante on a new musical, which had a reading in 2010; and he is writing with Barbara Brooks Wallace a television show based on her Miss Switch book series. In early 2011 he wrote, designed and developed two new series based on secondary characters from the anime series, Speed Racer. He has developed a YA novel series with Besmehn and Fox based on Zorro . The first book in the series is titled, Zorro: Resurrection. [30] In 2014, in collaboration with author, Judith Furedi, Schulte edited, contributed, and released an homage to legendary musician/composer/performer, John Lennon, entitled, A Lennon Pastiche. [31] A collection of Schulte's poetry, Blue Muse Rising, was published in 2016 in concert with National Poetry Month. [32]

In 2019, Schulte was featured on Netflix's popular series, The Toys That Made Us, along with his writing and business partner, John Besmehn, on the segment discussing their writing involvement with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. [33]

Related Research Articles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' sensei, a rat called Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zorro</span> Fictional character

Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante that defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as a sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half of his face.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Eastman</span> American comic book artist and writer

Kevin Brooks Eastman is an American comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine Heavy Metal.

David Wise was an American television and animation writer, tutored by writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, Harlan Ellison and Theodore Sturgeon whilst attending the Clarion Workshop.

<i>Toxic Crusaders</i> 1991 animated series on Syndication

Toxic Crusaders is an American animated series loosely based on The Toxic Avenger films. It features Toxie, the lead character of the films, leading a group of misfit superheroes who combat pollution. This followed a trend of environmentally considerate animated series and comics of the time, including Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Swamp Thing, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, as well as animated series based on R-rated properties like RoboCop and Police Academy. As this incarnation was aimed at children, Toxic Crusaders is considerably tamer than the films it was based on, although it contained adult-oriented jokes that would go over most children's heads.

<i>Wild C.A.T.s</i> American TV series or program

Wild C.A.T.S is a half-hour animated television series based on the comics series of the same name and developed for television by David Wise. It aired on CBS for one season from October 1, 1994, to January 21, 1995. The series was produced by WildStorm Productions in association with Nelvana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Brooks Wallace</span> American novelist

Barbara Brooks Wallace was an American children's writer. She won the NLAPW Children's Book Award and International Youth Library "Best of the Best" for Claudia (2001) and William Allen White Children's Book Award for Peppermints in the Parlor (1983).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Brown (comics)</span>

Ryan Brown is a comic book writer and artist and toy designer best known for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the animated series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures</span> Action figures based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Action figures based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise have been produced by Playmates Toys since 1988. Staff artists at the Northampton, Massachusetts based Mirage Studios have provided conceptual designs for many of the figures, vehicles, and playsets and are credited on the packaging of the products they created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playmates Toys</span> Hong Kong toy company

Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan Tai-ho as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing their own line of pre-school toys, and in 1977 opened an American subsidiary in Boston. Another subsidiary was founded in California in 1983; in 1984 the company went public.

The New Adventures of Speed Racer is a 1993 update of the Speed Racer animated series. This new Americanized version was designed as a single 13-episode season, with the intent of launching a feature film adaptation.

<i>Zorro: Generation Z</i> Animated series

Zorro: Generation Z is a British-German animated series that began in 2006. Former Marvel Studios development executive Rick Ungar developed the original series in association with BKN International, BKN New Media, G7 Animation, and Pangea Corporation. The programming deal and concept for the new series was developed by Ungar, G7, and Pangea and underwritten partially by a master toy license with Brazilian toy company, Gulliver Toys. What made the show unique were the plethora of Pangea-designed high tech gadgets and the conceit of having the young Zorro ride his motorcycle named after his horse, Tornado.

Pangea Corporation is an entertainment development and creative services company that specializes in the animation and toy industries. The company was part of the original creative team that launched the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" for Playmates Toys and Murakami-Wolf-Swenson, the animation concern behind the property.

John Charles Besmehn from San Jose, California, is a writer, director, and producer of animated and live action shows, and a developer of toys and entertainment properties. He co-developed the toy line for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a multibillion-dollar comic book, animated television series and movie franchise, originally conceived by the comic book team, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, known as Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for its 2017 fifth and final season, is an American animated television series developed by Ciro Nieli, Joshua Sternin, and Jennifer Ventimilia. It is the third animated series in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The series aired on Nickelodeon in the United States from September 28, 2012, to November 12, 2017. It was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and LowBar Productions. Bardel Entertainment handled layout and CG animation services. The series begins with the Turtles emerging from their sewer home for the first time, using their ninjutsu training to fight enemies in present-day New York City.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (2014 film) 2014 superhero film directed by Jonathan Liebesman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2014 American superhero film based on the characters of the same name created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Evan Daugherty, it is a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series. The film stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Danny Woodburn, Abby Elliott, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, and Alan Ritchson, with the voices of Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shalhoub. In the film, four mutated reptilian warriors rise from the sewers to join forces with fearless reporter April O'Neil to save New York City from the Shredder and his evil minions.

Andrew Farago is the curator of the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, author, chairman of the Northern California chapter of the National Cartoonists Society, and husband of webcomics author and illustrator Shaenon K. Garrity.

Lego Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a Lego theme based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles entertainment franchise first created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. The theme was first introduced in 2012 and was discontinued by the end of 2014. Also included sets based on both the 2012 animated series from Nickelodeon and the 2014 film produced by Michael Bay.

<i>Gormiti</i> (2008 TV series) Italian-French TV series or program

Gormiti is an animated series co-produced by Giochi Preziosi Group and Marathon Media, based on the Italian Gormiti toy line. It consisted of three seasons with 65 episodes. The first season, titled Gormiti: The Lords of Nature Return!, premiered on October 27, 2008. The second season, Gormiti: The Supreme Eclipse Era! debuted on October 29, 2009, while the third season, Gormiti: The Neorganic Evolution, aired on October 30, 2010.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem</i> 2023 American animated superhero film

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 American animated superhero film based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. A reboot of the Turtles film series, it was directed by Jeff Rowe and co-directed by Kyler Spears, from a screenplay and story written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Rowe, with Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit co-writing the former and Brendan O'Brien the latter. The film stars an ensemble voice cast with Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, and Brady Noon as the four Turtles—Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael—and follows the group as they go on a hunt for a mysterious crime syndicate and face an army of mutants. The story explores themes of family, acceptance, and conformity.

References

  1. ↑ "John Schulte". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" . Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  3. ↑ DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Earthquake Machine (BKN New Media)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved September 3, 2017.[ dead link ]
  4. ↑ ""Gormiti: The Lords of Nature Return!" The Legend Begins (2008)". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ Miller, Carolyn Handler (June 27, 2014). Digital Storytelling: A creator's guide to interactive entertainment. CRC Press. ISBN   9781135044442 . Retrieved September 3, 2017– via Google Books.
  6. ↑ "Fred Fox Jr". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ "All in the Plan Toy Makers Create Demand Through Shortages - Philly.com". Articles.philly.com. December 8, 1998. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ "Libertarian Challenges County Clerk". November 4, 1984. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Alice Barnett (1886 - 1975) - Vocal Texts and Translations at the LiederNet Archive". Lieder.net. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ Schulte, Leo (September 3, 1985). "Music to Teach German by". Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German. 18 (2): 299–304. doi:10.2307/3530463. JSTOR   3530463.
  11. ↑ "Vision" (PDF). Cjeagles.org. 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  12. ↑ "It Was An Affair to Remember!". February 18, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Poshies: Pink-Haired Inventor on the Toy Box Really a Broadway Singer".
  14. ↑ "Poetrynation". Poetrynation.com. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Tastes of Norman' to Offer Food for Thought". November 1, 1985. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Interview With Kevin Stark (Toy And Action Figure Museum)" . Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Elliott Apstein". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Theodore Apstein". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  19. ↑ Robostrux Commercial aka Zoids. YouTube . Archived from the original on December 10, 2021.
  20. ↑ "An All Consuming Passion (Video 1984)". IMDb . Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Garry Marshall - Hollywood Walk of Fame". Walkoffame.com. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  22. ↑ ""Gina D's Kids Club" Gina D's Cuddle Bug Christmas (????)". IMDb. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  23. ↑ "GINA-D'S KIDS CLUB - Sullivan Entertainment" . Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  24. ↑ "U.S. Chess Masters Match Wits, Nerve in Long Beach". Los Angeles Times . November 12, 1989.
  25. ↑ "WHY BEGINS WITH W by Leo Schulte , John Schulte - Kirkus Reviews" . Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Amazon.com: John Schulte: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". Amazon.com. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  27. ↑ Scott, Miriam Van (February 10, 2015). The Encyclopedia of Hell: A Comprehensive Survey of the Underworld. Macmillan. ISBN   9781466891197 . Retrieved September 3, 2017– via Google Books.
  28. ↑ "August 29 – September 4, 2016: Poetry from M.J. Mellor and John Schulte". Poetrysuperhighway.com. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Search Index - The Authors Guild". Authorsguild.net. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Zorro set for steampunk revival". December 13, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  31. ↑ A Lennon Pastiche by Sid Bernstein, Judith Furedi, John C. Besmehn, John C. Schulte & Pangea on iBooks . Retrieved September 3, 2017.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  32. ↑ Schulte, John (April 28, 2016). Blue Muse Rising: Poetic Dust That Connects US. PANGEA Publishing. ISBN   978-0989406567.
  33. ↑ "John Schulte". IMDb .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.