Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless

Last updated
Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless
Born
United States
Occupation Screenwriter
Years active2014–present
Known forWriting films Dracula Untold , The Last Witch Hunter , and Gods of Egypt .
ParentJohn Sharpless (Burk Sharpless only)

Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless are American writers best known for writing films together. After box office successes like Dracula Untold (2014) and The Last Witch Hunter (2015), Sazama and Sharpless wrote Gods of Egypt (2016), Morbius (2022) and Madame Web (2024), all of which became box office bombs and received negative reception from critics. The duo also wrote a reboot of Lost in Space for Netflix, which contrary to their other work, has been well-received.

Contents

Career

In August 2008, Sazama and Sharpless were hired by Sony Pictures Entertainment to write the script for a film adaptation of Flash Gordon , with Breck Eisner attached as director. [1]

In January 2011, 20th Century Fox hired Sazama and Sharpless to adapt Atari's 1980s arcade game Missile Command . [2] In August 2011, Universal hired Sazama and Sharpless to write the script for a feature film based on the Hasbro board game Cluedo . [3] In September 2011, Chernin Entertainment bought an untitled pitch by Sazama and Sharpless, which was described as a futuristic Jungle Book. [4]

Sazama and Sharpless wrote the script for the 2014 horror fantasy film Dracula Untold , starring Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, and Dominic Cooper. [5] [6] The film was directed by Gary Shore and released in the United States by Universal Pictures on October 10, 2014. [5] [7]

Sazama and Sharpless also re-wrote Cory Goodman's original draft of the 2015 fantasy thriller film The Last Witch Hunter , starring Vin Diesel, Elijah Wood, Rose Leslie, Julie Engelbrecht, and Michael Caine. [8] Breck Eisner directed the film, which was released on October 23, 2015, by Summit Entertainment. [8] [9]

In addition, Sazama and Sharpless wrote the screenplay for the fantasy action film Gods of Egypt , starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Gerard Butler, and Geoffrey Rush. [10] The film, directed by Alex Proyas, was released on February 26, 2016, by Lionsgate. [11]

In June 2015, Walt Disney Pictures hired Sazama and Sharpless to write a live-action adaptation of the Night on Bald Mountain sequence from the 1940s animated film Fantasia , which they would also executive produce. [12] Though as of 2025, no further updates have been made.

In November 2015, Netflix announced a remake of the 1965 TV series Lost in Space , hiring Sazama and Sharpless to write. [13] Sazama and Sharpless contributed to the story of the 2017 Power Rangers reboot. In 2017, it was announced that Sony Pictures hired the duo to pen the script for the film adaptation of Marvel Comics character, Morbius, the Living Vampire. The movie is part of their shared universe titled Sony's Spider-Man Universe. [14] They also wrote a film adaptation of Madame Web, which was released on February 14, 2024. [15]

Reception

Following the release of Madame Web, Sazama and Sharpless suddenly gained infamous attention due to their history of being "franchise killers". Philip Ellis of Men's Health referred to the duo's work as "middling genre fare that seeks not to expand or buck conventions, but rather to deliver trope after trope, revelling in cliché where other writers might shy away. In other words, the kind of movie you'll get a kick out of when you're slightly drunk and/or sleepy at 20,000 feet." [16] Sazama and Sharpless have been publicly mocked online with users questioning their ability to write and Hollywood's insistence on rehiring them for large budget projects. [17] [18] While Alex Zalben of Comic Book Club agreed that the duo's work is subpar, he noted that their work on Lost in Space has been relatively positive stating, "I don't know these guys. I don't have a dog in this race. But I'd venture a Netflix show they were actually in charge of is probably a better representation of their talent than multiple work-for-hire movies where they wrote an often intermediary version of a screenplay." [19]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
2014 Dracula Untold Gary Shore
2015 The Last Witch Hunter Breck Eisner Co-wrote with Cory Goodman
2016 Gods of Egypt Alex Proyas
2017 Power Rangers Dean Israelite Story only
Co-wrote with Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney
2022 Morbius Daniel Espinosa
2024 Madame Web S. J. Clarkson Co-wrote with Claire Parker, Clarkson, and Kerem Sanga

Television

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References

  1. ↑ "Sazama and Sharpless to Write Flash Gordon - SuperHeroHype". SuperHeroHype. August 7, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  2. ↑ Graser, Marc (January 11, 2011). "Atari arms 'Missile Command' for bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 3, 2011). "Universal Drops 'Clue'; Gore Verbinski Moves Forward With Hasbro Cash And New Writers". Deadline. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  4. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 28, 2011). "Peter Chernin And Gore Verbinski Landing Futuristic Pitch". Deadline. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Schaefer, Sandy (September 25, 2014). "'Dracula Untold' Featurette: Man Behind the Monster". Screen Rant. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 10, 2012). "Universal Revives 'Dracula Year Zero' With Director Gary Shore". Deadline. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dracula Untold (2014)". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Marshall, Rick (October 14, 2015). "Watch Vin Diesel battle bad witches in new clip from The Last Witch Hunter". Digital Trends. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Last Witch Hunter (2015)". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  10. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (May 17, 2012). "Proyas in talks for Summit's 'Gods of Egypt'". Variety. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  11. ↑ Evans, Greg (November 28, 2015). "'Gods Of Egypt': 'Selma' Director Ava DuVernay Responds To Alex Proyas & Lionsgate Apology For Lack Of Diversity - Update". Deadline. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  12. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (June 3, 2015). "Disney to Adapt Iconic 'Fantasia' Sequence Into Live-Action Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  13. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (November 20, 2015). "'Lost In Space' TV Series Remake In Works At Netflix". Deadline. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  14. ↑ Dave Trumbore (November 13, 2017). "'Morbius': Marvel's Living Vampire Movie in the Works as a 'Spider-Man' Spin-off". Collider . Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  15. ↑ Treese, Tyler (April 21, 2022). "Madame Web Release Date: Sony Sets 2023 Launch for Spider-Man Spin-off".
  16. ↑ Ellis, Philip (February 17, 2024). "Madame Web Comes From the Writers of Morbius and Other Spectacular Flops". Men's Health. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  17. ↑ Visarg (February 15, 2024). "'Madame Web' Writers Get Humiliated on Social Media After Duo's Historic Run of Critically-Panned Films For Past Decade". Fandom Wire. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  18. ↑ Avneet (February 18, 2024). "'Madame Web' Writer Gets Publicly Humiliated After His Last 5 Films Display a Similar Lack of Quality". Fandom Wire. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  19. ↑ Zalben, Alex (February 19, 2024). "Madame Web Screenwriters Are Taking Heat For The Film Flopping — But Should They?". Comic Book Club. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
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