Steven E. de Souza
Encyclopedia
Steven E. de Souza is an American
producer
, director
and screenwriter
. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the worldwide box office
.
, the son of Evelyn and Walton Henriques de Souza. His father was the son of Jamaican immigrants, and his cousin is pianist Monty Alexander
. He attended Penn State, where he was a student of Philip Klass (better known by his pseudonym William Tenn
).
De Souza has written extensively for TV, on such series as The Six Million Dollar Man
, The Bionic Woman
, and Knight Rider, as well as The Powers of Matthew Star
and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
, both of which he also created. He was also responsible for several of the most successful films of the 1980s and 90s, including Commando
, 48 Hrs.
, The Running Man
(adapted from a Stephen King
novel
on which King's original "by-line" was Richard Bachman
), Die Hard
, and Die Hard 2
.
De Souza later scripted Beverly Hills Cop III
, Judge Dredd
and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
. He also produced and directed a number of films including Street Fighter
.
De Souza started his film career writing, directing, and producing the low-budget stoner comedy Arnold's Wrecking Co.
, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Atlanta Film Festival
.
He has been nominated twice for the Edgar Allan Poe
award, an award given to any piece of media for excellence in mystery writing. The first in 1984 for 48 Hrs. and again in 1989 for Die Hard. de Souza also won the Razzie Award in 1991 when Hudson Hawk
garnered enough hatred to be dubbed "Worst Screenplay." In 2000 he was honored with the Norman Lear
Award for Lifetime Achievement in writing.
In 2007, de Souza appeared in the feature-length documentary Dreams on Spec
, which profiled three aspiring screenwriters and featured comments from a number of distinguished writers like James L. Brooks
, Nora Ephron
, Carrie Fisher
, and him.
In 2009, his suspense Web series Unknown Sender
became a triple honoree at the 2009 Webby Awards for Best Writing, Best Dramatic Series, and Best Individual Performance.
In 2011, he teamed with Family Guy director for the FOX animated pilot "Spyburbia."
Mr. de Souza has also written for The New York Times
, The Los Angeles Times, Premiere
, Buzz
, and Fade In
. Recently, he was responsible for the critically acclaimed graphic novel re-boot of Will Eisner's classic comic character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the worldwide box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
.
Life and career
De Souza was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the son of Evelyn and Walton Henriques de Souza. His father was the son of Jamaican immigrants, and his cousin is pianist Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander
Monty Alexander is a jazz pianist and melodica player. His playing has a strong Caribbean influence and swinging feeling, but he has also been influenced by Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Wynton Kelly, and Ahmad Jamal.-Biography:Alexander discovered the piano at the age of 4, taking classical music...
. He attended Penn State, where he was a student of Philip Klass (better known by his pseudonym William Tenn
William Tenn
William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass , a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements.-Early life:...
).
De Souza has written extensively for TV, on such series as The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
, The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman
The Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
, and Knight Rider, as well as The Powers of Matthew Star
The Powers of Matthew Star
The Powers of Matthew Star is an American sci-fi television series that aired from September 17, 1982 through April 8, 1983, on NBC. It starred Peter Barton The Powers of Matthew Star is an American sci-fi television series that aired from September 17, 1982 through April 8, 1983, on NBC. It...
and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs may refer to:*Xenozoic Tales, a comic book also known as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs*Cadillacs and Dinosaurs , a 1993 animated television series*Cadillacs and Dinosaurs , a 1992 arcade game...
, both of which he also created. He was also responsible for several of the most successful films of the 1980s and 90s, including Commando
Commando (film)
Commando is a 1985 American action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vernon Wells, Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Bill Duke, Dan Hedaya and James Olson. It was directed by Mark L...
, 48 Hrs.
48 Hrs.
48 Hrs. is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and convict, respectively, who team up to catch a cop-killer. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut , and Joel...
, The Running Man
The Running Man
The Running Man is a science fiction novel by Stephen King, first published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman in 1982 as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books...
(adapted from a Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
on which King's original "by-line" was Richard Bachman
Richard Bachman
Richard Bachman is a pseudonym used by horror fiction author Stephen King.-Origin:At the beginning of Stephen King's career, the general view among publishers was such that an author was limited to a book every year, since publishing more would not be acceptable to the public...
), Die Hard
Die Hard
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
, and Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...
.
De Souza later scripted Beverly Hills Cop III
Beverly Hills Cop III
Beverly Hills Cop III is a 1994 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by John Landis, who had previously worked with Murphy on Trading Places and Coming to America...
, Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider...
. He also produced and directed a number of films including Street Fighter
Street Fighter (film)
Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na...
.
De Souza started his film career writing, directing, and producing the low-budget stoner comedy Arnold's Wrecking Co.
Arnold's Wrecking Co.
Arnold's Wrecking Company is Steven E. de Souza's first picture, released in 1973. It was filmed on Library Place, Princeton, New Jersey, with residents of the home of Ellwood and Shirley Kauffman receiving credits for their work...
, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Atlanta Film Festival
Atlanta Film Festival
The Atlanta Film Festival is an Academy Award qualifying, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia. Started in 1976 and occurring every April, the festival shows a diverse range of independent films, including genre films such as horror and sci-fi...
.
He has been nominated twice for the Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
award, an award given to any piece of media for excellence in mystery writing. The first in 1984 for 48 Hrs. and again in 1989 for Die Hard. de Souza also won the Razzie Award in 1991 when Hudson Hawk
Hudson Hawk
Hudson Hawk is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote the story. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine Toussaint, Frank Stallone, Sandra Bernhard, and Richard E...
garnered enough hatred to be dubbed "Worst Screenplay." In 2000 he was honored with the Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...
Award for Lifetime Achievement in writing.
In 2007, de Souza appeared in the feature-length documentary Dreams on Spec
Dreams on Spec
Dreams on Spec is a 2007 American documentary film that profiles the struggles and triumphs of emerging Hollywood screenwriters. It was written and directed by Daniel J...
, which profiled three aspiring screenwriters and featured comments from a number of distinguished writers like James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
, Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
, Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
, and him.
In 2009, his suspense Web series Unknown Sender
Unknown Sender
UNKNOWN SENDER is an internet television series created in the United States, which debuted in August 2008 on Strike.TV, a website created by Hollywood writers during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike...
became a triple honoree at the 2009 Webby Awards for Best Writing, Best Dramatic Series, and Best Individual Performance.
In 2011, he teamed with Family Guy director for the FOX animated pilot "Spyburbia."
Mr. de Souza has also written for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Los Angeles Times, Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
, Buzz
Buzz (magazine)
Buzz is a free, monthly culture and what's on magazine for the South Wales region, established in 1991. It has a small staff, and relies on advertising revenues for funding. The magazine focuses on art, films, music, entertainment and dining in the South Wales area, and features a comprehensive...
, and Fade In
Fade In
Fade In is a national consumer movie magazine that has covered the film industry since 1994. The magazine is released six times per year.- History :...
. Recently, he was responsible for the critically acclaimed graphic novel re-boot of Will Eisner's classic comic character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is a fictional, American comic book jungle girl heroine, published originally by Fiction House. The female counterpart to Tarzan, Sheena had two things in common with Edgar Rice Burrough's Jungle Lord: Both possessed the ability to communicate with wild animals and were...
.
Filmography
- Gemini ManGemini ManGemini Man is an American action/adventure drama series that aired on NBC in 1976. This is the third of four weekly television series based on the H. G. Wells science fiction novel, The Invisible Man.-Synopsis:...
(1973) (TV) - The Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar ManThe Six Million Dollar Man is an American television series about a former astronaut with bionic implants working for the OSI...
(1977) (TV) - Rosetti and Ryan (1977) (TV)
- LucanLucanLucan is the common English name of the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus.Lucan may also refer to:-People:*Arthur Lucan , English actor*Sir Lucan the Butler, Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend...
(1978) (TV) - The Bionic WomanThe Bionic WomanThe Bionic Woman is an American television series starring Lindsay Wagner that aired for three seasons between 1976 and 1978 as a spin off from The Six Million Dollar Man. Wagner stars as tennis pro Jaime Sommers who is nearly killed in a skydiving accident. Sommers' life is saved by Oscar Goldman ...
(1978) (TV) - The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC...
(1978) (TV) - Foul PlayFoul PlayFoul Play is a 1978 American comic mystery/thriller film written and directed by Colin Higgins. In it, a recently divorced librarian is drawn into a mystery when a stranger hides a roll of film in a pack of cigarettes and gives it to her for safekeeping....
(1981) (TV) - Knight RiderKnight RiderKnight Rider is an American television series that originally ran from September 26, 1982, to August 8, 1986. The series was broadcast on NBC and starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a high-tech modern-day knight fighting crime with the help of an advanced, artificially intelligent and...
(1982) (TV) - 48 Hrs.48 Hrs.48 Hrs. is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Walter Hill, starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy as a cop and convict, respectively, who team up to catch a cop-killer. The title refers to the amount of time they have to solve the crime. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut , and Joel...
(with Walter Hill, Larry GrossLarry GrossLarry Gross is an American screenwriter, producer, and occasionally a director. He won the 2004 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the Sundance Film Festival for We Don't Live Here Anymore.-Filmography:...
and Roger SpottiswoodeRoger SpottiswoodeRoger Spottiswoode is a Canadian-born film director and writer, who began his career as an editor in the 1970s. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario. He has directed a number of notable films and television productions, including Under Fire and the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies starring...
) (1982) - The Return of Captain InvincibleThe Return Of Captain InvincibleThe Return of Captain Invincible is a 1983 Australian musical comedy and superhero film starring Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee.-Plot:The plot involves the Captain America/Superman inspired super-hero called "Captain Invincible" who is active during World War II and afterwards...
(with Andrew Gaty and Peter SmalleyPeter SmalleyPeter Smalley is an Australian born author, screenwriter and broadcaster who lives in the United Kingdom, who has written a series of naval thrillers featuring Captain William Rennie. His first Rennie adventure HMS Expedient was published by Century, an imprint of Random House in 2005...
) (1982) - The Powers of Matthew StarThe Powers of Matthew StarThe Powers of Matthew Star is an American sci-fi television series that aired from September 17, 1982 through April 8, 1983, on NBC. It starred Peter Barton The Powers of Matthew Star is an American sci-fi television series that aired from September 17, 1982 through April 8, 1983, on NBC. It...
(1982-1983) (TV) - VVV is the twenty-second letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Letter:The letter V comes from the Semitic letter Waw, as do the modern letters F, U, W, and Y. See F for details....
(1984) (TV) - CommandoCommando (film)Commando is a 1985 American action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vernon Wells, Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Bill Duke, Dan Hedaya and James Olson. It was directed by Mark L...
(1985) - The SpiritThe SpiritThe Spirit is a crime-fighting fictional character created by writer-artist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940 in "The Spirit Section", the colloquial name given to a 16-page Sunday supplement, distributed to 20 newspapers by the Register and Tribune Syndicate and reaching five million...
(1987) (TV) - The Running ManThe Running Man (film)The Running Man is a 1987 American action film loosely based on Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name. Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, María Conchita Alonso, Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, and Richard Dawson....
(1987) - Bad DreamsBad DreamsBad Dreams is the first album in the French comic book science fiction series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières.-Outline:...
(with Andrew FlemingAndrew FlemingAndrew Fleming is an American film and television director and screenwriter. He directed and wrote or co-wrote the films Bad Dreams, Threesome, The Craft, Dick, Nancy Drew and Hamlet 2. He also directed, without writing, the 2003 film The In-Laws...
) (1988) - SupercarrierSupercarrierSupercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial...
(1988) (TV) - Die HardDie HardDie Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
(with Jeb Stuart) (1988) - Die Hard 2: Die Harder (with Doug RichardsonDoug RichardsonDoug Richardson is an American screenwriter known for his ability to write action movies.He first made an impression with his so-far unproduced spec script Hell Bent... and Back which sold for one million dollars...
) (1990) - Hudson HawkHudson HawkHudson Hawk is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote the story. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine Toussaint, Frank Stallone, Sandra Bernhard, and Richard E...
(with Daniel WatersDaniel WatersDaniel Waters was an officer in the Continental Navy and in the United States Navy.-Biography:He was born on June 20, 1731, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and was one of the "minutemen" who engaged the British at the onset of the American Revolutionary War...
) (1991) - Tales from the CryptTales from the Crypt (TV series)Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
(1991) (TV) - K-9000K-9000K-9000 is a 1991 television movie starring Chris Mulkey, Catherine Oxenberg, Dennis Haysbert, Jerry Houser and Judson Scott. It was directed by Kim Manners and written by Michael Part and Steven E. de Souza....
(with Michael PartMichael PärtMichael Pärt, sometimes spelled "Michael Paert", "Michael Part", and "Mikael Pärt" , is a music producer and co-founded and chairs International Arvo Pärt Centre...
) (1991) (TV) - RicochetRicochet (film)Ricochet is a 1991 crime-thriller film, directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Denzel Washington, John Lithgow, Ice-T, Kevin Pollak, and Lindsay Wagner...
(1991) - Vault of Horror I (1994) (TV)
- Cadillacs and DinosaursCadillacs and DinosaursCadillacs and Dinosaurs may refer to:*Xenozoic Tales, a comic book also known as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs*Cadillacs and Dinosaurs , a 1993 animated television series*Cadillacs and Dinosaurs , a 1992 arcade game...
(1993-1994) (TV) - The FlintstonesThe Flintstones (film)The Flintstones is a 1994 American live-action comedy film based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon television series of the same name about a Stone-Age man, his family and his best friend. The film was directed by Brian Levant, written by Tom S. Parker, Jim Jennewein and Steven E...
(with Tom S. Parker and Jim JenneweinJim JenneweinJim Jennewein is a screenwriter and writer. In 2008, he partnered with author Tom S. Parker and together they wrote their first novel, Runewarriors: Shield of Odin, which is based on Norse mythology.-Film credits:...
) (1994) - Beverly Hills Cop IIIBeverly Hills Cop IIIBeverly Hills Cop III is a 1994 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by John Landis, who had previously worked with Murphy on Trading Places and Coming to America...
(1994) - Street FighterStreet Fighter (film)Street Fighter is a 1994 American action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza. It is based loosely on the same-titled video games produced by Capcom, and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Raul Julia, along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na...
(1994) (also Director) - Judge DreddJudge Dredd (film)Judge Dredd is a 1995 American science fiction action film directed by Danny Cannon, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Armand Assante, and Max von Sydow. The film is based on the strip of the same name in the British comic 2000 AD...
(with William Wisher Jr.William Wisher Jr.William H. Wisher Jr. is an American screenwriter. He is best known for his work with long-time friend James Cameron on The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day...
) (1995) - Knock OffKnock OffKnock Off is a 1998 Hong Kong action thriller film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lela Rochon, Michael Wong and Rob Schneider.-Plot:...
(1998) - PossessedPossessedPossessed may refer to:* Possession , having some degree of control over something else** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body...
(2000) (TV) (also Director) - Adventure Inc.Adventure Inc.Adventure Inc. is a dramatised adventure television series produced primarily in Canada which aired from September 30, 2002 to May 12, 2003. It was a co-production of Fireworks Entertainment , Tribune Entertainment Tribune Entertainment , M6 , Amy International , and Tele München...
(2002) (TV) - Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider...
(2003) (Story Only) - BlastBlastBlast or The Blast may refer to:*Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner*Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front-Film:...
(2004) - Gotta Catch Santa Claus (2008) (TV)
- "Spyburbia"(2011)(TV)