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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David S. Goyer
Goyer at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Goyer at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born David Samuel Goyer
December 22, 1965 (age 57)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation
Film directorscreenwriterfilm producernovelistcomic book writer
Nationality American
Genre Screenwriter; comic books
Spouse Marina Black
David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and
comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several
superhero films, including Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998), the Blade
trilogy (1998–2004), Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (2005–2012), Man of
Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). He has also directed
four films: Zig Zag (2002), Blade: Trinity (2004), The Invisible (2007) and The
Unborn (2009). He is the creator of the science fiction television series
Foundation.
Goyer was also co-writer of the video games Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty:
Black Ops II, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. He won a Saturn Award for Best
Writing for Batman Begins (2005) and received another nomination for Dark City, and
has been nominated for four Hugo Awards.
Early life
Goyer and his brother Jeff were born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and were raised by
their mother. He is Jewish on his mother's side, and attended Hebrew school.[1][2]
[3] Goyer is an alumnus of Huron High School and the University of Southern
California, graduating from the School of Cinema-Television in 1988.[4]
Goyer was a student of screenwriter Nelson Gidding at USC and frequently returned
to Gidding's class as a guest speaker. He graduated in 1988 and sold his first
screenplay for Death Warrant in 1989, which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme. With his
first paycheck, he bought a new Isuzu Trooper, which was stolen the very first
night he drove it home.[5]
Career
A professed comic book fanatic[6] who often wrote to letter columns,[7] Goyer has
written or co-written several screenplays based on comic book characters and
series, including Batman, Superman, Ghost Rider and Blade.[8] Had also written a
script treatment for a film adaptation of Venom, which was rejected. Goyer wrote a
title based around the Justice Society of America for DC Comics titled JSA, which
debuted in August 1999. For the first five issues, he collaborated with James
Robinson and, until his departure following issue 51, with Geoff Johns, who would
take over as solo writer. Alongside Brannon Braga, Goyer co-created FlashForward, a
science-fiction TV series that premiered on ABC in Fall 2009. The series was based
on the novel by Robert J. Sawyer. He stepped in as show runner in October 2009
after the series struggled out of the gate. On February 5, 2010, Goyer announced he
would be stepping down as FlashForward showrunner to focus on feature films and
directing.
In late October 2011, cable channel Starz and BBC Worldwide greenlit his TV
project, Da Vinci's Demons, which followed the life of a 25-year-old Leonardo da
Vinci. "This will be a show about secret histories, genius, madness and all things
profane," according to Goyer.[11] The show ran for three seasons and received
generally favorable reviews, including an 81% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.[12] In
March 2013, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Goyer would be directing a film
adaptation of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.[13]
In June 2013, he was announced to work on both Justice League and a sequel to Man
of Steel.[14] In September 2013, Goyer delivered a screenwriting lecture as part of
the BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters' Lecture Series.[15] Goyer-produced the horror film
The Forest, directed by Jason Zada.[16] Focus Features has the North American
distribution rights to the film,[17][18] which was Zada's feature film directorial
debut.[16]
In January 2017, Goyer signed on to co-produce and co-write Green Lantern Corps, an
installment in the DC Extended Universe, with Justin Rhodes, based on a story
treatment by Goyer and Geoff Johns.[26] By April of the same year, it was announced
that he had signed on to write the script for the reboot of Masters of the
Universe, intended to be released in 2019.[27] Goyer was later announced as
director along with Lindsey Beer writing a new draft of the screenplay in January
2018. Filming was set to begin April 2018.[28] By February of that year, Goyer
dropped out as the film's director and writer.[29] According to Carlos Huante, a
creature designer hired for the film and who worked on the original cartoon, Sony
felt that Goyer's script would be too expensive to bring to life as Goyer intended
for the movie to be on the epic scale of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.[30]
In September 2017, Deadline reported that Goyer and his Green Lantern Corps partner
Justin Rhodes, as well as Chris Eglee and Josh Friedman were hired to take part in
a writers room in order to write the next Terminator trilogy, under the direction
of collaborating team Tim Miller and James Cameron.[31]
In the early 2020s, Goyer produced The Night House, starring Rebecca Hall, as well
as the Scott Cooper film Antlers. The Night House premiered at the 2020 Sundance
Film Festival; Searchlight purchased the rights to the film,[32] and released it to
critical acclaim in August 2021. Goyer also produced the 2021 film The Tomorrow
War, starring Chris Pratt for Skydance and Amazon. He has officially been signed on
as a producer for the sequel.[33]
Goyer executive produces and serves as showrunner for Foundation, which premiered
on Apple TV+ on September 24, 2021, and is based on Isaac Asimov's novels of the
same name. He also wrote the first and last episodes as well as directing the
season finale.[34] Goyer co-wrote the pilot and serves as executive producer for
The Sandman, which was released on Netflix on August 5, 2022. Goyer had been
involved with an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's comic book The Sandman since he had
pitched a story idea in December 2013.[35] By February 2014, he was set to produce
a feature film, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but the film's development stalled
and transitioned into a television show.[36]
For the 2022 film Hellraiser, a reimagining of the franchise of the same name,
Goyer wrote the story and produced the film under the Phantom Four banner for
Spyglass and Hulu.[37] More recently, his Phantom Four company had signed a deal
with Village Roadshow Pictures.[38]
Works
Films
Year Title Director Writer Producer
1990 Death Warrant No Yes No
1991 Kickboxer 2 No Yes Associate
1992 Demonic Toys No Yes No
1993 Arcade No Yes No
1994 The Puppet Masters No Yes No
1996 The Crow: City of Angels No Yes No
1998 Dark City No Yes No
Blade No Yes No
2002 Zig Zag Yes Yes No
Blade II No Yes Executive
2004 Blade: Trinity Yes Yes Yes
2005 Batman Begins No Yes No
2007 The Invisible Yes No No
2008 Jumper No Yes No
The Dark Knight No Story No
2009 The Unborn Yes Yes No
2011 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance No Yes Executive
2012 The Dark Knight Rises No Story No
2013 Man of Steel No Yes No
2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice No Yes Executive
2019 Terminator: Dark Fate No Yes Executive
2022 Hellraiser No Story Yes
Producer only