David Seltzer
American screenwriter (born 1940)
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David Seltzer (born February 12, 1940) is an American screenwriter, producer and director, perhaps best known for writing the screenplays for The Omen (1976)[1] and Bird on a Wire (1990). As writer-director, Seltzer's credits include the 1986 coming-of-age romantic sports film Lucas starring Corey Haim, Charlie Sheen and Winona Ryder,[2] the 1988 comedy Punchline starring Sally Field and Tom Hanks, and 1992's Shining Through starring Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas.
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- Screenwriter
- producer
- director
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Eugenia Zukerman(m. 1987, divorced)
Carrie Hauman(m. 2010)
David Seltzer | |
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Seltzer during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike | |
| Born | February 12, 1940 Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1966–2011 |
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Early life
David Seltzer was born to a Jewish family in Highland Park, Illinois in 1940.[3]
Career
He was uncredited for his contributions to the screenplay of the 1971 musical film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The author of the original book, Roald Dahl, is credited as the sole screenwriter; however, it has been revealed that Seltzer rewrote 30 percent of Dahl's script, adding such elements as the "Slugworth subplot", music other than the original Oompa Loompa compositions (including Pure Imagination and The Candy Man), and the ending dialogue for the film.[4]
Seltzer's writing credits include the screenplays for The Omen, Prophecy, Six Weeks, My Giant, Dragonfly and Bird on a Wire, starring Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn. He wrote and directed Lucas (1986), Punchline (1988), Shining Through (1992), and Nobody's Baby (2001).
In 2002, Seltzer was reported to be writing a UK remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, from the novel by Patricia Highsmith.[5] In 2008, he was reported to be writing an "Untitled Earthquake Project" for Hollywood director and producer J. J. Abrams, the plot of which was closely guarded, though it was confirmed that the film was not a remake of the 1974 disaster film Earthquake.[6]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory | No | Uncredited | No |
| The Hellstrom Chronicle | No | Yes | No | |
| 1972 | One Is a Lonely Number | No | Yes | No |
| 1975 | The Other Side of the Mountain | No | Yes | No |
| 1976 | The Omen | No | Yes | No |
| 1979 | Prophecy | No | Yes | No |
| 1982 | Six Weeks | No | Yes | No |
| 1983 | Table for Five | No | Yes | No |
| 1986 | Lucas | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1988 | Punchline | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1990 | Bird on a Wire | No | Yes | No |
| 1992 | Shining Through | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1997 | The Eighteenth Angel | No | Yes | No |
| 1998 | My Giant | No | Yes | No |
| 2001 | Nobody's Baby | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2002 | Dragonfly | No | Yes | No |
| 2006 | The Omen | No | Credit only | No |
TV movies
| Year | Title | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Larry | Yes | No |
| 1977 | Green Eyes | Yes | Yes |
| 1985 | Private Sessions | Yes | No |
| 2011 | Cinema Verite | Yes | No |