Terry Rossio

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Terry Rossio
Terry Rossio (2009) (cropped).png
Rossio in 2009
Born (1960-07-02) July 2, 1960 (age 61)
Kalamazoo, Michigan, U.S.[citation needed]
OccupationScreenwriter
Years active1989–present

Terry Rossio (born July 2, 1960) is an American screenwriter. He wrote the films Aladdin, Shrek, and all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek, and won the Annie Award for Writing in a Feature Production, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek. He often collaborates with fellow screenwriter Ted Elliott.

Life and career[]

Rossio was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[citation needed] After graduating from Saddleback High School in Santa Ana, California, he went on to study at California State University, Fullerton where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications, with an emphasis in radio, television and film. He is the founder of Wordplay, also known as Wordplayer.com, one of the premier screenwriting sites on the Internet.

Along with his writing partner Ted Elliott, Rossio has written some of the most successful American films of the past 30 years, including Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Shrek. He is the eleventh-most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of domestic box office receipts with totals at around $5.5 billion.[1]

In March 2017, Legendary Entertainment announced that Rossio would lead their writers room to help develop the story for Godzilla vs. Kong.[2] He received "story by" credit on the film.[3]

As quoted in the India Times, Deadline Hollywood and other sources, "Pirates of the Caribbean writer Terry Rossio has been sued by his former agent for pending commission payment of over two years. Dodie Herskovitz, of Dodie Gold Management, filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court and claimed the screenwriter has not paid her 'certain revenues' she is owed under their contract, said The Hollywood Reporter. Herskovitz said she became Rossio's manager in February 2002, and their contract entitled her to 10 per cent of gross revenues and other amounts earned from entertainment industry work negotiated by her firm. Rossio, however, ended their contract in March 2013. The former manager claims she managed the writer while he signed to write (with Ted Elliott) installments of Pirates of the Caribbean saga, apart from The Lone Ranger, Déjà Vu and upcoming projects Lightspeed and Instant Karma.”[4][5]

Rossio was criticized after writing in a November 23, 2018 tweet, "My heart goes out to all the parents of vaccine damaged children, who have to not only endure the sadness of their loss, but also the vitriol of ill-informed and insensitive people (such as those here). Anti-Vax is equivalent to calling someone a nigger and makes as little sense".[6] Subsequently, Rossio received a strong backlash from Twitter users for his use of a racist slur, and for comparing defenders of the anti-vaccination movement with victims of racism.[7]

Filmography (partial)[]

Year Film Credit Notes
1989 Little Monsters Written by Co-wrote with Ted Elliott
1992 Aladdin Screenplay by Co-wrote screenplay with Ted Elliott & Ron Clements and John Musker
1994 The Puppet Masters Screenplay by Co-wrote screenplay with Ted Elliott and David S. Goyer
1997 Men in Black Uncredited work
1998 The Mask of Zorro Screenplay by
Story by 		Co-wrote screenplay with John Eskow and Ted Elliott
Co-wrote story with Ted Elliott and Randall Jahnson
Godzilla Story by Early unproduced screenplay
Co-wrote story with Ted Elliott
Small Soldiers Written by Co-wrote with Ted Elliott & Gavin Scott and Adam Rifkin
2000 The Road to El Dorado Written by Co-wrote with Ted Elliott
2001 Shrek Written by
Co-producer 		Co-wrote with Ted Elliott & Joe Stillman and Roger S. H. Schulman
2002 Treasure Planet Story by Co-wrote story with Ted Elliott & Ron Clements and John Musker
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl 		Screenplay by
Story by 		Co-wrote screenplay with Ted Elliott
Co-wrote story with Ted Elliott & Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert
2004 National Treasure Uncredited work
2005 The Legend of Zorro Story by Co-wrote story with Ted Elliott & Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest 		Written by Co-wrote with Ted Elliott
Déjà Vu Written by
Executive producer 		Co-wrote with Bill Marsilii
2007 Pirates of the Caribbean:
At World's End 		Written by Co-wrote with Ted Elliott
National Treasure:
Book of Secrets 		Story by Co-wrote story with Ted Elliott & Gregory Poirier & Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley
2009 G-Force Associate producer Uncredited rewrite
2011 Pirates of the Caribbean:
On Stranger Tides 		Screenplay by
Executive producer 		Co-wrote screenplay with Ted Elliott
Pirates of the Caribbean:
Tales of the Code – Wedlocked 		Written by Short film
Co-wrote with Ted Elliott
2013 Lovestruck: The Musical Written by
Executive producer 		Co-wrote with Jaylynn Bailey
The Lone Ranger Screenplay by
Executive producer 		Co-wrote screenplay with Ted Elliott and Justin Haythe
2015 Jake and the Never Land Pirates Written by Episode #89 - Captain Frost
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Men Tell No Tales 		Story by
Executive producer 		Co-wrote story with Jeff Nathanson
2019 Aladdin Based on Credited with Ted Elliott & Ron Clements and John Musker
2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Story by[8] Head of writers room[2]
Co-wrote story with Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields

Other credits[]

Year Film Role
1998 Antz Consultant/advisor
2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
2004 Shrek 2 Creative consultant

References[]

  1. ^ "The Numbers - Top Grossing Screenwriter at the Worldwide Box Office". the-numbers.com.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Kit, Borys (March 10, 2017). "'Godzilla vs. Kong' Film Sets Writers Room (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Entertainment's Monsterverse Shifts into Overdrive as Cameras Roll on the Next Big-Screen Adventure "Godzilla Vs. Kong"". Business Wire. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  4. ^ Patten, Dominic (August 4, 2015). "'Pirates' Scribe Terry Rossio Hit With Commissions Non-Payment Lawsuit". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "'Pirates of the Caribbean' writer Terry Rossio sued for commission". India Times. August 5, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "Terry Rossio on Twitter". November 23, 2018.
  7. ^ "'Aladdin' Writer Terry Rossio Criticized for Using N-Word on Twitter". SFGate. November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  8. ^ "Godzilla vs. Kong". Writer's Guild of America East. Retrieved May 3, 2020.

External links[]

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