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Warren Skaaren

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Nationality
  
American

Education
  
Rice University

Role
  
Screenwriter


Name
  
Warren Skaaren

Alma mater
  
Rice University

Movies
  
Batman, Beetlejuice

Warren Skaaren Rewrite Man The Life and Career of Screenwriter Warren Skaaren By

Born
  
March 9, 1946 (
1946-03-09
)
Rochester, Minnesota, United States

Occupation
  
Screenwriter, film producer

Died
  
December 28, 1990, Austin, Texas, United States

Nominations
  
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation

Similar People
  
Tim Burton, Sam Hamm, Michael McDowell, Larry Wilson, Bob Kane

Scene for a day batman 1989 by sam hamm warren skaaren


Warren Skaaren (March 9, 1946 in Rochester, Minnesota – December 28, 1990 in Austin, Texas from cancer) was an American screenwriter and film producer.

Contents

Career

Skaaren was appointed by Governor Preston Smith as executive director of the newly formed Texas Film Commission on December 9, 1970. His first success was getting the film The Getaway shot in Texas. Nearly 40 more feature films were shot in Texas while Skaaren headed the Film Commission. He was a driving force behind the distribution of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, a film in which he took a personal financial stake. The success of the film enabled Skaaren to leave the Film Commission and begin his career in the film industry.

His notable writing includes: Fire with Fire (1986), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Beetlejuice (1988), and Batman (1989). He was also credited as associate producer for Top Gun (1986), for which he wrote a draft. He had also written unproduced sequels to The Jewel of the Nile (1985) called The Crimson Eagle and Beetlejuice (1989) called Beetlejuice in Love. According to its draft date, Beetlejuice in Love is believed to be the last screenplay he wrote before his death.

Personal life

Skaaren is a native of Rochester, Minnesota. He graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas in 1969. He served as the Student Association President from 1968–1969 and was a member of Hanszen College. He moved to Austin, Texas and began working at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services.

He married Helen Griffin on March 7, 1969. He and his wife fostered seven children, and he helped found the Travis County Foster Parents Association. He also served on the board of directors of the Deborah Hay Dance Company. In 1986 he established a private charitable trust, the Laurel Foundation, and was involved with the East West Center, a macrobiotic dietary provider.

He died of bone cancer in 1990.

Legacy

Skaaren's archive resides at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Filmography

  • Fire with Fire (with Bill Phillips, Paul Boorstin and Susan Boorstin) (1986)
  • Beverly Hills Cop II (with Larry Ferguson) (1987)
  • Beetlejuice (with Michael McDowell) (1988)
  • Batman (with Sam Hamm) (1989)
  • References

    Warren Skaaren Wikipedia