Daniel Waters | |
|---|---|
 Waters at the 2008 Screenwriting Expo | |
| Born | (1962-11-10)November 10, 1962 (age 63) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter,film director |
| Relatives | Mark Waters (brother) |
Daniel Waters (born November 10, 1962) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is the older brother of directorMark Waters.
Waters was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in South Bend, Indiana.[1] In high school, Waters wrote a popular column titled "Troubled Waters" for his high school newspaper, where he wrote fictitious stories about his real-life classmates—not unlike the writing that appeared in his screenplay forHeathers.[2] He then wrote, directed and starred alongsideLarry Karaszewski in a local sketch comedy titledBeyond Our Control in the early 1980s.[1] Waters moved to Montreal where he graduated fromMcGill University. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, and was the manager of a video store.[1]
Waters came to prominence in 1988 for writing the black comedyHeathers,[2] for which he received a 1990Edgar Award.[1]Heathers was an attempt for him to write of the true nature of teenagers and high-school society.Heathers was not a box-office hit for Waters when it was released, but the movie has become acult classic.[3][4] Waters won theEdgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture.
Over the next four years, Waters served as co-writer on the comedyThe Adventures of Ford Fairlane, wrote the sequelBatman Returns, and then wrote the filmsHudson Hawk (for which he re-teamed withHeathers directorMichael Lehmann) andDemolition Man.[5] He received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay for bothHudson Hawk andFord Fairlane. In 1995, he authored the first draft of theCatwoman solo movie. The story about Selina moving to aVegas-like city called 'Oasisburg' and fighting parodies of male superheroes failed to resonate withTim Burton or anyone at Warner.
In 2001, Waters made his directorial debut withHappy Campers,[6] another teen comedy in a black vein that, after a long delay, was released straight to DVD.[7] His follow-up,Sex and Death 101, a hybrid of science fiction,dark comedy, and romantic thriller, won the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director at the 2007Seattle International Film Festival.[8] It was released theatrically on April 4, 2008, in New York and Los Angeles. The film re-teamed Waters withHeathers starWinona Ryder.[9]
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Heathers | Michael Lehmann | |
| 1990 | The Adventures of Ford Fairlane | Renny Harlin | Credited with James Cappe andDavid Arnott |
| 1991 | Hudson Hawk | Michael Lehmann | Credited withSteven E. de Souza |
| 1992 | Batman Returns | Tim Burton | Credited withWesley Strick |
| 1993 | Demolition Man | Marco Brambilla | Credited with Robert Reneau andPeter M. Lenkov |
| 2001 | Happy Campers | Self | |
| 2007 | Sex and Death 101 | ||
| 2014 | Vampire Academy | Mark Waters |
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