Daniel Thomas O'Bannon (September 30, 1946 â€" December 17, 2009) was
an American film screenwriter, director, visual effects supervisor,
usually in the science fiction and horror genres.O'Bannon wrote the
screenplay for Alien, adapted from a story he wrote with Ronald
Shusett. He also wrote and directed the horror comedy The Return of
the Living Dead. He contributed computer animation to Star Wars and
worked on cult classics such as Dark Star, Heavy Metal, and Total
Recall.O'Bannon was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Bertha
(née Lowenthal) and Thomas Sidney O'Bannon, a carpenter. He attended
the art school of Washington University in St. Louis, where he did
stand-up comedy routines, did make-up for campus theater productions,
and provided illustrations for Student Life, the student newspaper.
While there he roomed with future movie producer Michael Shamberg.
O'Bannon moved home briefly after Washington University and attended
Florissant Valley Junior College where he wrote and directed a short
science fiction satire titled "The Attack of the 50-foot Chicken."
O'Bannon also attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.
According to O'Bannon, he was reading an issue of Playboy when he
found an article discussing the best film schools, which led him to
apply to the University of Southern California (USC). Before applying,
O'Bannon was pursuing a psychology degree. It was at USC that he met
John Carpenter and collaborated with him on the science fiction
student film Dark Star (1974).
an American film screenwriter, director, visual effects supervisor,
usually in the science fiction and horror genres.O'Bannon wrote the
screenplay for Alien, adapted from a story he wrote with Ronald
Shusett. He also wrote and directed the horror comedy The Return of
the Living Dead. He contributed computer animation to Star Wars and
worked on cult classics such as Dark Star, Heavy Metal, and Total
Recall.O'Bannon was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Bertha
(née Lowenthal) and Thomas Sidney O'Bannon, a carpenter. He attended
the art school of Washington University in St. Louis, where he did
stand-up comedy routines, did make-up for campus theater productions,
and provided illustrations for Student Life, the student newspaper.
While there he roomed with future movie producer Michael Shamberg.
O'Bannon moved home briefly after Washington University and attended
Florissant Valley Junior College where he wrote and directed a short
science fiction satire titled "The Attack of the 50-foot Chicken."
O'Bannon also attended MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.
According to O'Bannon, he was reading an issue of Playboy when he
found an article discussing the best film schools, which led him to
apply to the University of Southern California (USC). Before applying,
O'Bannon was pursuing a psychology degree. It was at USC that he met
John Carpenter and collaborated with him on the science fiction
student film Dark Star (1974).
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