home Movies, News Writer Dan O’Bannon Dead at Age 63

Writer Dan O’Bannon Dead at Age 63

Dan O’Bannon, best known for writing the original “Alien” movie has died at the age of 63.

O’Bannon got his start in 1975 at USC, where he collaboarated with fellow student John Carpenter to create “Dark Star.”  That short was eventually expanded to a full-length feature, which launched both O’Bannon and Carpenter’s careers.  O’Bannon worked on George Lucas’ original “Star Wars,” in computer animation, before giving up that career to write full-time.  After an adaptation of “Dune” failed to get off the ground, O’Bannon worked with co-writer Ronald Shussett on what became the first “Alien,” film.  Along with H.R. Giger and Ridley Scott, O’Bannon is credited with the success of that first movie.

O’Bannon also wrote “Heavy Metal,” “Blue Thunder,” and “Life Force,” before trying his hand at directing with 1985’s “Return of the Living Dead.”  More recently, he wrote the script for Paul Verhoven’s “Total Recall.”

O’Bannon died on Friday, after a long battle with Chron’s disease.  O’Bannon’s wife says that she plans on trying to publish his un-seen work, allowing fans to see more of his material.  For fans of sci-fi, O’Bannon will be sorely missed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *