Steven E. de Souza

Steven E. de Souza
Born	17 November 1947 (1947-11-17) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Director, screenwriter, producer

Steven E. de Souza (born 17 November 1947) is an American producer, director and screenwriter. He is among a handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over two billion dollars at the worldwide box office.^{[citation needed]}

Life and career

De Souza was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Evelyn and Walton Henriques de Souza. His father was the son of Jamaican immigrants, and his cousin is pianist Monty Alexander. He attended Penn State, where he was a student of Philip Klass (better known by his pseudonym William Tenn).

De Souza has written extensively for TV, on such series as The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, and Knight Rider, as well as The Powers of Matthew Star and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, both of which he also created. He was also responsible for several of the most successful films of the 1980s and 90s, including Commando, 48 Hrs.,The Running Man, Die Hard, and Die Hard 2.

De Souza later scripted Beverly Hills Cop III, Judge Dredd and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. He also produced and directed a number of films including Street Fighter.

De Souza started his film career writing, directing, and producing the low-budget stoner comedy Arnold's Wrecking Co., which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Atlanta Film Festival.

He has been nominated twice for the Edgar Allan Poe award, an award given to any piece of media for excellence in mystery writing. The first in 1984 for 48 Hrs. and again in 1989 for Die Hard. de Souza also won the Razzie Award in 1991 when Hudson Hawk garnered enough hatred to be dubbed "Worst Screenplay." In 2000 he was honored with the Norman Lear Award for Lifetime Achievement in writing.

In 2007, de Souza appeared in the feature-length documentary Dreams on Spec, which profiled three aspiring screenwriters and featured comments from a number of distinguished writers like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and him.

In 2009, his suspense Web series Unknown Sender became a triple honoree at the 2009 Webby Awards for Best Writing, Best Dramatic Series, and Best Individual Performance.

In 2011, he teamed with Family Guy director Pete Michels for the FOX Network animated pilot "Spyburbia."

Mr. de Souza has also written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Premiere, Buzz, and Fade In. Recently, he was responsible for the critically acclaimed graphic novel re-boot of Will Eisner's classic comic character Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

Filmography

• Arnold's Wrecking Co. (1972) (also Director)
• Gemini Man (1973) (TV)
• The Six Million Dollar Man (1977) (TV)
• Rosetti and Ryan (1977) (TV)
• Lucan (1978) (TV)
• The Bionic Woman (1978) (TV)
• The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1978) (TV)
• Foul Play (1981) (TV)
• Knight Rider (1982) (TV)
• 48 Hrs. (with Walter Hill, Larry Gross and Roger Spottiswoode) (1982)
• The Return of Captain Invincible (with Andrew Gaty and Peter Smalley) (1982)
• The Powers of Matthew Star (1982-1983) (TV)
• V (1984) (TV)
• Commando (1985)
• The Spirit (1987) (TV)
• The Running Man (1987)
• Bad Dreams (with Andrew Fleming) (1988)
• Supercarrier (1988) (TV)
• Die Hard (with Jeb Stuart) (1988)
• Die Hard 2: Die Harder (with Doug Richardson) (1990)
• Hudson Hawk (with Daniel Waters) (1991)
• Tales from the Crypt (1991) (TV) (also Director)
• K-9000 (with Michael Part) (1991) (TV)
• Ricochet (1991)
• Vault of Horror I (1994) (TV)
• Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993-1994) (TV)
• The Flintstones (with Tom S. Parker and Jim Jennewein) (1994)
• Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
• Street Fighter (1994) (also Director)
• Judge Dredd (with William Wisher Jr.) (1995)
• Knock Off (1998)
• Possessed (2000) (TV) (also Director)
• Adventure Inc. (2002) (TV)
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) (Story Only)
• Blast! (2004)
• Gotta Catch Santa Claus (2008) (TV)
• Unknown Sender (2009)(TV) (also Director)
• Spyburbia (2011)(TV)

External links

• Steven E. de Souza at the Internet Movie Database