Steven E. de Souza

Among the handful of screenwriters whose films have earned over $2 billion at the box office, Steven de Souza was introduced to Hollywood on camera--as a contestant on an L.A. game show. There the Philadelphia-based writer for PBS, The New York Times, Premiere and other media outlets won a car and a color TV--and then talked his way into the office of several producers to leave behind some writing samples. A contract with Universal Television as a story editor was the result. From there, he moved into producing (Knight Rider (1982)) and then earned his first film credit, on 48 Hrs. (1982). That film, along with Commando (1985), Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990), established his reputation as a writer who could juggle both action and humor. That combination remains evident in all of his subsequent work, which expanded to include science-fiction (V (1984), The Running Man (1987), Judge Dredd (1995)), horror (Tales from the Crypt (1989), Possessed (2000)) and fantasy (The Flintstones (1994), Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993), Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)). He has been nominated two times each for the Edgar Allen Poe award for best mystery screenplay and the Saturn award for best Science Fiction/Fantasy Film. In 2000 he was honored with the Norman Lear Award for Lifetime Achievement in writing.

In 2009 his web series Unknown Sender (2008) became an unprecedented triple honoree in the 13th annual Webby Awards--for best series and best writing and for Timothy Dalton's performance in If You're Seeing This Tape... (2008).