Josh Olson is an American screenwriter and director. Olson began his career working as a production assistant in the art department on the 1987 film Masters of the Universe. In 2006, he was nominated for the British Academy Award, the Writer's Guild Award, the USC Scriptor award and the Academy Award for his adapted screenplay for A History of Violence.
Olson was the most recent writer on the postponed Halo film project, which was being produced by Peter Jackson.
In 2006, Olson was invited by author Harlan Ellison to collaborate with Ellison on an adaptation of the author's short story "The Discarded" for ABC's series, "Masters of Science Fiction." The episode stars Brian Dennehy and John Hurt, and was directed by Jonathan Frakes, and was the highest rated episode of the series. Olson is also one of the writers of a segment of the six-story "Batmanime," Gotham Knight, along with David Goyer, Brian Azarello and others, contributing the script for "Have I Got A Story For You."
Olson optioned the Dennis Lehane short story Until Gwen, and has adapted it to direct himself.
After New Line Cinema acquired the rights of Naoki Urasawa's Monster, the Hollywood film studio has hired Olson to write an English language live action film adaptation of the manga. So far, there isn't any recent news around the project.
In 2007, Olson wrote an article called "The Life And Death Of Jesse James: An internet love mystery" about the alleged dating fraud activities of a woman named Janna St. James Priggie. The story is real and a civil action (still pending as of October 2011) was filed by the victim.
He wrote the screenplay for a Warner Brothers' sequel to The Wizard of Oz, titled Oz: The Return to Emerald City and scheduled for release in 2012, based on his original pitch, based partially on the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum.
He was the first writer on Jack Reacher, for Paramount Pictures, part of the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. The film starred Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, and Werner Herzog. It was directed by Christopher McQuarrie. In 2009, he wrote an article called "I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script" on the blog of The Village Voice.
He is currently writing a feature film whose working title is "Tabloid" for Mick Jagger.
Famous quotes containing the word olson:
“I have had to learn the simplest things
last. Which made for difficulties.”
—Charles Olson (1910–1970)