Early Professional Career
Briggs hit the screenwriting scene in 1991 with his well-received Alien vs. Predator screenplay, which sold almost overnight to 20th Century Fox through Lawrence Gordon. The project languished in development hell for many years, until a version of the property was brought to the screen by Paul W. S. Anderson (who ditched Briggs' script) in Anderson's poorly received production.
Briggs' draft is often cited as an example of strong action writing in a number of screenwriting books, including Chris Gore's book "The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made" .
Since 1991, Briggs has worked steadily as a "writer for hire" on largely studio-based productions, including Freddy vs. Jason, Judge Dredd, the original period version of The War of the Worlds (which had two abortive attempts at production; the first with Kenneth Branagh in 1995; and then later with Tom Cruise's production company in 1998, both of which were thwarted by legal reasons), and numerous other projects.
Read more about this topic: Peter Briggs
Famous quotes containing the words early, professional and/or career:
“As I went forth early on a still and frosty morning, the trees looked like airy creatures of darkness caught napping; on this side huddled together, with their gray hairs streaming, in a secluded valley which the sun had not penetrated; on that, hurrying off in Indian file along some watercourse, while the shrubs and grasses, like elves and fairies of the night, sought to hide their diminished heads in the snow.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Smoking ... is downright dangerous. Most people who smoke will eventually contract a fatal disease and die. But they don’t brag about it, do they? Most people who ski, play professional football or drive race cars, will not die—at least not in the act—and yet they are the ones with the glamorous images, the expensive equipment and the mythic proportions. Why this should be I cannot say, unless it is simply that the average American does not know a daredevil when he sees one.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)
“I began my editorial career with the presidency of Mr. Adams, and my principal object was to render his administration all the assistance in my power. I flattered myself with the hope of accompanying him through [his] voyage, and of partaking in a trifling degree, of the glory of the enterprise; but he suddenly tacked about, and I could follow him no longer. I therefore waited for the first opportunity to haul down my sails.”
—William Cobbett (1762–1835)