Alex Tse

{{Infobox person

| name = Alex Tse

| image = Alex Tse (cropped).jpg

| caption = Alex Tse in 2009

| birth_place = San Francisco, California, United States

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1976}}

| occupation = {{ubl|

Screenwriter
Television show creator
Executive producer

}}

| years_active = 2004 to present

}}

Alex Tse (born 1976) is an American screenwriter and television show creator active since 2004. He was one of the creators and executive producers of the 2019 TV series Wu-Tang: An American Saga. Prior to that, Tse wrote the 2004 gangster film Sucker Free City, co-wrote the 2009 superhero film Watchmen, and wrote the 2018 film Superfly.

Tse grew up in San Francisco and attended Emerson College in Boston.

Background

Alex Tse, a Chinese American, was born in 1976 to a banker father and a teacher mother.{{cite news |last=Wang |first=Oliver |url=http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/w_apa/showarticle.aspx?articleID=9089 |title=The Storyteller: An Interview with Alex Tse |work=Asia Pacific Arts |publisher=UCLA Asia Institute |date=July 17, 2009 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240525002150/https://www.webcitation.org/5sDtsEAt7?url=http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/(X(1)A(bycE8SN6ywEkAAAANWY3ZTNmZTYtOGMwOS00NzlmLThiZjYtOThjOWNjNTYxMDQyCaKlBcvcNYJx45w7iLbqr-yuFXc1)S(3mjtppm1w1epgw45mvaf5o55))/w_apa/showarticle.aspx%3FarticleID=9089&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 |archivedate=May 25, 2024 |url-status=dead |access-date=April 13, 2010 |df=mdy-all }} He grew up in the Richmond District in San Francisco. He went to Alamo Elementary School, Presidio Middle School, and Lowell High School in the area.{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Hartlaub |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/08/DD179055.DTL |title=A young scriptwriter raised in San Francisco hooks up with Spike Lee to give Showtime a new show -- 'Sucker Free City.' Cable-car free, too. |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=July 8, 2003 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525004414/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2003%2F07%2F08%2FDD179055.DTL |archivedate=May 25, 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=September 22, 2019 }} When Tse was growing up, his parents were movie fans, and he was incidentally exposed to movies not appropriate for his age like Heavy Metal, Prom Night, and Altered States. His father's favorite film was The Godfather, and the family would watch two films every Christmas, such as To Live and Die in L.A..

Tse attended Emerson College in Boston. When Tse was a first-year student at Emerson, he explored journalism as a career by having a radio show and realized that it was not his aspiration. He saw Pulp Fiction and was inspired by the film to pursue a screenwriting career.{{cite news |last=Kim |first=Sylvie |url=http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/content/view/146/1/ |title=Watchmen's watcher, Alex Tse |work=Hyphen |date=March 12, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101228060602/http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/2009/03/watchmen-screenwriter-alex-tse-talks-about-adapting-groundbreaking-comic |archivedate=December 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 17, 2009 }} He described Pulp Fiction{{'}}s influence on him:

{{Quote frame|I had never seen anything like it, in terms of narrative structure, characters, the character's point of view, all the pop culture references and humor. It seemed like it was coming from my own sensibility... though the world of Pulp Fiction is so fantastic and obviously not my world, it felt like these were characters who were speaking from the perspective of people in your world. And I don't know that a movie has done that since.}}

After Tse graduated from college, he moved to Los Angeles in December 1998 to pursue a writing career.{{cite news|last=Johnson |first=G. Allen |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/12/DD3116D6VG.DTL |title=Alex Tse: 'Watchmen' scribe started in S.F. |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=March 13, 2009 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20100824134240/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/12/DD3116D6VG.DTL |archivedate=August 24, 2010 |url-status=live }} He worked for under three years producing rap videos and working part-time jobs for Miramax Films and Walt Disney Pictures. One of his first productions was the music video for the single "You Never Knew" from the album 3rd Eye Vision by Hieroglyphics, and the video eventually aired on Yo! MTV Raps. His work attracted the attention of other independent rappers, for whom he also produced videos. He was encouraged to begin temping and found temp work at Disney, particularly under then-president Peter Schneider. Tse also learned more about screenwriting by reading scripts, with two noteworthy examples being the onomatopoeia in James Mangold's script for Heavy and the sarcasm in the narrative for Man on the Moon.

Career

After three years of small jobs, Tse sold to television-based Showtime a script called 87 Fleer, about four middle-class kids from the Richmond District. The company was impressed with his script and encouraged him to write a pilot about gangs. By June 2002, Tse submitted a first-story outline titled The Game for a potential television series. By the following September, the outline was developed into a full script that eventually became the Showtime television movie Sucker Free City (2004), directed by Spike Lee.{{cite news | first=Tim | last=Goodman | title= Sucker Free City | work=San Francisco Chronicle | date=July 9, 2003 }} For the film, Tse won a literary award from PEN Center USA for best teleplay,{{cite web|url=http://www.penusa.org/awards/winners |title=Winners — PEN Center USA |work=penusa.org |publisher=PEN Center USA |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806151655/http://www.penusa.org/awards/winners |archivedate=August 6, 2010 |url-status=live }} and he was nominated for best screenplay (original or adapted) for the 2006 Black Reel Awards. After Sucker Free City was released, Tse and Lee discussed the possibility of producing a feature film based on Tse's first script 87 Fleer.{{cite journal | first=David | last=Rooney | url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117924915.html | title=Sucker Free City Review | journal=Variety | date=September 16, 2004 }} Tse developed a script for an untitled project for the singer Ashanti.{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Hartlaub |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2005/02/11/DDG1FB8D7T1.DTL |title=Rapper's role in Showtime movie is for real |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=February 11, 2005 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525111810/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2005%2F02%2F11%2FDDG1FB8D7T1.DTL |archivedate=May 25, 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=June 30, 2017 }} He also developed a script for a remake of Super Fly (1972) for Warner Bros. and Silver. Tse said that the remake "had nothing to do with the original" and that it evolved into a possible film titled Gangland.

After Sucker Free City, Tse performed uncredited production rewrites for such films as House of Wax, Step Up, and its sequel, Step Up 2: The Streets. He was also attached as screenwriter to adapt the following films that went unproduced: the 1951 science-fiction short-story collection The Illustrated Man and the 2005 American thriller novel The Winter of Frankie Machine.{{cite journal | first=Diane | last=Garrett | url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971025.html | title=Zack Snyder to direct 'Illustrated' | journal=Variety | date=August 28, 2007 }}

{{cite journal | first=Michael | last=Fleming | url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117974684.html | title=Michael Mann reteams with De Niro | journal=Variety | date=October 24, 2007 }} Tse's major screenwriting debut came when he was a co-writer for the 2009 superhero film Watchmen, which was directed by Zack Snyder.{{cite journal | first=Gregory | last=Ellwood | url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117947044.html | title=World awaits 'Watchmen' | journal=Variety | date=July 18, 2006 }} He and fellow screenwriter David Hayter were nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Writing for Watchmen.{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/nominations.html |title=The 36th Saturn Award Nominations |work=saturnawards.org |publisher=Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209012603/http://www.saturnawards.org/nominations.html |archivedate=February 9, 2010 |url-status=dead }} After Watchmen, Tse was attached to adapt the following films that went unproduced: 1961 children's book The Phantom Tollbooth and the 2005 science fiction novel The Traveler.{{cite news | last=Billington | first=Alex | url=http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/02/17/gary-ross-bringing-phantom-tollbooth-back-to-the-big-screen/ | title=Gary Ross Bringing Phantom Tollbooth Back to the Big Screen | work=FirstShowing.net | publisher=First Showing, LLC | date=February 17, 2010 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924044131/http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/02/17/gary-ross-bringing-phantom-tollbooth-back-to-the-big-screen/ | url-status=live | archivedate=September 24, 2010 }}
{{cite journal | last=Kit | first=Borys | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3icac65f467d72bd94d3a8640934afb6ab | title=Fox nabs rights to sci-fi book series | journal=The Hollywood Reporter | date=February 22, 2010 }} In 2012, Tse said he was planning to make his directorial debut with 87 Fleer.{{cite news | author=Staff | url=http://www.scienceandentertainmentexchange.org/article/featured-entertainer-alex-tse | title=Featured Entertainer: Alex Tse | publisher=Science & Entertainment Exchange | date=January 17, 2012 | accessdate=June 10, 2013 }} Toward the end of 2013, Tse was hired by Columbia Pictures to write the script for a film adaptation of the racing video game series Gran Turismo. The Hollywood Reporter called Tse "one of the bigger names in genre screenwriting" for his work on the following films that went unproduced: a remake of The Crow, a live-action remake of the anime film Ninja Scroll, a film adaptation of the graphic novel Battling Boy by Paul Pope, and a remake of Highlander.{{cite journal | last=Kit | first=Borys | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/watchmen-scribe-tackling-gran-turismo-652376 | title='Watchmen' Scribe Tackling 'Gran Turismo' for Columbia | journal=The Hollywood Reporter | date=November 21, 2013 }}

Tse optioned in 2014 the rights to the 2010 graphic novel Tribes: The Dog Years by Michael Geszel and Peter Spinetta with an interest in writing and producing a film adaptation.{{cite news | last=Keily | first=Karl | url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=53192 | title=Michael Geszel Revisits Tribes: The Dog Years at IDW | work=Comic Book Resources | date=June 4, 2014 | accessdate=June 6, 2014 }} In 2017, the film was in development with Tse executive producing with Joel Silver's Silver Pictures.{{cite journal | last=Goldberg | first=Lesley | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/crackle-renews-snatch-adds-50-cent-drama-series-oath-995386 | title=Crackle Renews 'Snatch,' Adds 50 Cent Drama Series 'The Oath' | journal=The Hollywood Reporter | date=April 19, 2017 | accessdate=April 23, 2017 }} Later in the year, Sony Pictures bought the rights to Super Fly to remake the film based on a script by Tse.{{cite magazine | last1=Kroll | first1=Justin | last2=Lang | first2=Brent | url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/superfly-remake-sony-1202626468/ | title='Super Fly' Remake in Works at Sony With 'Watchmen' Scribe (Exclusive) | journal=Variety | date=November 29, 2017 | accessdate=December 1, 2017 }} The remake, titled Superfly, premiered in June 2018.

In April 2018, Alex Tse was writing the screenplay for The Last Masters, a martial arts action thriller that is a US-China co-production between Global Road Entertainment and Tang Media Partners.{{cite news | last=Tartaglione | first=Nancy | url=https://deadline.com/2018/04/the-last-masters-global-road-lorenzo-di-bonaventura-china-co-production-1202360718/ | title=Global Road, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Team For 'The Last Masters' U.S.-China Thriller | work=Deadline Hollywood | date=April 9, 2018 | accessdate=April 13, 2018 }} In the following October, Hulu ordered the ten-episode drama Wu-Tang: An American Saga, a series about the American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan.{{cite news | last=Andreeva | first=Nellie | url=https://deadline.com/2018/10/wu-tang-drama-series-ordered-by-hulu-from-the-rza-alex-tse-imagine-tv-1202480655/ | title=Wu-Tang Drama Series Ordered By Hulu From The RZA, Alex Tse & Imagine TV | work=Deadline Hollywood | date=October 11, 2018 | accessdate=October 12, 2018 }} The series, which premiered in September 2019, was created and written by The RZA and Tse.{{cite news | last=Andreeva | first=Nellie | url=https://deadline.com/2019/02/wu-tang-an-american-saga-ashton-sanders-shameik-moore-siddiq-saunderson-cast-hulu-drama-series-1202555007/ | title='Wu-Tang: An American Saga': Ashton Sanders, Shameik Moore, Siddiq Saunderson Among 6 Cast In Hulu Drama Series | work=Deadline Hollywood | date=February 12, 2019 | accessdate=February 19, 2019 }}

In 2023, the film Gran Turismo was released, with Tse and Jason Hall credited for the story (Hall and Zach Baylin were credited for the screenplay).{{cite news | last=Grierson | first=Tim | url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/gran-turismo-review/5184754.article | title='Gran Turismo': Review | work=Screen Daily | date=August 8, 2023 | accessdate=December 17, 2023 }}

Credits

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Tse's credits

style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"

! scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Medium

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes

2004

| Sucker Free City

| Television film

| Writer

2009

| Watchmen

| Feature film

| Screenplay by Tse and David Hayter

2018

| Superfly

| Feature film

| Writer

2019

| Wu-Tang: An American Saga

| Television series

| Creator, writer, executive producer

2023

| Gran Turismo

| Feature film

| Story by Tse and Jason Hall; screenplay by Hall and Zach Baylin

Personal life

Tse's favorite films include Annie Hall and Major League.

In 2006, Tse married Lisa, a graphic designer.{{cite news | last=Ortega | first=Tony | url=http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/03/josh_olson_at_s.php | title=Josh Olson, at SXSW, Still Won't Read Your Fucking Script | work=Village Voice | date=March 22, 2010 | accessdate=March 29, 2010 }}