Derek Connolly
{{short description|American screenwriter and film producer}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Derek Connolly
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{circa}} {{birth year and age|1976}}
| birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S.
| occupation = {{hlist|Screenwriter|film producer}}
| years_active = 2005–present
| alma_mater = Tisch School of the Arts
}}
Derek Connolly (born c. 1976){{citation|title=Connolly: College partnership leads to 'Guaranteed' success|author=Sneider, Jeff|date=November 29, 2012|url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118062700/|access-date=2012-12-21|work=Variety}} is an American screenwriter and film producer. He is best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Colin Trevorrow, and has written the films Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), Jurassic World (2015) and its sequels Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Detective Pikachu (2019). He also co-wrote the unproduced original draft of Star Wars: Duel of the Fates, which became Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Education
Connolly attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School in Miami and New York University Tisch School of the Arts.{{citation|newspaper=Miami New Times|title=Safety Not Guaranteed: Miami Screenwriter Derek Connolly Turned an Internet Meme Into an Indie Film Success Story|date=June 19, 2012|author=Kareem Tabsch|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2012-06-21/film/safety-not-guaranteed-miami-screenwriter-derek-connolly-turned-an-internet-meme-into-an-indie-film-success-story/|access-date=2012-12-21|archive-date=2013-01-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130130021104/http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2012-06-21/film/safety-not-guaranteed-miami-screenwriter-derek-connolly-turned-an-internet-meme-into-an-indie-film-success-story/|url-status=dead}}
Career
Connolly was listed on Variety's Ten Screenwriters to Watch in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=46004~2043f4b1-5ff4-4c52-9be0-353516c5cfe1&epguid=a7d8cd27-64ee-456f-ac87-c12be1f0ff0c&|title=VARIETY'S 10 SCREENWRITERS TO WATCH|access-date=2013-03-10}} Connolly rewrote Kong: Skull Island (2017), for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures.{{cite magazine|url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jurassic-world-writer-heads-to-kong-816144|title='Jurassic World' Writer Heads to 'Kong: Skull Island' (Exclusive)|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=August 18, 2015|access-date=August 19, 2015}} Connolly co-wrote early (and ultimately uncredited) drafts of Pacific Rim: Uprising with Guillermo del Toro, Jon Spaihts and Zak Penn; the final screenplay was by Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T. S. Nowlin; based on characters by Travis Beacham and del Toro{{cite web|last=Kit|first=Borys|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/pacific-rim-2-enlists-jurassic-world-writer-derek-connolly-893215|title=Pacific Rim 2 Enlists Jurassic World Writer Derek Connolly (Exclusive)|date=May 12, 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=July 5, 2018}} Connolly and his writing partner Colin Trevorrow co-wrote the screenplays for Jurassic World (2015) and its sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and by February 2018, had written a story treatment for Jurassic World Dominion, was released on June 10, 2022.{{cite magazine|last=Kroll|first=Justin|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/jurassic-world-3-release-date-2021-1202706557/|title=Jurassic World 3 to Hit Theaters in June 2021|date=February 21, 2018|magazine=Variety|access-date=June 11, 2018}} Connolly and Trevorrow also co-wrote the first draft of Star Wars: Duel of the Fates, the final film of Star Wars sequel trilogy, but both left after Trevorrow stepped down as director, they were later replaced by Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams (who eventually replaced Trevorrow as director) and Chris Terrio; however Connolly and Trevorrow received a story credit with Abrams and Terrio on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).
Connolly was reported to be working on a remake of the film Flight of the Navigator,{{cite web|url=https://collider.com/colin-trevorrow-derek-connolly-flight-of-the-navigator/|title=Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly to Rewrite FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR Remake; Trevorrow May Direct|date=2012-11-27|last=Trumbore|first=Dave|website=Collider|access-date=2021-10-18}} as well as writing an upcoming original Pixar film directed by Teddy Newton{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/new-pixar-movie-coming-from-safety-not-guaranteed-writer-derek-connolly-and-day-night-director-teddy-newton/|publisher=slashfilm.com|title=New Pixar Movie Coming From 'Safety Not Guaranteed' Writer Derek Connolly and 'Day & Night' Director Teddy Newton|date=29 November 2012 |access-date=2013-03-10}} and a live action Legend of Zelda film directed by Wes Ball and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/legend-of-zelda-movie-wes-ball-1235596216/|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|title='Legend Of Zelda' Live-Action Pic In Works At Sony With Wes Ball Directing, Nintendo Co-Financing|date=7 November 2023 |access-date=2023-07-10}} Connolly has been tapped to pen the script for a Metal Gear film.{{cite magazine|last1= Kroll|first1=Justin|last2=Lang|first2=Brent|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/jurassic-world-derek-connolly-pen-sonys-metal-gear-solid-pic-1202610438/|title=Jurassic World Scribe To Write Metal Gear Solid Film (Exclusive)|date=November 8, 2017|magazine=Variety|access-date=November 10, 2017}}
Writing credits
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Director ! Notes |
|---|
| 2012
|rowspan=2|Colin Trevorrow | Also credited as producer |
| 2015
| |
| 2016
| |
| 2017
| |
| 2018
| Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | |
| rowspan=2|2019
| |
| Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
| Story only |
| 2022
| Colin Trevorrow | |
| 2025
| |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" | ||
| Year | Title | Award/Nomination |
|---|---|---|
| 2012
| Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay | ||
| 2015
|Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Writing |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=2081046}}
{{Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Derek}}
Category:Film producers from Florida
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Category:Miami Palmetto Senior High School alumni
Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners
{{US-screen-writer-1970s-stub}}