Ed Solomon

{{Infobox person

|name = Ed Solomon

|image =

|caption =

|birth_name = Edward James Solomon

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|09|15}}

|birth_place = Saratoga, California, U.S.

|occupation = Screenwriter, director, producer

|spouse = {{marriage|Cynthia Cleese|1995|2011|end=divorced}}

|children = 2

}}

Edward James Solomon (born September 15, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He wrote the screenplays to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Men in Black (1997), and Now You See Me (2013).

Career

Solomon grew up in suburban Boston, until his family moved to California. He went to UCLA and majored in Economics while beginning his career as a joke writer, stand-up comedian, and playwright.{{cite web |title=Ed Solomon's Excellent Hollywood Adventure |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/ed-solomons-excellent-hollywood-adventure-the-bill-ted-writer-reflects-on-the-highs-and-lows-of-an-epic-career-4050204/ |last=Siegel|first= Tatiana|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=27 August 2020}} While still in college, he was a staff writer for Laverne & Shirley – making him (at the time) the youngest member of the Writers Guild of America. He then spent three years writing the cult Showtime TV series, It's Garry Shandling's Show, before venturing into feature films in the 1980s. He helped create and co-write the critically acclaimed comedies Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (with Chris Matheson). Solomon also worked on a number of hit franchise films, including Men in Black, Charlie's Angels, and the Now You See Me films.

Solomon worked on an early version of a Universal The Invisible Man remake,{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/johnny-depp-star-universals-invisible-863603/|title=Johnny Depp to Star in Universal's "Invisible Man" Reboot|last=Kit|first= Borys|publisher=The Hollywood Reporter|date=February 9, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2016}} with Johnny Depp. In March 2016 he completed production on Mosaic, a 12-hour long-form TV project for HBO in collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/steven-soderbergh-to-direct-clue-esque-project-mosaic-for-hbo-with-garrett-hedlund-and-sharon-stone-20150924/|title=Steven Soderbergh To Direct 'Mosaic' Film For HBO With Garrett Hedlund And Sharon Stone|last=Jagernauth|first= Kevin|publisher=Indiewire|date=September 24, 2015|access-date=April 19, 2016}} This production was the first in a series of collaborations with Soderbergh, including the neo-noir film No Sudden Move in 2021, and the crime series Full Circle, which premiered July 13, 2023.{{cite web|first=Joe|last=Otterson|title=Steven Soderbergh, Ed Solomon Re-Team for HBO Max Limited Series 'Full Circle' (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/steven-soderbergh-ed-solomon-re-team-for-hbo-max-limited-series-full-circle-exclusive-1235048070/|date=June 17, 2021|website=Variety|access-date=May 26, 2022}}

Personal life

He was married from 1995 to 2011 Cynthia Cleese, daughter of Connie Booth and John Cleese. 1995.{{cite web | last=Cate | first=Hans ten | title=NEWS 1997_02_12 – John Cleese Shoots Daughter Cynthia | website=Daily Llama | date=February 12, 1997 | url=http://www.dailyllama.com/news/1997/llama062.html | access-date=March 3, 2019 | archive-date=September 24, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924184151/http://www.dailyllama.com/news/1997/llama062.html | url-status=dead }}{{cite web | title=THE SOCIAL SCENE – A Cleese Wedding Held Away From the 'Fawlty' Line / British comedian's daughter marries in the Napa Valley | website=SFGate | date=September 18, 1995 | url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/THE-SOCIAL-SCENE-A-Cleese-Wedding-Held-Away-3024670.php | access-date=March 3, 2019}} They have two children.

Solomon is Jewish.{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/culture/231865/screenwriter-ed-solomons-excellent-adventure/|title=Screenwriter Ed Solomon's Excellent Adventure|date=March 14, 2018|website=Jewish Journal}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title !width=65\| Writer ! Producer ! Director
1989 \|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Stephen Herek
1991 \|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey \|{{yes}} \|{{yes\|Co-producer}} \|Peter Hewitt
rowspan="2"\|1992 \|Leaving Normal \|{{yes}} \|{{yes\|Associate}} \|Edward Zwick
Mom and Dad Save the World \|{{yes\|Story}} \|{{no}} \|Greg Beeman
1993 \|Super Mario Bros. \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Rocky Morton Annabel Jankel
1997 \|Men in Black \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Barry Sonnenfeld
rowspan="2"\|2000 \|What Planet Are You From? \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Mike Nichols
Charlie's Angels \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|McG
rowspan="2"\|2003 \|The In-Laws \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Andrew Fleming
Levity \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Himself
2009 \|Imagine That \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Karey Kirkpatrick
rowspan="2"\|2013 \|Now You See Me \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|Louis Leterrier
Rapture-Palooza \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|Paul Middleditch
2016 \|Now You See Me 2 \|{{yes}} \|{{yes\|Executive}} \|Jon M. Chu
2020 \|Bill & Ted Face the Music \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Dean Parisot
2021 \|No Sudden Move \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|rowspan=2\|Steven Soderbergh
TBA \|The Christophers \|{{yes}} \|{{TBA}}

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

!width=65| Writer

! Producer

! Director

1989

|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Stephen Herek

1991

|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

|{{yes}}

|{{yes|Co-producer}}

|Peter Hewitt

rowspan="2"|1992

|Leaving Normal

|{{yes}}

|{{yes|Associate}}

|Edward Zwick

Mom and Dad Save the World

|{{yes|Story}}

|{{no}}

|Greg Beeman

1993

|Super Mario Bros.

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Rocky Morton
Annabel Jankel

1997

|Men in Black

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Barry Sonnenfeld

rowspan="2"|2000

|What Planet Are You From?

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Mike Nichols

Charlie's Angels

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|McG

rowspan="2"|2003

|The In-Laws

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Andrew Fleming

Levity

|{{yes}}

|Himself

2009

|Imagine That

|{{yes}}

|Karey Kirkpatrick

rowspan="2"|2013

|Now You See Me

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|Louis Leterrier

Rapture-Palooza

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|Paul Middleditch

2016

|Now You See Me 2

|{{yes}}

|{{yes|Executive}}

|Jon M. Chu

2020

|Bill & Ted Face the Music

|{{yes}}

|Dean Parisot

2021

|No Sudden Move

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}

|rowspan=2|Steven Soderbergh

TBA

|The Christophers

|{{yes}}

|{{TBA}}

Acting credits

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
1989 \|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure \|Stupid Waiter \|
1991 \|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey \|"Stupid" Seance Member \|
rowspan=2\|1992 \|Leaving Normal \|Jerk in Bar \|As Edward Solomon
Mom and Dad Save the World \|Destroyer #13 \|
2010 \|Barry Munday \|Doctor #2 \|
2020 \|Bill & Ted Face the Music \|Stupid Demon \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1989

|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

|Stupid Waiter

1991

|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

|"Stupid" Seance Member

rowspan=2|1992

|Leaving Normal

|Jerk in Bar

|As Edward Solomon

Mom and Dad Save the World

|Destroyer #13

2010

|Barry Munday

|Doctor #2

2020

|Bill & Ted Face the Music

|Stupid Demon

Other credits

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes
1987 \|Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise \|Soundtrack \|Lyrics: "No on Fifteen"
rowspan="2"\|2000 \|The Prime Gig \|Special thanks \|
X-Men \|Uncredited revision \|
2005 \|Paradise Now \|rowspan=2\|Special thanks \|
2008 \|Choke \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

1987

|Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise

|Soundtrack

|Lyrics: "No on Fifteen"

rowspan="2"|2000

|The Prime Gig

|Special thanks

X-Men

|Uncredited revision

2005

|Paradise Now

|rowspan=2|Special thanks

2008

|Choke

=Television=

class="wikitable"
Year ! Title !width=65\| Director !width=65\| Writer ! Producer ! Notes
1982–1983 \|Laverne & Shirley \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|3 episodes
1986–1989 \|It's Garry Shandling's Show \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|8 episodes; Also script consultant
1990 \|The Dave Thomas Comedy Show \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|
1992 \|Arresting Behavior \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|{{no}} \|
1999 \|The Unbelievables \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|Television pilot
2017–2018 \|Mosaic \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{no}} \|
2023 \|Full Circle \|{{no}} \|{{yes}} \|{{yes}} \|

class="wikitable"

Year

! Title

!width=65| Director

!width=65| Writer

! Producer

! Notes

1982–1983

|Laverne & Shirley

|{{no}}

|{{yes}}

|{{no}}