Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' (2007), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''

'' (2009), ''

Star Trek Into Darkness ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. It is the 12th installment in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and the sequel to the 2 ...

'' (2013), and ''

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (internationally titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro'') is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi A ...

'' (2014) with his writing and producing partner

Roberto Orci Roberto Gaston Orcí (born July 20, 1973) is a Mexican-American film and television screenwriter and producer. He began his longtime collaboration with Alex Kurtzman while at school in California. Together they have been employed on television s ...

, and directing and co-writing ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places *Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States *Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...

'' (2017). He'd made his directorial debut with '' People Like Us'' (2012), co-written by him, Orci, and Jody Lambert from a story by him. Kurtzman is known, alongside Orci, for frequently collaborating with

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of ...

and

J.J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as ''Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' For ...

, as well as co-creating the more recent ''Star Trek'' shows, including '' Star Trek: Discovery'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', and '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds''.

Early life, family and education

Kurtzman was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. His longtime screenwriting partner

was his best friend in high school. Kurtzman attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Career

Kurtzman first teamed with Orci on the syndicated series ''

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...

,'' for the television unit of Pacific Renaissance Pictures, then operating out of

Universal International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. After they produced several storylines to cope with the absence of lead actor

Kevin Sorbo Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor. He had starring roles in two television series: as Hercules in ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', and as Captain Dylan Hunt in '' Andromeda''. Sorbo is also known for acting ...

following a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

that Sorbo had suffered during the fourth season, Kurtzman and Orci, both aged 24, were placed in charge of the show. They moved into films after they were asked to rewrite

's '' The Island.'' The film earned nearly $163 million at the worldwide box office, on a budget of $126 million, which was enough of a success that they were brought in to write Bay's ''

,'' which earned $710 million. Though ''The Island,'' ''Transformers'' and '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' were not particularly well received by critics, the three films earned a combined $1.7 billion. They co-created the Fox TV series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'' in 2008 along with

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

. After the pilot, Kurtzman served as consulting producer on the show for the remainder of its run. They then co-wrote the 2009 film ''Star Trek''. In 2011, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine described Orci and Kurtzman as "Hollywood's Secret Weapons" as, over the course of the previous six years, their films had grossed a combined total of over $3 billion at the box office. The partnership also wrote '' People Like Us,'' originally known as ''Welcome to People'', which was Kurtzman's theatrical directorial debut. Kurtzman has frequently worked with a tight-knit group of film professionals which include

J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...

Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the ...

Adam Horowitz Adam Horowitz (born December 4, 1971) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is known for co-creating the ABC fairy tale drama series ''Once Upon a Time'' with his writing partner Edward Kitsis. Days after the show ended its seven-year r ...

Edward Kitsis Edward Lawrence Kitsis (born February 4, 1971) is an American television writer and producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series ''Lost'' and ''Once Upon a Time''. Early life and educa ...

, Andre Nemec,

Josh Appelbaum Josh Appelbaum is an American television writer, screenwriter, showrunner and producer. Biography Appelbaum is from a Jewish family.Jeff Pinkner Jeff Pinkner (born November 16, 1964) is an American television and movie writer and producer. Life and career Born to a Jewish family,Bryan Burk Bryan Burk (born December 30, 1968) is an American film and television producer. He is mostly known for producing movies in collaboration with J. J. Abrams, including the Star Trek (film series)#Reboot films, ''Star Trek'' reboot series, the ...

. In April 2014, both Orci and Kurtzman confirmed to ''Variety'' that they would no longer work together on film projects; they added that they would still work together—but only on television projects. In 2018, Kurtzman signed a new five-year deal with

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

to oversee and expand the ''Star Trek'' franchise on television, including serving as executive producer on '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (which he also co-showruns with

Michelle Paradise Michelle Paradise is an American writer, producer and actress. She created, wrote and starred in the short film ''The Ten Rules'' and the television series ''Exes and Ohs'', and subsequently became a writer and producer for the television series ' ...

), '' Star Trek: Short Treks'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', and '' Star Trek: Lower Decks''. In August 2021, Kurtzman and his production company

Secret Hideout Secret Hideout is a film and television production company founded in 2014 by Alex Kurtzman. It is notable for the recent incarnations of the '' Star Trek'' franchise with Roddenberry Entertainment. History In 2014, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto ...

extended their overall deal with CBS Studios through 2026.

Personal life

In 2002, Kurtzman married Samantha Counter, the daughter of lawyer

Nick Counter James Nicholas Counter III (1940–2009) was a labor attorney and the long-standing president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and chief negotiator for the major studios who squared off against Hollywood's writers dur ...

Filmography

Producer only

Television credits

Executive producer only * ''

Transformers Prime ''Transformers: Prime'' (known as ''Transformers: Prime - Beast Hunters'' during its third and final season) is an American computer-animated television series based on the ''Transformers'' toy franchise by Hasbro that aired on the Hub Network ...

'' (2010–2013) * ''

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

'' (2014) * ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

'' (2014–2018) * ''

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

'' (2017–2018) * ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

'' (2018–2019) * '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' (2020–present) * '' Star Trek: Prodigy'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtzman, Alex 1973 births 21st-century American Jews Living people American film directors American film producers American male screenwriters American male television writers American television directors American television producers American television writers Crossroads School alumni Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from California Jewish American screenwriters Screenwriters from California Showrunners Television producers from California Wesleyan University alumni Writers from Los Angeles