David McKenna is an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and producer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for ''

American History X ''American History X'' is a 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. The film stars Edward Norton and Edward Furlong as two brothers from Los Angeles who are involved in the white power skinhead and ne ...

'' (1998), ''

Blow Blow commonly refers to: *Cocaine *Exhalation * Strike (attack) Blow, Blew, Blowing, or Blown may also refer to: People * Blew (surname) * Blow (surname) Arts and entertainment Music *The Blow, an American electro-pop band Albums * ''Blow ...

'' (2001) and ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'' (2003). He is also a film professor at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

Career

McKenna wrote and sold ''American History X'' when he was 26. It drew from his upbringing around the punk music scene, as well as interviews with real skinheads. The film became the focus of a post-production dispute between director Tony Kaye and lead actor Edward Norton. Made on a budget of $20 million, the film grossed $24 million at the worldwide box office. He then wrote the screenplays for ''Blow'', about American

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

smuggler Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

George Jung George Jacob Jung (August 6, 1942 – May 5, 2021), nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, was an American drug trafficker and smuggler. He was a major figure in the United States cocaine trade during the 1970s and early 1980s. Jung and his ...

, and ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British crime film written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis's 1970 novel ''Jack's Return Hom ...

'', a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, starring Michael Caine. Also in 2001, his adaptation of the book ''Bully: A True Story of High School Revenge'' by Jim Schutze was released as ''Bully''. The book and film were based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent. Mckenna was unhappy with the finished film, and chose to be credited under the pseudonym Zachary Long. He was also the creator and

Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

E-Ring ''E-Ring'' is an American military drama television series created by Ken Robinson and David McKenna and executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, that premiered on NBC on September 21, 2005, and aired through February 1, 2006. The series star ...

'' (2005–2006). The show starred

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...

as Major James Tisnewski, a former

Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...

operator and

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Eli McNulty, as officers working in the E-ring of the Pentagon in the Special Operations Division (SOD) – planning and co-ordinating covert US special operations actions around the globe. The show struggled from the onset because it was up against ABC's Top 20 hit ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

'', CBS's Top 30 hit ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'', FOX's Top 10 hit ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' and the network's Top 30 hit ''

Unan1mous ''Unan1mous'' (pronounced "unanimous") is an American reality television program that premiered on the Fox Network on March 22, 2006 and ran for one season. The host of the series was J. D. Roth. Concept Nine strangers are locked in a bunke ...

''. Although

gave it an earlier time slot which led to better ratings, the show was pulled from the lineup during the February sweeps and officially canceled at the NBC

upfront ''UpFront'' is a current affairs discussion, debate and analysis programme on Al Jazeera English. The show premiered on 4 September 2015 shortly after Al Jazeera moved into their new Washington D.C. hub. The show has a politics focus although othe ...

on May 15. McKenna also ventured into video games, writing the script for the 2006 open world

action-adventure The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...

video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. The game is not a direct adaptation of the 1983 film directed by

Brian De Palma Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...

, but is instead a broad strokes sequel which changes the ending of the film.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

*'' Scarface: The World Is Yours'' (2006)

References

External links

*
David McKenna @ thetvdb.comDavid McKenna @filmbug.com
Living people American film producers American male screenwriters American television writers American television producers American male television writers Screenwriting instructors Video game writers 1968 births {{US-screen-writer-stub