Gary Leslie Whitta (born 21 July 1972) is an English screenwriter, author, game designer, and
video game journalist
Video game journalism is a branch of journalism concerned with the reporting and discussion of video games, typically based on a core "reveal–preview–review" cycle. With the prevalence and rise of independent media online, online publicati ...
. He was
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of both the UK and US editions of ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' magazine and contributor to gaming magazine ''
ACE
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
''.
Whitta was the screenwriter of ''
The Book of Eli
''The Book of Eli'' is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic neo-Western action film directed by the Hughes Brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals. The story r ...
'' (2010), co-wrote ''
After Earth
''After Earth'' is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote it with Gary Whitta. The film was loosely based on an original story idea by Will Smith about a father-and-son trip in the wilderness be ...
'' (2013) with
M. Night Shyamalan, and co-developed the story for ''
Rogue One
''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by L ...
'' (2016).
Career
Whitta began his career as a writer and games journalist for ''
ACE
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...
'' magazine. When ''ACE'' closed down in 1992,
he became deputy editor of ''
The One for Amiga Games'' and was involved with founding the original ''PC Gamer'' magazine
in the
UK. He subsequently served as the editor of
Total Football. A few years later, he moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to become editor-in-chief of the newer, US version, of ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''.
[
]
Magazine publishing
Besides his involvement setting up ''PC Gamer'', Whitta has a long history of involvement with print and online magazines of all kinds. ''ACE'' magazine was owned by UK publisher Future Publishing
Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...
, and in early 2000 Whitta worked with Future to establish a film magazine, ''Total Movie'' magazine. Due to financial difficulties at the publisher, ''Total Movie'' was canceled after only four issues in early 2001.[CHUD.com]
Forum archive, February 2001.
While no longer managing or editing, Whitta still contributes game reviews and opinion pieces for a number of gaming publications. His articles can be found in various places, including ''PC Gamer'' and 1Up.com. He also shows up in industry podcasts, for example with Tested.com, ''PC Gamer'' and Next Generation.
Screenwriting
In addition to contributing to periodicals, Whitta has written a number of screenplays and TV episodes. A partial list, including the text of those which were not picked up, could at one time be found on his homepage
A home page (or homepage) is the main web page of a website. The term may also refer to the start page shown in a web browser when the application first opens. Usually, the home page is located at the root of the website's domain or subdomain ...
.
Whitta has found Hollywood success as the screenwriter of the film ''The Book of Eli
''The Book of Eli'' is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic neo-Western action film directed by the Hughes Brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals. The story r ...
''. He was also working on a script known as the "Monkey Project" with Chris Weston
Chris Weston (born 1969) is a British comics artist who has worked both in the US and UK comics industries.
Biography
Weston was born in January 1969 in Rinteln, Germany, and lived in various countries as a child. His career began when he was ...
, which would have reimagined the classic Buddhist novel ''Journey to the West
''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...
'' (and the related classic television series ''Monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
'') as an animated series. However, Weston pulled out of the project.
He wrote the script for the action thriller film ''Undying''. His latest screenwriting work was the sci-fi film ''After Earth
''After Earth'' is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote it with Gary Whitta. The film was loosely based on an original story idea by Will Smith about a father-and-son trip in the wilderness be ...
''. He was hired to script the first ''Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' stand-alone film, ''Rogue One
''Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (or simply ''Rogue One'') is a 2016 American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards. The screenplay by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It was produced by L ...
'', directed by Gareth Edwards
Sir Gareth Owen Edwards CBE (born 12 July 1947) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey".
In 2003, in a poll of international ru ...
. On 9 January 2015, he was announced to have amicably parted ways with the film.
On 27 October 2016, ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that Warner Bros., Village Roadshow and Team Downey had put together a writers' room for the third of the Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
Sherlock Holmes movies, with several top names, including Whitta, Nicole Perlman, Justin Malen, Geneve Dworet-Robertson and Kieran Fitzgerald.
Game development
Whitta has written for ''Duke Nukem Forever
''Duke Nukem Forever'' is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Duke Nukem'' series and the sequel to ''Duke ...
'',[GaryWhitta.com]
biography. ''Prey
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...
'',[ and '']Gears of War
''Gears of War'' is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The franchise is best known for its third-person shooter vide ...
''.[ He has also consulted on general game design for ]Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
, Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
, Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
, Midway Games
Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage (series), Rampage'' ...
, and others.[ More recently, Whitta was tapped to oversee the narrative development of ]Telltale Games
Telltale Incorporated (trade name: Telltale Games) was an American video game developer based in San Rafael, California. The company was founded in July 2004 by former LucasArts developers Kevin Bruner, Dan Connors and Troy Molander, following ...
' episodic video game adaptation of '' The Walking Dead'', while writing its fourth episode. Though he left Telltale after completing the first season, he returned to help complete '' The Walking Dead: The Final Season''. He serves as a story consultant on '' Halo 5: Guardians''.
Comic books
Whitta is also the writer behind a popular short series of comic books based on the Death, Jr. character, together with cover artist Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', '' Abe Sapien'', '' Lobster Johnson'', '' Wit ...
and illustrator Ted Naifeh
Edward "Ted" Naifeh is an American comic book writer and artist known for his illustrations in the goth romance comic '' Gloomcookie''. Naifeh has since become most known as the creator of the Eisner-Award-nominated series ''Courtney Crumrin'', p ...
. Having been extended to a second three-part series, the writing has received praise as "charming and cleverly subversive" and for its "quirky characters and slick humor". Whitta spoke about his experience writing this comic with Silver Bullet Comics
Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry.
History Silver Bullet Comicbooks
The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice.
During this ...
in May 2005.
Whitta is currently co-creating the comic ''OLIVER'' with Transmetropolitan
''Transmetropolitan'' is a cyberpunk transhumanist comic book series written by Warren Ellis and co-created and designed by Darick Robertson; it was published by the American company DC Comics in 1997–2002. The series was originally part of t ...
/ The Boys co-creator and illustrator Darick Robertson
Darick W. Robertson is an American artist best known for his work as a comic book illustrator on series he co-created, notably ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002) and '' The Boys'' (2006–2012; 2020).
Robertson has illustrated hundreds of comic ...
for a 2015 release from Image Comics.
Podcasts
Whitta was a frequent commentator on the ''PC Gamer'' podcast and he co-hosted the ''Game Theory'' podcast with Colin Campbell, which has since stopped being produced. In September 2011, Whitta and Campbell, then News and Features Editor at IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
, started a new podcast in the same vein as ''Game Theory'', called IGN's Game Business Show. He also commentated on the Next Gen podcast until the podcast was canceled.
He was a weekly co-host of This is Only a Test (Tested
''Tested'' is a live album by punk rock band Bad Religion. It was recorded in the USA, Canada, Germany, Estonia, Denmark, Italy and Austria, in 1996, and released in 1997. It is Bad Religion's second live album. Instead of using crowd microphon ...
) and an occasional guest on Behind the Screened Door ( Screened), the Giant Bombcast (Giant Bomb
''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news, and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time'' mag ...
) the Comic Vine
Whiskey Media was an American online media company founded independently by ''CNET'' co-founder Shelby Bonnie in 2008. It was the parent company of Tested, Screened, and Anime Vice, and the former parent company of ''Giant Bomb'' and Comic Vine. W ...
Podcast, before Whiskey Media
Whiskey Media was an American online media company founded independently by ''CNET'' co-founder Shelby Bonnie in 2008. It was the parent company of Tested, Screened, and Anime Vice, and the former parent company of ''Giant Bomb'' and Comic Vine. W ...
was sold in two deals to CBS Interactive
Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS Streaming), a division of Paramount Global, oversees the company’s streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These incl ...
and BermanBraun. In October 2011, Whitta helped raise over $50,000 for Child's Play when he co-hosted a 24-hour-long, live-streamed edition of This is Only a Test with Tested creators Will Smith and Norman Chan. Whitta continues to chair the Octoberkast charity event every year, creating the "Space Rocks" game in 2013. Whitta has returned as a guest on Giant Bomb's Giant Bombcast in recent years.
In November 2017, Whitta became an official co-host for the video game podcast, Kinda Funny Games Daily after numerous guest appearances on the show and one on Kinda Funny
Kinda Funny is an online entertainment company that produces videos and podcasts on video game culture, film, television, and comics.
Kinda Funny creates content on two YouTube channels: The primary Kinda Funny channel features comedy videos su ...
's flagship podcast The GameOverGreggy Show. Additionally, Whitta has been a co-host for Kinda Funny's Xbox-centric podcast, the Kinda Funny Xcast, since its premiere in July 2020.
In April 2020, Whitta launched a late-night talk show
A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
in the form of an online live stream set in the video game '' Animal Crossing: New Horizons,'' called '' Animal Talking''. The show has featured several celebrity guests, including Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and '' The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' (2012).
Wood ...
, Brie Larson, and Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...
.
On 21 August 2020, Whitta announced ''Talk Guys'', a talk show based in the game '' Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout''.
Personal life
Whitta resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, California
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
with his wife Leah, and has two children. In 2009, he became a US citizen.
Filmography
As writer
Film
* ''The Book of Eli
''The Book of Eli'' is a 2010 American post-apocalyptic neo-Western action film directed by the Hughes Brothers, written by Gary Whitta, and starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, and Jennifer Beals. The story r ...
'' (2010)
* ''After Earth
''After Earth'' is a 2013 American post-apocalyptic action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who co-wrote it with Gary Whitta. The film was loosely based on an original story idea by Will Smith about a father-and-son trip in the wilderness be ...
'' (2013) – Co-wrote the script with M. Night Shyamalan from a story written by Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...
* '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016) – Co-wrote story only with John Knoll
John Knoll (born October 6, 1962) is an American visual effects supervisor and chief creative officer (CCO) at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). One of the original creators of Adobe Photoshop (along with his brother, Thomas Knoll), he has also ...
* ''Starlight'' (TBA) - Writer
Television
* ''Nerd Court'' (2015) - 9 episodes
* ''Star Wars Rebels
''Star Wars Rebels'' is an American 3D animation, 3D animated science fiction on television, science fiction television series produced by Lucasfilm Animation and set in the ''Star Wars'' universe. It takes place over a decade after ''Episode ...
'' (2016–2017) – 4 episodes
Video Game
* '' The Walking Dead: The Game'' (2012) – Co-wrote the game with Sean Vanaman
Sean Vanaman (born June 16, 1984) is an IrishAmerican video game designer, writer, and podcaster. He was the co-project leader and lead writer of '' The Walking Dead'', and '' Puzzle Agent 2''. He also wrote the third episode of ''Tales of Monke ...
and Jake Rodkin
Jake Rodkin is an American video game designer, writer, graphic designer, and podcaster. He was the co-project leader of ''Tales of Monkey Island'' and the co-project leader and co-writer of '' The Walking Dead'', '' Poker Night at the Inventory ...
* '' The Walking Dead: 400 Days'' (2013) – Co-wrote the game with Sean Ainsworth, Nick Breckon, Mark Darin and Sean Vanaman
* '' Halo 5: Guardians'' (2015) - Story Consultant
* '' The Walking Dead: The Final Season'' (2018) - Writer & Consultant
* ''Forspoken
''Forspoken'' is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by Luminous Productions and published by Square Enix. It is to be released on January 24, 2023, on PlayStation 5 and Windows.
Gameplay
According to director Takeshi Aramaki, th ...
'' (2023) - Writer and story team lead
Books
* ''Abomination'' (2015) - Author, writer
*'' Star Wars: The Last Jedi Adaptation'' (2018) - Writer
* ''OLIVER'' (2019) - Writer
*''The Joker
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular'' #1 (2020) – Co-wrote "Kill the Batman" story with Greg Miller
References
External links
*
*
Moby Games
developer profile
Amazon.com
list of books
Famous Whitta quotes
– ThinkExist.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitta, Gary
1972 births
Living people
20th-century British journalists
20th-century English male writers
21st-century British journalists
21st-century British screenwriters
21st-century English male writers
British emigrants to the United States
British video game designers
English columnists
English comics writers
English critics
English magazine editors
English male non-fiction writers
English male screenwriters
English screenwriters
Late night television talk show hosts
People from Poplar, London
Twitch (service) streamers
Video game critics
Writers from London