Hank Woon (born February 23, 1978, in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
European ...
) is an American fiction author,
game designer and screenwriter.
Early life
Hank Woon was born in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
European ...
and raised in
Aberdeen, Washington
Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...
, and attended
Aberdeen-Weatherwax High School.
Career
Hank Woon began freelancing in 2003 with an adventure for the popular
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' in ''
Dungeon Magazine
''Dungeon'' (originally published as ''Dungeon: Adventures for TSR Role-Playing Games'') was one of the two official magazines targeting consumers of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game and associated products; '' Dragon'' was the othe ...
'' #97 by
Paizo Publishing
Paizo Inc. (originally Paizo Publishing.) is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing game ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder''. The company's name is derived ...
. In 2004, he joined
RedBrick LLC's development team as writer, editor, and developer for ''
Earthdawn
''Earthdawn'' is a fantasy role-playing game, originally produced by FASA in 1993. In 1999 it was licensed to Living Room Games, which produced the ''Second Edition''. It was licensed to RedBrick in 2003, who released the Classic Edition in 200 ...
Classic'' (and offered his editing services for a few ''
Fading Suns
''Fading Suns'' is a science fiction space opera role-playing game published by Holistic Design. The setting was also used for a PC game (''Emperor of the Fading Suns''), a live action role-playing game ('' Passion Play''), and for a space co ...
'' 2nd edition projects as well). In 2008, his first novel, ''Dark Shadows of Yesterday'', was published by RedBrick LLC.
In 2008, Hank moved to Renton, WA and in early 2009, still working with RedBrick, joined their development teams for ''
Earthdawn
''Earthdawn'' is a fantasy role-playing game, originally produced by FASA in 1993. In 1999 it was licensed to Living Room Games, which produced the ''Second Edition''. It was licensed to RedBrick in 2003, who released the Classic Edition in 200 ...
'' 3rd Edition as well as ''Age of Legend'' 4E, and was also hired onto the
Paizo Publishing
Paizo Inc. (originally Paizo Publishing.) is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing game ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder''. The company's name is derived ...
staff as an editorial intern. He has written several adventures, articles, and sourcebooks for the ''
Earthdawn
''Earthdawn'' is a fantasy role-playing game, originally produced by FASA in 1993. In 1999 it was licensed to Living Room Games, which produced the ''Second Edition''. It was licensed to RedBrick in 2003, who released the Classic Edition in 200 ...
'', ''Age of Legend'', and ''
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeons & ...
'' lines, including writing contributions to the ''
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
The ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition ''Dungeons & ...
Core Rulebook''.
In August 2009, Hank's tenure as an editorial intern with
Paizo Publishing
Paizo Inc. (originally Paizo Publishing.) is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing game ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder''. The company's name is derived ...
ended, though he continued to contribute to Pathfinder by freelancing for Paizo, as well as other third-party publishers who supported the game. (Hank also left his permanent mark with the Pathfinder Society, as his handwriting is immortalized as the signature of Muhlia al-Jakri at the back of every adventure in the faction handouts, and also statted Paizo's mascot, the Golem.) In addition, he joined RedBrick's Equinox gameline as a developer and writer the same month.
In September 2009, his second ''
Earthdawn
''Earthdawn'' is a fantasy role-playing game, originally produced by FASA in 1993. In 1999 it was licensed to Living Room Games, which produced the ''Second Edition''. It was licensed to RedBrick in 2003, who released the Classic Edition in 200 ...
'' novel, ''Immortal Twilight'', was published by RedBrick LLC. The same month,
Adamant Entertainment debuted its Pathfinder-compatible monster series, Fell Beasts, of which Hank was one of the authors. They also announced Warpath, a game supplement designed by Hank featuring rules for mass combat for the ''Pathfinder Roleplaying Game'' system, released in May 2010.
In July 2010, Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast featured an interview with Hank, discussing his work on Warpath, and two of his other ''Pathfinder'' works, Sniper in the Deep and Terror at Whistledown.
In November 2012, Hank Woon appeared on
Camouflaj's podcast, Camouflaj Radio, to discuss his career in the tabletop roleplaying game industry, as well as his work as a merchandise developer with
The Pokémon Company International
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
, and working alongside well-known ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' game designer
Wolfgang Baur
Wolfgang Baur (born 1968) is an American game designer, best known for his work with '' Dragon'' magazine. He designs role-playing games and is known for his work at Wizards of the Coast. Baur is also the founder of Open Design LLC, later known ...
.
In April 2013, it was announced that Hank Woon would be penning an original script for
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...
called Age of Dinosaurs, for director Joseph J. Lawson. This marked Woon's third straight-to-DVD feature.
In October 2014, it was announced that Hank Woon would be co-writing the live-action script for ''
It Came from the Desert
''It Came from the Desert'' is a 1989 action-adventure game by Cinemaware. It was originally released for the Amiga, but later ported to MS-DOS, as well as released in distinctly different forms to consoles. The TurboGrafx-16 release is distinc ...
'' with Finnish director
Marko Mäkilaakso, based on the cult classic
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
by
Cinemaware
Cinemaware was a video game developer and publisher that released several titles in the 1980s based on various film themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.
Cinemaware Corp. (1986–1991)
The comp ...
. It was also announced that Woon was hired to rewrite a script titled "Night of the Witch" by Roger!Pictures, to be directed by Finnish director
Marko Mäkilaakso. The rewrite was based on an original script written by
Loyd Kaufman and
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
.
In February 2017, it was announced that Woon would be co-writing a script titled ''Savage'' with director/producer Daniel Zirilli and actor/writer
Johnny Strong
John Christopher Strong (born July 22, 1974) is an American actor, composer, and musician. He is best known for his roles in ''Black Hawk Down'' (as Medal of Honor recipient Randy Shughart) and ''The Fast and the Furious'' as Leon. Aside from a ...
, to be directed by William Kaufman.
In May 2017, an animated series on
HitRecord
HitRecord (pronounced ; often stylized as HITREC●RD) is an online collaborative media platform founded and owned by actor and director Joseph Gordon-LevittGordon-Levitt. The company uses a variety of media to produce such projects as short film ...
titled
USAI: The Complete Animated Series was released on HitRecord.org, of which Woon was a contributing writer.
In July 2017, it was announced that Woon would be writing a new anthology series titled "Future Sex" for French digital media studio
Blackpills.
''
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), ...
'' and ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
'' reported in October 2017 that Woon penned an adaptation of
Don Roff's thriller Snowblind, with
Marcus Alqueres attached to direct, and starring
Karl Urban
Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and TV series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. Since t ...
,
Ashley Greene
Ashley Michele Greene Khoury (born February 21, 1987) is an American actress. She is known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's ''Twilight'' novels.
Early life
Greene was born on February 21, 1987, in Jack ...
, and
Forrest Goodluck
Forrest Goodluck (born August 6, 1998) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Hugh Glass's son Hawk in the 2015 film '' The Revenant'', and for his supporting role as Adam Red Eagle, a two-spirit teenager sent to a conversion therapy ...
.
''On February 23, 2021 both
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), ...
'' and ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...
'' reported that
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
picked up an original screenplay written by Woon titled Gordon Hemingway & The Realm of Cthulhu, which will be produced by
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
and directed by
Stefon Bristol
Stefon Bristol is an American film director and screenwriter. He co-wrote and directed the Netflix time travel film, '' See You Yesterday'', in 2019. Bristol studied at New York University's Graduate Film program, under mentor Spike Lee, who hel ...
, with
Jonathan Majors
Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...
in the title role.
Bibliography
Filmography
References
External links
Hank Woon on IMDBKobold Press InterviewPathfinder Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woon, Hank
1978 births
American fiction writers
Living people
Role-playing game designers
Writers from Aberdeen, Washington
People from Aberdeen, Washington