Joshua R. Olson is an American screenwriter and podcaster, known for writing the 2005 film ''
A History of Violence''.
Career
Olson wrote and directed the low budget horror film ''Infested'' in 2002. He wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film ''
A History of Violence''.. He was nominated for the British Academy Award,
the Writer's Guild Award
and the Academy Award.
In 2006, Olson collaborated with
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...
on an adaptation of the author's short story "
The Discarded" for ABC's series ''
Masters of Science Fiction
''Masters of Science Fiction'' is a television anthology series by some of the producers of ''Masters of Horror''. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007, at 10PM for a run of four episodes. It was originally scheduled to run in six parts, but ...
''.
He worked on
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's film based on the ''
Halo'' video game series, but the project was later cancelled.
Olson wrote the first draft of the movie ''
Jack Reacher'', for
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. . Ultimately, the movie was written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Olson wrote two seasons of the audio drama, ''
Bronzeville'', which is produced by and stars
Laurence Fishburne and
Larenz Tate. He is one of the hosts of the film interview podcast, "The Movies That Made Me", along with director
Joe Dante
Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix 1950s-style B movies wit ...
.
Olson co-hosts with
Dave Anthony
David Sean Anthony (born August 26, 1967) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and podcaster. He is best known as the creator and co-host of the comedy podcast ''The Dollop'', in which he tells notable stories from American history to h ...
''
The West Wing Thing
''The West Wing Thing'' is a podcast series created by the screenwriters Dave Anthony and Josh Olson. First uploaded in 2019–22, the series discusses the TV drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006) on an episode-by-episode basis, from a left-wing ...
,'' a podcast rewatching and discussing episodes of ''
The West Wing'' and its impact on politics.
The West Wing Thing - All Things Comedy
/ref> In 2020, Olson started ''Rainy Day Podcasts'' with Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
, Steve Bing
Stephen Leo Bing (March 31, 1965 – June 22, 2020) was an American businessman, philanthropist, film producer, and screenwriter. He was the founder of Shangri-La Entertainment, an organization with interests in property, construction, entertai ...
, and Victoria Pearman. The company has a "first look deal" with Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
, and will produce original narrative podcasts.
Filmography
References
External links
*
Josh Olson interview
'Pursue The Passion', 14 November 2007.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Josh
American male screenwriters
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people