Larry Cohen

Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and satirical elements — during the 1970s and 1980s, such as '' It's Alive'' (1974), ''God Told Me To'' (1976), ''It Lives Again'' (1978), ''The Stuff'' (1985) and '' A Return to Salem's Lot'' (1987). He originally emerged as the writer of blaxploitation films such as ''Bone'' (1972), '' Black Caesar'', and ''Hell Up in Harlem'' (both 1973). Later on he concentrated mainly on screenwriting, including ''Phone Booth'' (2002), ''Cellular'' (2004) and '' Captivity'' (2007).

Early in his career, Cohen was a prolific television writer, creating series such as '' Branded'', ''Blue Light'', ''Coronet Blue'', and ''The Invaders''. In 2006, he returned to the directing chair for Mick Garris's anthology series ''Masters of Horror'', directing the episode " Pick Me Up". In 2017, Cohen was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fantasia International Film Festival.

Early life

Cohen was born in Manhattan, New York City, on July 15, 1936. His sister, Ronni Chasen, was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City at an early age.

Cohen exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theaters at least twice a week, and most of them being double features, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the hard-boiled and film noir movies that featured actors such as Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney; films that were penned by the likes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Cohen was especially a fan of director Michael Curtiz, whose films include ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'', ''Casablanca'', and ''Dodge City''.

He majored in film studies at the City College of New York.

Career

Early work

During the 1950s Cohen worked for the NBC television network, where he learned how to produce teleplays, and shortly afterward began writing his own television scripts. He created the TV series ''The Invaders'' and also scripted episodes of '' The Defenders'' and '' The Fugitive''.

Cohen began his career as a writer for well-known television series, concentrating his efforts on the crime and detective genres. He penned several episodes of '' The Defenders'' (1964) — which starred E.G. Marshall — one episode of ''Espionage'' (1964), and episodes of ''The Fugitive'' (1964–65). Other writing credits during the 1950s and 1960s included the fantasy-suspense anthologies ''Kraft Television Theatre'' (1958) and ''Kraft Suspense Theatre'' (1965), the espionage TV series ''Blue Light'' (1966) starring Robert Goulet and ''Coronet Blue'' (1967) starring Frank Converse, and the science-fiction TV series, ''The Invaders'' (1967–1968). In 1966, he wrote the screenplay to the Western film ''Return of the Seven'' (also known as ''Return of the Magnificent Seven''), a sequel to the 1960 film ''The Magnificent Seven'', which had the return of Yul Brynner as gunslinger Chris Adams. Four episodes he wrote for ''Blue Light'' were edited together to create the theatrical film ''I Deal in Danger'', released in December 1966. He also created the Western TV series '' Branded'' (1965–1966) and was the co-creator with Walter Grauman of ''Blue Light''.

1970s

Although Cohen continued to write TV and film scripts during the 1970s – such as '' Columbo'' – he further turned his hand to directing. His directorial debut was the 1972 comedy film ''Bone'' (aka ''Beverly Hills Nightmare)'' starring Yaphet Kotto. Cohen directed ''Dial Rat for Terror'' (1973) and ''Housewife (1973)'' before creating the ''It's Alive'' series in 1974. He wrote, produced and directed the horror film '' It's Alive'', about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film – an initial commercial failure – was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went on to become a moderate success, earning over $7 million for Warner Bros. and spawning two sequels, ''It Lives Again'' (1978) and '' It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'' (1987).Litwak, Mark (1986). Reel Power: The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood. New York: William Morrow & Co.. p. 251. .

Cohen followed-up ''It's Alive'' with the science-fiction serial killer film ''God Told Me To'' (1976), in which a New York detective investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God told them to commit the crimes. He concentrated his work predominantly within the horror genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, often incorporating elements of crime, police procedural, and science fiction with scathing social commentary.

Cohen's ''It's Alive'' tells of a couple, Frank and Lenore Davis, who give birth to a mutated baby. The doctors and nurses at the hospital attempt to end the life of the deformed child, but it instead kills them and escapes. A police manhunt ensues as the fleeing mutation leaves dead bodies in its wake. Frank sees the child just as Dr. Frankenstein saw his monster and assists the police.

The emphasis in ''It's Alive'' is on the potential effects of chemicals to the ecosystem, and experimental prescription drugs that can be harmful to unborn babies. The score for ''It's Alive'' was composed by Bernard Herrmann, known for his contributions to many Alfred Hitchcock films, including '' Psycho'', ''North by Northwest'', and ''Vertigo''. The welling strings, horn arrangements and harp glissandos throughout the film prefigure the soundtrack to Herrmann's final film score two years later for ''Taxi Driver.'' The cast includes John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell, James Dixon, and Andrew Duggan.

''It Lives Again'' (1978) picks up where the first one ended. More mutated babies are appearing around the country. Frank has now joined a renegade mob who are attempting to stop the government from killing these strange mutations. The emphasis in ''It Lives Again'' is on accepting one's child, even if it is born with deformities or disabilities. The score is again provided by Bernard Herrmann. The cast includes John P. Ryan, James Dixon, Andrew Duggan, and Frederic Forrest.

1980s

During the 1980s, Cohen directed, produced, and scripted a number of low-budget horror films, many of which featured actor Michael Moriarty. The first was '' Q'' – a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent'' (1982) — about an Aztec god known as Quetzalcoatl (the Winged Serpent) resurrected and nesting atop the Chrysler Building. The film is set in New York City, as was typical for Cohen, and sees two police detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars David Carradine, Candy Clark, Richard Roundtree, and James Dixon (another Cohen regular). The Chrysler Building scenes were actually shot on location in and around the building, including the inside and outside of the cone atop the edifice.

Cohen's next project with Moriarty was ''The Stuff'' (1985), in which an alien substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, which rapidly becomes addicted to it. David "Mo" Rutheford, an industrial saboteur, played by Moriarty, is hired to investigate the origins of the Stuff and decides to destroy the product. The film co-stars Danny Aiello, Brian Bloom, Scott Bloom, Andrea Marcovicci, Patrick O'Neal, and Paul Sorvino. ''Saturday Night Live'' regular Garrett Morris plays Charlie W. Hobbs a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Charlie, a junk food mogul who assists Mo with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' (1987)—the third part of the ''Alive Trilogy''—and again in '' A Return to Salem's Lot'' (1987), the unofficial sequel of Stephen King's novel and TV miniseries ''Salem's Lot''. Cohen finished the 1980s with ''Wicked Stepmother'' (1989), in which the late Bette Davis made her last appearance.

1990s

Cohen began the 1990s with his film ''The Ambulance'' (1990) starring Eric Roberts. The film is set in New York City and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book artist, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance that never reaches the city hospital. ''The Ambulance'' features cameos by Stan Lee, Larry Hama and Jim Salicrup of Marvel Comics. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the Blaxploitation film ''Original Gangstas'' (1996), featuring Jim Brown, Pam Grier, and Fred Williamson. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the William Lustig ''Maniac Cop'' Trilogy – he had previously scripted ''Maniac Cop'' in 1988 – that features Robert Z'Dar as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and B-Movie horror actor Bruce Campbell. He then provided the story of the third adaptation of Jack Finney's 1955 science-fiction novel ''The Body Snatchers'', a tale of alien invasion and paranoia: ''Body Snatchers'' was directed by Abel Ferrara and starred Forest Whitaker. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including ''NYPD Blue'' and the Ed McBain-inspired ''87th Precinct: Heatwave''.

2000s

Cohen's output after the 1990s was less prolific and concentrated solely on scriptwriting, except for a brief return to directing with the ''Masters of Horror'' episode " Pick Me Up" (2006). His first project, ''Phone Booth'' (2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of Joel Schumacher. ''Phone Booth'' was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million. The film starred Colin Farrell, Katie Holmes, Kiefer Sutherland, and Forest Whitaker; it was produced by David Zucker.

His next film, another action-crime thriller titled ''Cellular'' (2004), also featured phones and, like ''Phone Booth'', it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million. ''Cellular'' starred Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, William H. Macy, and Jason Statham. ''Cellular'' was later re-made as ''Connected'' (2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the horror-thriller films '' Captivity'' (2007) and ''Messages Deleted'' (2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level. Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned '' Pick Me Up'', which he directed for the Mick Garris TV series ''Masters of Horror'' (2006). The episode was written by splatterpunk- horror author David Schow, and starred Cohen regular Michael Moriarty.

In 2003, Cohen, together with production partner Martin Poll was at the center of a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming the company had intentionally plagiarized a script of theirs titled ''Cast of Characters'' in order to create the Sean Connery-starring ''League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' in 2003. According to the BBC
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