Martin Shapiro 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 comic book writer. He created the horror comic book series '' Chopper'' published by

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and wrote the screenplay for the movie version of it.

Early life

Shapiro was born at a United States Army base in Frankfurt, Germany where his father was stationed. He was raised in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. After high school, he served for eight years in the U.S. Air Force. In 1990, he attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, with the intention of becoming an Air Force pilot upon graduation. In 1991, Shapiro was recalled to active duty for the Gulf War. While still deployed in Kuwait, he decided to change gears in life and applied to the University of Central Florida Film School. Shortly after returning to Patrick AFB, Florida, he was accepted into UCF's motion picture program, where he developed a passion for writing, directing and producing films alongside classmates Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, who went on to co-direct '' The Blair Witch Project'' several years later.

Career

Film

Shapiro’s first feature-length

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

''Lair of the Fox'', a military action-thriller, was optioned by

Ilya Salkind Ilya Juan Salkind Domínguez (; born July 27, 1947), usually known as Ilya Salkind, is a Mexican film and television producer, known for his contributions to three of the four live-action Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s alongside his fath ...

(Producer of ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

''). Shapiro went on to write and develop projects for MGM,

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

and other production companies including an adaptation of '' Dragonlance'', the ''New York Times'' bestselling series of fantasy novels with sales of 22 million copies worldwide, and the role-playing game ''Millennium’s End''. While writing professionally in Los Angeles, Shapiro attended the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, where he received his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

degree in Screenwriting. While in the program, he won the prestigious UCLA Showcase award for his war drama ''Crossfire''.

Comic books

In 2011, Shapiro launched '' Chopper'', a creator-owned comic book series published by

. The movie rights to the book were optioned in the same year and Shapiro wrote the screenplay adaptation.

Web series

A prequel based on characters from the comic book was produced as a web series starring actors Tyler Mane (''

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'', '' X-Men'') and

Andrew Bryniarski Andrew Bryniarski (born February 13, 1969) is an American actor and former bodybuilder, best known for portraying Leatherface in the remake of ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' and '' The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning'', Zangief in ''Stre ...

(''

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American horror film produced and directed by Tobe Hooper from a story and screenplay by Hooper and Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow and Gunnar Hansen, ...

'', '' Batman Returns'').

Bibliography

* '' Chopper'' (

) * ''Skinwalker'' (

)

References

External links

*
Martin Shapiro's website''Chopper'' section
at

website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Martin 1967 births Living people American comics writers American male writers American male screenwriters Writers from Richmond, Virginia Screenwriters from Virginia