Ross LaManna is an American screenwriter and author. He is best known for creating the ''

Rush Hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...

'' series starring

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

and

Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series ''Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990s. He app ...

. His first novel, ''Acid Test'', was published in the U.S. and Canada by Ballantine Books. The geopolitical thriller was chosen as an Amazon.com "Penzler Pick" and as The Mysterious Bookshop's selection for "Best First Fiction". It was published in several foreign territories and as an audiobook. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in Los Angeles, graduating ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts in screenwriting, and also holds a Master of Arts from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

in dramatic writing. He began in the entertainment industry working on international legal affairs at the independent studio

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such fil ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

purchased a speculative script he had written while at Embassy, and soon thereafter he was hired by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

under a two-picture writing deal.

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit ...

later hired him under a unique, two-year "in-house screenwriter" arrangement, where he worked on a number of their projects. He has written original screenplays, adaptations or rewrites for Fox, Disney, Paramount, Columbia, Universal, HBO Films and many independent companies. As of June, 2013, he is Chairman of the Undergraduate and Graduate Film Departments at the

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

in Pasadena, California, and also on the Board of Directors for the United States Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office. At Art Center, he brought in a number of notable filmmakers as part-time instructors, including the cinematographer

Affonso Beato Affonso Henrique Beato (born July 13, 1941) is a Brazilian cinematographer. He has served as the President of the Brazilian Society of Cinematographers, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. He is also a member of the American Society o ...

, ASC, the storyboard artist Tim Burgard, the director/producer

Jeremiah Chechik Jeremiah S. Chechik (born 1955 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is the director of such films as ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'', ''Benny & Joon ''Benny & Joon'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Maye ...

, the cinematographer

Allen Daviau John Allen Daviau (June 14, 1942 – April 15, 2020) was an American cinematographer known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg on '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), ''The Color Purple'' (1985), and ''Empire of the Sun'' (1987). ...

, ASC, the screenwriter Doug Eboch, the director David Kellogg, the composer Dennis McCarthy, the title designer Dan Perri, the director/producer Richard Pearce, the entertainment attorney Lee Rosenbaum, the writer/director

Bobby Roth Robert Jay Roth (born 1950) is an American television and film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Born and raised in Los Angeles, Roth began his tertiary education at the University of California, Berkeley studying philoso ...

, the director/actor

Mark Rydell Mark Rydell (born Mortimer H. Rydell; March 23, 1929) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has directed several Academy Award-nominated films including '' The Fox'' (1967), '' The Reivers'' (1969), ''Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), ...

, the producer/director John Suits, the director

Ron Underwood Ronald Brian Underwood (born November 6, 1953) is an American film and television director, known for directing such films as ''Tremors (1990 film), Tremors'' (1990), ''City Slickers'' (1991), ''Heart and Souls'' (1993),'' and Mighty Joe Young ...

and the editor

Billy Weber Billy Weber is an American film editor with several film credits dating from ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). One of Weber's first editing roles was as associate editor (as William Weber) on Terrence Malick's first feature as a director, ''Badlands'' ( ...

References

Art Center College of Design, Undergraduate Film Department - Staff and Faculty Biographical Data

External links

* American male screenwriters Arizona State University alumni Living people USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Screenwriters from Arizona Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-screen-writer-stub