HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

René Echevarria 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 producer. He has worked on a number of television series, including '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Dark Angel'' and ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
''. He created ''
The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...
'' for
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
, ''
Carnival Row ''Carnival Row'' is an American neo-noir fantasy television series created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, based on Beacham's unproduced film spec script, ''A Killing on Carnival Row''. The series stars Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne, S ...
'' for Amazon, and was
show runner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
on '' Terra Nova''.


Early life, family and education

René Echevarria was born in
St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
. He has a Cuban-American background. He attended St. Petersburg Catholic High School. Before attending university, he was expecting to follow his father into medicine. However, while attending from
Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
, he joined a production of ''
Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...
'' and decided to go into the theatrical arts. He graduated from Duke in 1984, having majored in history.


Career


Early years

After graduating college, Echevarria travelled to New York to start work in theatre. He started work at the
Circle Repertory Company The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by direc ...
, and became assistant director on a production of a play, ''Darts''. He also appeared in plays, including some productions at the
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
and the
Chelsea Theater Center The Chelsea Theater Center was a not-for-profit theater company founded in 1965 by Robert Kalfin, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. It opened its doors in a church in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, then moved to the Brooklyn Academy of ...
. He travelled to the UK with a production of the play ''Prepared'', which was performed both at the World's End Theatre and at the
Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
.


Screenwriter

Echevarria's first screenwriting credit came after he submitted an unsolicited script to the science fiction series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. After re-writes by both Echevarria and the writing team on the show, this became the episode "
The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...
". He was hired to redraft "
Transfigurations "Transfigurations" is the 25th episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and the 73rd episode of the series overall. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the advent ...
" and was subsequently hired as a writer on the series. During his time working on the series, he wrote over 30 episodes. Following this, he began writing for fellow ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' series, '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. One of the episodes he co-wrote with Ronald D. Moore, "
Trials and Tribble-ations "Trials and Tribble-ations" is the 104th episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', the sixth episode of the fifth season. It was written as a tribute to the original series of '' Star Trek,'' in th ...
", Erdmann & Block (2000): p. 384 was nominated for the
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
. Following ''Star Trek'', he worked on a series of television shows including ''
Now and Again ''Now and Again'' is an American science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Glenn Gordon Caron that aired from September 24, 1999 until May 5, 2000 on CBS. The story revolves around the United States government engineering the pe ...
'', ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
'', '' Dark Angel'' and ''
Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...
''.


Producer

Echevarria created ''
The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...
'' alongside Scott Peters for
USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
. He was reunited with one of his colleagues from ''Deep Space Nine'', as
Ira Steven Behr Ira Steven Behr (born October 23, 1953) is an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his work on '' Star Trek'', especially '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', on which he served as showrunner and executive producer. He was ...
was one of the producers on the series. Echevarria was also involved in the development of the ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed ...
'' television series for
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, where he remained on the series as an executive producer. Echevarria was working as the
show runner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also the ...
on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
's television adaptation of the film ''
True Lies ''True Lies'' is a 1994 American spy action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Art Malik, Tia Carrere, Bill Paxton, Eliza Dushku, Grant Heslov and Charlton Heston. ...
'', when he was asked to take over production duties on the pilot of '' Terra Nova''. This followed the termination of four writers and another producer, amid a series of other issues with the production. The production cost $14 million, and suffered from a three-month delay, and Echevarria and fellow producer Brannon Braga both denied that there was a deliberate axing of staff, attributing it to the movement of the production to Australia. Echevarria subsequently signed a full-time deal with
20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...
, the studio behind ''Terra Nova'', as show runner for the television series, and was involved in the promotion of the show. In February 2013, he joined the team on television series ''
Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
'' as executive producer and show runner. He left the series during the following July, in a split which was described as amicable. In July 2014, he signed a two-script deal with
Legendary Television Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has c ...
to develop new series from the back catalogue of the studio.


Notes


References

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Echevarria, Rene American science fiction writers American male screenwriters American writers of Cuban descent American television producers Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Writers from St. Petersburg, Florida American male novelists Novelists from Florida Screenwriters from Florida Year of birth missing (living people) Showrunners