Zak Penn (born March 23, 1968) is an American screenwriter. Penn wrote and directed ''

Incident at Loch Ness ''Incident at Loch Ness'' is a 2004 mockumentary starring, produced by and written by Werner Herzog and Zak Penn. The small cast film follows Herzog and his crew ( Gabriel Beristain, Russell Williams II) while working on the production of a mov ...

'' and ''

The Grand The Grand may refer to: Buildings Official names * The Grand (Calgary), a theatre in Alberta, Canada *The Grand (Ellsworth, Maine), an arts center in Maine, U.S. * The Grand Doubletree, condominium and hotel skyscraper in Miami, U.S. * The Grand C ...

'', wrote the script for ''The Incredible Hulk'', co-wrote the scripts for '' X2'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and the story for ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

''. With Michael Karnow, Penn is the co-creator of the TV series ''

Alphas ''Alphas'' is an American superhero drama television series created by Zak Penn and Michael Karnow. It follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, known as "Alphas", as they work to prevent crimes committed by other Alphas. The series ...

'' on the

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

network.

Early life

Penn was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He is the son of New York businessman and lawyer Arthur Penn, who led the acquisition of the Capital Markets Assurance Corporation from

Citicorp Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services corporation headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of banking ...

. Zak Penn graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in 1990. His screenplay for '' PCU'' was based on his experiences at the Eclectic Society house.

Career

Films that Penn has been involved in writing include ''

Last Action Hero ''Last Action Hero'' is a 1993 American fantasy action comedy film directed and produced by John McTiernan and co-written by Shane Black and David Arnott. It is a satire of the action genre and associated clichés, containing several parodies ...

'', '' X2'', '' X-Men: The Last Stand'', and '' Elektra''. Penn wrote early drafts of ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

'', ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', ''

'' and ''

Free Guy ''Free Guy'' is a 2021 American science fiction action comedy film directed and produced by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and a story by Lieberman. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkars ...

''. Penn is also a jury member for the digital studio Filmaka, a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals.Filmaka Jury Member Zack Penn
Filmaka.com. In July 2012,

Avatar Press Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. Avatar Press is most notable for publishing Bad girl art, bad girl comics, such as ''Faust (Avatar Press), Fau ...

released the first issue of Penn's first comic book, ''Hero Worship''. The six-issue series is co-written with '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' screenwriter Scott Murphy and drawn by Michael DiPascale. It centers on Zenith, an indestructible hero who has fans following every disaster, trying to catch a glimpse of the ultimate celebrity and risking their own lives in the process. One fan becomes so obsessed that it leads to the development of his own powers. He directed the documentary film '' Atari: Game Over''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Video games

References

External links

*
Interview with Zak Penn at IFC.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn, Zak 1968 births American male screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state) Wesleyan University alumni American film directors American film producers Living people