Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''

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 ...

'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, ...

'' (2007), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' and ''

'' (2009), ''

Star Trek Into Darkness ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. It is the 12th installment in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and the sequel to t ...

'' (2013), and ''

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (internationally titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro'') is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi ...

'' (2014) with his writing and producing partner Roberto Orci, and directing and co-writing ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...

'' (2017). He'd made his directorial debut with '' People Like Us'' (2012), co-written by him, Orci, and Jody Lambert from a story by him. Kurtzman is known, alongside Orci, for frequently collaborating with

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use ...

and J.J. Abrams, as well as co-creating the more recent ''Star Trek'' shows, including '' Star Trek: Discovery'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', and '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds''.

Early life, family and education

Kurtzman was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. His longtime screenwriting partner Roberto Orci was his best friend in high school. Kurtzman attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

Career

Kurtzman first teamed with Orci on the syndicated series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'' for the television unit of Pacific Renaissance Pictures, then operating out of

Universal International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. After they produced several storylines to cope with the absence of lead actor

Kevin Sorbo Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor. He had starring roles in two television series: as Hercules in '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', and as Captain Dylan Hunt in '' Andromeda''. Sorbo is also known for actin ...

following a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

that Sorbo had suffered during the fourth season, Kurtzman and Orci, both aged 24, were placed in charge of the show. They moved into films after they were asked to rewrite

's '' The Island.'' The film earned nearly $163 million at the worldwide box office, on a budget of $126 million, which was enough of a success that they were brought in to write Bay's ''

,'' which earned $710 million. Though ''The Island,'' ''Transformers'' and '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' were not particularly well received by critics, the three films earned a combined $1.7 billion. They co-created the Fox TV series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'' in 2008 along with J. J. Abrams. After the pilot, Kurtzman served as consulting producer on the show for the remainder of its run. They then co-wrote the 2009 film ''Star Trek''. In 2011, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine described Orci and Kurtzman as "Hollywood's Secret Weapons" as, over the course of the previous six years, their films had grossed a combined total of over $3 billion at the box office. The partnership also wrote '' People Like Us,'' originally known as ''Welcome to People'', which was Kurtzman's theatrical directorial debut. Kurtzman has frequently worked with a tight-knit group of film professionals which include J. J. Abrams,

Damon Lindelof Damon Laurence Lindelof (born April 24, 1973) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, and producer. Among his accolades, he received three Primetime Emmy Awards, from twelve nominations. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the ...

, Adam Horowitz, Roberto Orci,

Edward Kitsis Edward Lawrence Kitsis (born February 4, 1971) is an American television writer and producer, best known for his work with his writing partner Adam Horowitz on the popular ABC drama series ''Lost'' and '' Once Upon a Time''. Early life and e ...

, Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner, and Bryan Burk. In April 2014, both Orci and Kurtzman confirmed to ''Variety'' that they would no longer work together on film projects; they added that they would still work together—but only on television projects. In 2018, Kurtzman signed a new five-year deal with

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the ...

to oversee and expand the ''Star Trek'' franchise on television, including serving as executive producer on '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (which he also co-showruns with Michelle Paradise), '' Star Trek: Short Treks'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', and ''

Star Trek: Lower Decks ''Star Trek: Lower Decks'' is an American adult-oriented animated television series created by Mike McMahan for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the ninth '' Star Trek'' series and was launched in 20 ...

''. In August 2021, Kurtzman and his production company

Secret Hideout Secret Hideout is a film and television production company founded in 2014 by Alex Kurtzman. It is notable for the recent incarnations of the ''Star Trek'' franchise with Roddenberry Entertainment. History In 2014, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Or ...

extended their overall deal with CBS Studios through 2026.

Personal life

In 2002, Kurtzman married Samantha Counter, the daughter of lawyer Nick Counter.

Filmography

Producer only

Television credits

Executive producer only * ''

Transformers Prime ''Transformers: Prime'' (known as ''Transformers: Prime - Beast Hunters'' during its third and final season) is an American computer-animated television series based on the '' Transformers'' toy franchise by Hasbro that aired on the Hub Network ...

'' (2010–2013) * ''

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

'' (2014) * ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

'' (2014–2018) * ''

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

'' (2017–2018) * ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a v ...

'' (2018–2019) * ''

'' (2020–present) * '' Star Trek: Prodigy'' (2021)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtzman, Alex 1973 births 21st-century American Jews Living people American film directors American film producers American male screenwriters American male television writers American television directors American television producers American television writers Crossroads School alumni Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from California Jewish American screenwriters Screenwriters from California Showrunners Television producers from California Wesleyan University alumni Writers from Los Angeles