Richard "Rich" Wilkes (born 1966) is an American

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and musician. His work is noted for its rooting in contemporary music and youth culture.

Works

As Screenwriter

Wilkes' major-studio debut was as screenwriter of the 1994 film ''

Airheads ''Airheads'' is a 1994 American comedy film written by Rich Wilkes, directed by Michael Lehmann, and starring Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Ernie Hudson, Michael McKean, Judd Nelson, Michael Richards, Amy Locane and ...

''. The story revolves around a group of loser musicians called The Lone Rangers who take a radio station hostage to get their song played on the radio. ''Airheads'' was directed by

Michael Lehmann Michael Stephen Lehmann (born March 30, 1957) is an American film and television director known for directing the dark comedy ''Heathers''. Early life and education In 1978, Lehmann graduated from Columbia University.

and distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. This was followed by a co-writer credit (alongside director

James Melkonian James Melkonian (born April 6, 1961) is an American screenwriter and film director. He wrote and directed the films ''The Stoned Age'' (aka: ''Tack's Chicks'') and '' The Jerky Boys: The Movie''. Melkonian is also an advertising writer, producer ...

) for the 1994 comedy ''

The Stoned Age ''The Stoned Age'' is a 1994 American comedy film directed by James Melkonian, following two long-haired stoners who spend a night touring the suburbs of Los Angeles, looking for alcohol, parties, and young women. Plot The film is set in Torra ...

'', set in the stoner subculture of Southern California during the 1970s. The same writing and directing team then collaborated with

The Jerky Boys The Jerky Boys are an American comedy act from Queens, New York City, New York, whose routine consists of prank telephone calls and other related skits. The duo was founded in 1989 by childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed. After Ahme ...

to create the 1995 production '' The Jerky Boys: The Movie'', featuring the eponymous comedians (self-described as "low-lifes from Queens") as New York City youths who get into trouble with the Mafia when one of their prank calls leads them into a money laundering business. Wilkes is credited as the sole screenwriter for the 2002 action-adventure film ''

XXX XXX may refer to: Codes and symbols * 30 (number), Roman numeral XXX * XXX, designating pornography ** XXX, an X rating#United_States, X rating ** .xxx, an internet top-level domain intended for pornographic sites * XXX, a symbol of the straight ...

'' and a "based on characters created by" credit as being as the creator of the ''XXX'' franchise. Wilkes co-wrote the

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

biopic ''

The Dirt ''The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band'' () is a collaborative autobiography of Mötley Crüe by the band – Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx – and ''New York Times'' writer Neil Strauss. First publi ...

'', based on the New York Times bestselling book by

Neil Strauss Neil Darrow Strauss, also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American author, journalist and ghostwriter. He is best known for his book '' The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', in which he describes his ...

and Mötley Crüe. The film took 17 years to get made.

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

was initially attached to direct in 2004, followed by

Larry Charles Larry Charles (born ) is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film ''Religulous'' and the mockument ...

in 2008.

As Writer/Director

In 1995, Wilkes debuted as a director with '' Glory Daze'', a semi-autobiographical tale based on his experiences as a student at the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...

Other Film Work

Wilkes has also appeared as an actor in the majority of his productions, primarily in minor roles. He has also appeared as himself in several documentaries, including the 1998 production ''Independent's Day'', 2003's ''The Blockbuster Imperative'' and 2006's ''Punk Like Me''.

As Musician

Wilkes was the lead singer of the "world's original punk rock mariachi band" Carne Asada. The band was put together as a prank to get on the

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. The story of Carne Asada was told in the award winning music documentary ''Punk Like Me''. PunkLikeMe Poster-5000x7100-RGB

Personal life

Wilkes was born in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. He attended El Camino High School in

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast (California), South Coast of California, located in San Diego County, California, San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city is a popular ...

. He got a Double-Inverted BA at the

, then studied screenwriting at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkes, Rich 1966 births Living people American male screenwriters People from Princeton, New Jersey People from Oceanside, California Screenwriters from California Xxx from New Jersey