Pen Densham is a British-Canadian-American film and television writer, producer, director and author, known for writing and producing films such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...

 television revivals of The Outer Limits

The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)

The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...

 and The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...

, as well as writing, producing and directing MGM’s Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders (1996 film)

Moll Flanders is a 1996 film starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman. The film was directed by Pen Densham. The original music score was composed by Mark Mancina...

, starring Morgan Freeman and Robin Wright.

Early life

Born in England to parents who both worked in the British film industry, Pen left school at age fifteen and was hired by British TV to photograph the Rolling Stones, selling pictures to national magazines. At nineteen he moved to Canada where he directed commercials and documentaries, working with Marshall McLuhan.

Pen went on to found Insight Productions in Toronto, with John Watson. The company gained recognition for documentaries such as Life Times Nine, one of two Insight films that earned Academy Award nominations. In total, Pen and John received over seventy international awards for their works as well as medals from the Queen of England for their contribution to the Arts of Canada. Pen’s first drama he wrote and directed, If Wishes Were Horses, won fourteen awards, was reviewed by TV guide as “The best film of any length shown on Canadian TV”, and brought Densham’s work to the attention of Norman Jewison

Norman Jewison

Norman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...

 who, with Telefilm Canada

Telefilm Canada

Telefilm Canada or Téléfilm Canada is a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Canada.It is the primary federal cultural agency dedicated to the development and promotion of the Canadian audiovisual industry....

, sponsored Pen to move to Hollywood.

Trilogy Entertainment Group

In Hollywood, Pen and John founded Trilogy Entertainment Group. They were employed as creative consultants on films such as Rocky II

Rocky II

Rocky II is a 1979 American film that is the sequel to Rocky, a motion picture in which an unknown boxer had been given a chance to go the distance with the World Heavyweight Champion. Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young and Talia Shire reprised their...

, and Footloose. In 1988 Pen directed Trilogy’s first studio feature, The Kiss

The Kiss (1988 film)

The Kiss is a horror/thriller film released in 1988 and set in the United States and Africa. The Kiss is a late occult-horror-voodoo style film starring Joanna Pacula, Meredith Salenger and Nicholas Kilbertus....

, for Tri-Star. In 1990, Pen re-envisioned the Robin Hood story, creating a new characterization and adding new concepts. Densham and Watson sold their spec script for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and produced the film for Morgan Creek and Warner Brothers. The film became one of Warners’ largest grossing movies ever, spinning off games, toylines and the #1 music single from Bryan Adams (“Everything I Do, I Do It For You”). In the same year, they were producers on Backdraft

Backdraft (film)

Backdraft is a 1991 action thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by Gregory Widen. The film stars Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Donald Sutherland, and Robert De Niro. Jason Gedrick and J. T. Walsh co-star in the film...

 with Ron Howard directing for Imagine and Universal, which generated one of the longest-lasting attractions at the Universal Studios Tour.

Inspired by the loss of his mother, Pen wrote and directed a personal version of Moll Flanders for MGM and Spelling Entertainment, based loosely on the novel by Daniel Defoe, starring Morgan Freeman & Robin Wright. Pen also wrote and directed Houdini, an $8 million TNT feature for television, which starred Johnathon Schaech, Mark Ruffalo and Emile Hirsch.

In Television, Pen wrote and supervised the re-franchising of The Outer Limits science fiction anthology series, which he Exec produced with his partners for its award winning, seven year run on American Television. In the process, Pen earned the unique distinction of being named number 8 in the 50 most powerful people in Science Fiction by Cinefantastique magazine. In 2003 he re-introduced The Twilight Zone fantasy anthology series to American audiences on UPN.

Emergence as an author

Pen became a published author with his book, Riding The Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing (And Not Getting Eaten), about screenplay writing and selling one’s creativity in Hollywood, published by Michael Wiese Productions (January 2011). The title comes from the cover photo of Densham at the age of four astride a live seven-foot alligator in one of his parents theatrical short films. Written with the goal of supporting emerging creative people find their own voice and path through the Hollywood industry as well as artistic endeavors in general, the book includes supportive essays by professional screenwriters Shane Black

Shane Black

Shane Black is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He contributed to some of the biggest blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including work on Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout...

, Nia Vardalos

Nia Vardalos

Antonia Eugenia "Nia" Vardalos is a Canadian-American actress, screenwriter, director, singer and producer. Her most notable work is the 2002 Academy Award–nominated film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Personal life:...

, Danny McBride, Andrea Berloff

Andrea Berloff

Andrea Berloff is an American screenwriter, theater actress, and producer. Her first produced script is World Trade Center, a drama about the September 11, 2001 attacks, starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Oliver Stone.-External links:...

, Eric Roth

Eric Roth

Eric Roth is an American screenwriter. He won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump . He also co-wrote the screenplay for Michael Mann's The Insider , the Steven Spielberg film Munich , and David Fincher's film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , all of which were nominated for...

, John Watson, Robin Swicord

Robin Swicord

Robin Swicord is an American screenwriter and film director. She wrote the screenplay for the film Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Golden...

, Todd Robinson, Alan McElroy

Alan B. McElroy

Alan B. McElroy is an American writer, film director and producer.McElroy was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of Miami University with a degree in Psychology.He is the creator of Wrong Turn.- External links :...

, Anthony Peckham

Anthony Peckham

Anthony Peckham is an South African born American screenwriter and producer.-Career:Peckham's first screenplay to reach production was 1990's The Assassin...

, Ron Shelton

Ron Shelton

Ron Shelton is a U.S. film director and screenwriter, most notable for making movies about sports.Shelton is an alumnus of Santa Barbara High School and of the University of Arizona and Westmont College...

 and Laeta Kalogridis

Laeta Kalogridis

Laeta Elizabeth Kalogridis is a screenwriter and an executive producer. She is a graduate of Davidson College in Davidson, NC and University of Texas at Austin and attended UCLA's prestigious film school. She has written scripts for Alexander , Night Watch , Pathfinder and Shutter Island...

, and the book has garnered positive reviews from Academy Award-winning writer-director-producers like Paul Haggis

Paul Haggis

Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.-Early life and education:...

 and Ron Howard

Ron Howard

Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...

, and actors like Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges

Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....

, Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

, Robin Wright and Emile Hirsch

Emile Hirsch

Emile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...

.

Directing Credits

• If Wishes Were Horses. (half hour drama)
• The Zoo Gang with John Watson- 1985
• The Kiss - 1988
• Moll Flanders - 1996
• Houdini - 1998

Writing Credits

• If Wishes Were Horses (half hour drama)
• The Zoo Gang – with John Watson 1985
• A Gnome Named Gnorm - with John Watson - 1990
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – Story – Screenplay with John Watson 1991
• Taking Liberty - with John Watson 1993
• Lifepod (TV movie) with Jay Roach - 1993
• Space Rangers (TV Series) Created Series. Pilot with Jay Roach - 1993-1994
• Moll Flanders – based on character created by Dafoe 1996
• Larger Than Life (story) - 1996
• The Magnificent Seven - with John Watson (TV series) - 1998
• Houdini (TV movie) - 1998
• The Outer Limits (revived TV series) - 1995-2001
• The Twilight Zone (revived TV series) - 2002-2003

Producing Credits

• Multiple films for John Watson and Pen Densham’s Insight Productions.
• Life Times Nine (Oscar nominated short) - 1973
• Don’t Mess with Bill (Oscar nominated short) - 1980
• The Zoo Gang - 1985
• The Kiss - 1988
• A Gnome Named Gnorm - 1990
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - 1991
• Backdraft - 1991
• Taking Liberty (executive producer) - 1993
• Space Rangers (TV Series) (executive producer) - 1993
• Lifepod (TV movie) (executive producer) - 1993
• Blown Away - 1994
• Tank Girl - 1995
• Moll Flanders - 1996
• Larger Than Life - 1996
• Fame L.A. (TV Series) (executive producer) - 1997
• Buffalo Soldiers (TV movie) (executive producer) - 1997
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (TV movie) (executive producer) - 1998
• Mr. Headmistress (TV movie) (co-producer) - 1998
• The Magnificent Seven (TV series) (executive producer) - 1998
• Creature (TV movie) (executive producer) - 1998
• Houdini (TV movie) (executive producer) - 1998
• Poltergeist: The Legacy (TV series) (executive producer) - 1996-1999
• The Outer Limits (TV series) (executive producer) - 1995-2001
• The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (executive producer) - 2002
• My Brother’s Keeper (TV movie) (executive producer) - 2002
• Breaking News (TV series) (executive producer) - 2002
• Carrie (TV movie) (executive producer) - 2002
• The Twilight Zone (TV series) (executive producer) - 2003
• Just Buried - 2008

Books

• Why We Write (contribution) - 1999
• Riding The Alligator: Strategies For a Career in Screenplay Writing - 2011

External links

• Riding the Alligator: Strategies For a Career in Screenplay Writing