Ronald Shusett

Writing

Ronald Shusett

Born 1935-06-01 · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Ronald Shusett (born June 1935) is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for his works in the science fiction genre. He wrote the original story for Alien (1979) with Dan O'Bannon and later Alien vs. Predator (2004). In 1974, he was the first to option the Philip K. Dick short story, "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale", that became the basis of the film Total Recall.

Acting credits

Memory: The Origins of Alien poster
6.4

The untold origin story behind Ridley Scott's Alien - rooted in Greek and Egyptian mythologies, underground comics, the art of Francis Bacon, and the dark visions of Dan O'Bannon and H.R. Giger. A contemplation on the symbiotic collaborative process of movie-making, the power of myth, and our collective unconscious.

Memory: The Origins of Alien

2019

The Alien Saga poster
6.3

In 1979, Alien burst onto the scene with a strong female lead in the form of Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) battling the ultimate biomechanical creature. The brilliant and terrifying result reinvented the horror and science fiction genres, creating one of the most successful and celebrated film franchises in Hollywood history. This award-winning, feature-length documentary explores the series.

The Alien Saga

2002

The Alien Legacy poster
6.9

A behind the scenes look at the making of 'Alien'

The Alien Legacy

1999

Tales from the Script poster
6.6

Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon"), John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), William Goldman ("The Princess Bride"), Paul Schrader ("Taxi Driver"), and dozens of other Hollywood screenwriters share hilarious anecdotes and penetrating insights in "Tales from the Script," the most comprehensive documentary ever made about screenwriting. By analyzing their triumphs and recalling their failures, the participants explain how successful writers develop the skills necessary for toughing out careers in one of the world's most competitive industries. They also reveal the untold stories behind some of the greatest screenplays ever written, describing their adventures with luminaries including Harrison Ford, Stanley Kubrick, Joel Silver, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg. The film was produced in tandem with the upcoming HarperCollins book of the same name.

Tales from the Script

2009

The Beast Within: Making Alien poster
8.2

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of “Alien,” the terrifying classic about a spaceship crew trapped with a hideous monster that's hunting them one by one.

The Beast Within: Making Alien

2003

Imagining 'Total Recall' poster
7.0

Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger go to Mars and produce a blockbuster. Produced for the “Total Recall” DVD.

Imagining 'Total Recall'

2001

Behind the camera

Total Recall poster
7.3

Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.

Total Recall

1990

Total Recall poster
7.3

Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.

Total Recall

1990

Above the Law poster
6.1

Nico Toscani is an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice—expert and thorough bone-crushing.

Above the Law

1988

King Kong Lives poster
5.2

After falling from the Twin Towers, Kong lies in a coma for ten years. When his heart begins to fail, scientists engineer an artificial heart, and a giant female ape is captured to serve as a source for a blood transfusion. When Kong awakens following his heart transplant, he senses the nearby presence of the female ape and the two escape to wreak havoc together.

King Kong Lives

1986

Freejack poster
5.5

Time-traveling bounty hunters find a doomed race-car driver in the past and bring him to 2009 New York, where his mind will be replaced with that of a terminally ill billionaire.

Freejack

1992

Freejack poster
5.5

Time-traveling bounty hunters find a doomed race-car driver in the past and bring him to 2009 New York, where his mind will be replaced with that of a terminally ill billionaire.

Freejack

1992

Dead & Buried poster
6.4

After a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses appear to be coming back to life and living normally as locals in the small town.

Dead & Buried

1981

Dead & Buried poster
6.4

After a series of gory murders commited by mobs of townspeople against visiting tourists, the corpses appear to be coming back to life and living normally as locals in the small town.

Dead & Buried

1981

Bleeders poster
4.5

A man with an unknown disease travels to an island with his girlfriend where his relatives once lived, hoping to find a cure to his illness. Although his relatives were all thought to be dead, he finds them living underground.

Bleeders

1997

The Final Terror poster
5.0

A group of friends head out for what is expected to be a vacation of hiking, camping and a good time, but when a backwoods mama finds them on her turf, it becomes anything but a vacation.

The Final Terror

1983