Introduction
Jeb Stuart (born January 21, 1956) is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer best known for writing blockbuster action films like Die Hard and The Fugitive.
Early life and education
Jeb Stuart was born on January 21, 1956, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He attended University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Career
Stuart made his screenwriting debut in 1988 with John McTiernan-directed Die Hard, which he co-wrote with Steven E. de Souza. Adapted from Roderick Thorp's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, the film was a massive financial and critical success, spawning four sequels and being considered one of the greatest and most influential action films of all time. For his writing, he was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1989.
The following year, he wrote the screenplay for George P. Cosmatos' Leviathan, starring Peter Weller, Richard Crenna, and Amanda Pays. The same year, he also co-wrote with Richard Smith and Henry Rosenbaum Lock Up, starring Sylvester Stallone and Donald Sutherland.
Stuart was heavily involved in the writing of The Fugitive (1993), reworking David Twohy's original draft while on set and working with director Andrew Davis and stars Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. He wrote an early draft of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, entitled Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars, in 1995. In 1997, he made his directorial debut with Switchback, a thriller starring Dennis Quaid and Danny Glover. The film's negative critical reception led to Stuart semi-retiring from filmmaking for over a decade, before returning by writing, producing, and directing Blood Done Sign My Name, adapted from the autobiography of author and historian Timothy Tyson.
He is the creator of Netflix's Vikings: Valhalla a historical fiction drama television series, and a sequel to History’s Vikings (2013 TV series). This spin-off series starts a century after the original series and will tell the tales of some of the best known Northmen in history: Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Harada and William the Conqueror.
Overview
Filmography
| Year | Film | Writer | Producer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Die Hard | Y | Nominated for: | ||
| 1989 | Leviathan | with David Webb Peoples | |||
| Next of Kin | Y | ||||
| Lock Up | Y | with Richard Smith & | |||
| 1990 | Vital Signs | with Larry Ketron | |||
| Another 48 Hrs. | with | ||||
| 1993 | The Fugitive | with Nominated for: | |||
| 1995 | Just Cause | with Peter Stone | |||
| 1997 | Fire Down Below | Y | with Philip Morton | ||
| Switchback | Y | Y | Y | ||
| 2010 | Blood Done Sign My Name |
Awards and nominations
Nominations
- 1988 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture: Die Hard (with Steven E. de Souza)
- 1993 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture: The Fugitive (with David Twohy)
- 1993 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published: The Fugitive (with David Twohy)