Steven E. de Souza (born November 17, 1947) is an American

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, producer and director of film and television. He is known for writing several high-profile

action films The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as ...

of the 1980s and '90s, notably '' 48 Hrs.'', ''

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

'', '' The Running Man'', ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...

'', '' Die Hard 2'', ''

Hudson Hawk ''Hudson Hawk'' is a 1991 American action comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann. Bruce Willis stars in the title role and also co-wrote the story. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine Toussaint, Frank Stallo ...

'', ''

Knock Off Knock offs, or dupes, are products similar to higher-end items but sold at a much lower price. Knock off may also refer to: * ''Knock Off'' (film), a 1998 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme * "Knock Off" (song), a 2022 song by Jess Moskaluke *"Kn ...

'' and ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...

''.

Early life

De Souza was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on 1948, the son of a Jamaican father, H. Walton Henriques de Souza, and Evelyn (née Green). His father owned a real estate company. He attended

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, where he was a student of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author Philip Klass (better known by his pseudonym

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...

Career

He began his career as a

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called supervising producer. The responsibilities of the story editor vary depending on the production; this article describes the duties the role most commo ...

for

primetime Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to b ...

television series such as ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...

'' and ''The Hardy Boys Mysteries'', before graduating to the role of producer and writer. He produced the first season of ''Knight Rider'', and was the creator of the short-lived sci-fi series ''

The Powers of Matthew Star ''The Powers of Matthew Star'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on NBC on Friday evenings from September 17, 1982 until April 8, 1983. It starred Peter Barton (actor), Peter Barton as the title character, the alien pr ...

''. De Souza started his film career writing, directing, and producing the low-budget

stoner comedy Stoner film is a subgenre of comedy film based on marijuana themes, where recreational use often drives the plot, sometimes representing cannabis culture more broadly or intended for that audience. Genre The midnight movie scene in the ...

'' Arnold's Wrecking Co.'', which won the Special Jury Prize at the 1972 Atlanta Film Festival. Beginning in the early 1980s, he became a prolific

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

s, specializing in blockbuster

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

and

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

s like ''Commando'' and ''

''. He wrote some of the most successful films of the era, including '' 48 Hrs.'', '' The Running Man'', ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'', and '' Die Hard 2''. For Commando and Die Hard 2, DeSouza created the fictional latin american country Val Verde. He was frequently hired by studios as a

script doctor A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elemen ...

in order to rewrite preexisting screenplays during production to add more action and humor. He has been nominated twice for the

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

award, an award given to any piece of media for excellence in mystery writing. The first in 1984 for ''48 Hrs''. and again in 1989 for ''Die Hard''. De Souza also "won" the 1991

Razzie Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the Razzi ...

for Worst Screenplay for ''

''. He wrote and directed the 1994 video game adaptation ''Street Fighter'' after being introduced to the franchise by his son. Though the film received negative critical reception and failed to spawn an intended franchise, it has since become a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

in some circles. In 2000, he was honored with the

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

Award for Lifetime Achievement in writing. In 2004, he received the Dr. Bird award, which is given for achievement in the arts to people of Jamaican descent. De Souza appeared in the feature-length documentary '' Dreams on Spec,'' which profiled three aspiring screenwriters and featured comments from a number of distinguished writers like James L. Brooks,

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as ...

Carrie Fisher Carrie Frances Fisher (October 21, 1956 – December 27, 2016) was an American actress and writer. She played Princess Leia in the Star Wars original trilogy, original ''Star Wars'' films (1977–1983) and reprised the role in'' Star Wars: The F ...

, and him. His Web series '' Unknown Sender'' became a triple honoree at the 2009

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

s for Best Writing, Best Dramatic Series, and Best Individual Performance. In 2011, he teamed with ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' director Pete Michels for the Fox Network animated pilot "Spyburbia." De Souza has also written for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'' and ''

Premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

'', ''Empire'' magazine, ''Buzz'', and '' Fade In''.

Filmography

Film writer

Television

TV movies

Awards and nominations

Won * 2000 Norman Lear Award for Lifetime Achievement

References

External links

*
Short internet series
Dead Link {{DEFAULTSORT:De Souza, Steven E. 1947 births 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American screenwriters American writers of Jamaican descent American people of Portuguese descent American male screenwriters People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Film producers from Pennsylvania American television writers Pennsylvania State University alumni Film directors from Pennsylvania Living people American male television writers Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Writers from Philadelphia 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers