David Webb Peoples (born February 9, 1940) is an American screenwriter who wrote ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick' ...

'' (1982), ''

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...

'' (1992), and ''

12 Monkeys ''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam, inspired by Chris Marker's 1962 short film '' La Jetée'', starring Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, and Brad Pitt, with Christopher Plummer and David Morse in ...

'' (1995). He was nominated for Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards. He won the best screenplay awards from the L.A. Film Critics (1991) and National Society of Film Critics (1992) for ''Unforgiven''.

Early life

Peoples was born in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of Ruth Clara (née Levinger) and Joe Webb Peoples, a geologist. He studied English at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

Career

Peoples worked as a film editor in the 1970s while writing screenplays, but his writing career took off after he was hired as co-writer on ''

'' after director Ridley Scott and screenwriter

Hampton Fancher Hampton Lansden Fancher (born July 18, 1938) is an American actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker, best known for co-writing the 1982 neo-noir science fiction film ''Blade Runner'' and its 2017 sequel '' Blade Runner 2049,'' based on the novel '' ...

parted ways. Following the success of Blade Runner, Peoples worked on '' Ladyhawke'' (1985) and ''

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

'' (1989). During the 1980s, Peoples wrote a script based on

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' Sgt. Rock series. Arnold Schwarzenegger was picked to play the title role; the project was revived three decades later in 2010 involving

Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...

and

Easy Company E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", is a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the p ...

, although with the expectation to set the narrative in a place other than the battlefields of World War II to distinguish the project from the earlier script. Other Peoples' screenplays were purchased during the 1980s, many after studio development prior to production: ''

'', ''

Soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

'', and ''

The Blood of Heroes ''The Salute of the Jugger'' (also released as ''The Blood of Heroes'' in the United States) is a 1989 Australian-American post-apocalyptic film written and directed by David Webb Peoples, produced by Charles Roven, and starring Rutger Hauer, ...

''. The Blood of Heroes was directed by Peoples, and starred

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...

. Peoples received his greatest recognition for ''Unforgiven'' (1992). He wrote the script in 1976, titled ''The William Munny Killings'' and appearing in theaters in 1992. Peoples'

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

'' also appeared in 1992. Later in 1992, Peoples worked with his wife Janet Peoples on ''

'' (1995), a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

fable about

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

inspired by Chris Marker's experimental short film ''

La Jetée ''La Jetée'' () is a 1962 French science fiction featurette directed by Chris Marker and associated with the Left Bank artistic movement. Constructed almost entirely from still photos, it tells the story of a post-nuclear war experiment in tim ...

''. In 1998, ''Soldier'' was filmed by British director

Paul W. S. Anderson Paul William Scott Anderson (born 4 March 1965) is an English filmmaker who regularly works in science fiction films and video game adaptations. Anderson made his feature film debut with the British independent film '' Shopping'' (1994), a ...

, although it was re-written by Anderson.

Filmography

As of February 2015, Peoples has thirteen writing credits (ten for original screenplays, two for stories, and one for source material), as well as five credits for editing, and three credits for directing. *'' The Day After Trinity'' (1980) (writer, with Janet Peoples, Jon Else; editor) *''

'' (with

) (1982) *'' Ladyhawke'' (with

Tom Mankiewicz Thomas Frank Mankiewicz (June 1, 1942 – July 31, 2010) was an American screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television whose credits included ''James Bond'' films and his contributions to '' Superman: The Movie'' (1978) a ...

, Michael Thomas and Edward Khmara) (1985) *''

'' (with

Jeb Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials o ...

) (1989) *''

'' (aka ''Salute of the Jugger'') (1989; also directed) *''

Fatal Sky ''Fatal Sky'' (a.k.a. ''Project Alien'') is a 1990 science fiction thriller film. The script was alternately known as ''No Cause for Alarm'', ''Deadfall'' and ''Vanished'' in its initial preproduction stages. It was an American/ British/ Australi ...

'' (1990) (as "Anthony Able") *''

'' (1992) *''

'' (with Janet Peoples) (1995) *''

'' (1998)

Awards

Peoples' highest accolades are for ''

''. It received

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

, Golden Globe and

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

nominations, and won L.A. Film Critics (1991) and

National Society of Film Critics The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...

(1992) awards for best screenplay. Peoples was presented with the Distinguished Screenwriter Award at the 2010 Austin Film Festival.

References

External links