Aaron Guzikowski is an American screenwriter. He is best known for writing the 2013 film '' Prisoners'' and creating the 2014 television series '' The Red Road''. In 2020, he created the

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series '' Raised by Wolves''.

Career

Guzikowski was raised in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Massac ...

. He was interested in

visual arts The visual arts are Art#Forms, genres, media, and styles, art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as ...

as a child and completed a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

with a major in film. He was unable to find any work in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

after graduation but began writing

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

s in his spare time while working other jobs with the help of a manager in

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. He conceived '' Prisoners'' in 2007 and completed a final draft in 2009. The script won several competitions and featured in The Black List, a survey of the most popular unproduced screenplays in circulation in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. After it was sold to

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, the project languished in

development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game en ...

for a number of years with interest from

Bryan Singer Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed. After graduating from the University of Southern California, Singer ...

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. He has received various accolades, includin ...

, and Leonardo DiCaprio at various stages. The film was ultimately realized in 2013, directed by

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, '' Incendie ...

and starring

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

and Jake Gyllenhaal. His next project was an adaptation of the 2008 Icelandic film '' Reykjavík-Rotterdam'' titled ''

Contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

''. He was hired by actor

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, thre ...

, who had once been attached to star in ''Prisoners.'' Although the script was written after ''Prisoners'', it was released a year earlier in 2012. He was approached by television producer

Sarah Condon Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

with an idea for a television series about the

Ramapough Mountain Indians The Ramapough Lenape Nation is a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey. They were previously named the Ramapough Mountain Indians (also spelled Ramapo), also known as the Ramapough Lenape Nation or Ramapough Lunaape Munsee Delaware Nation. They ...

, resulting in '' The Red Road'' for

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in 2014. The series ended after its second season in 2015. Guzikowski initially co-wrote '' Seventh Son'' for Warner Bros.; the project ended up at Universal, without credit for his work. In November 2014, Universal hired him to write a reboot of '' The Wolf Man''. In December 2015, he was in negotiations for a '' Friday the 13th'' reboot at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

which was ultimately cancelled. He is the creator and primary screenwriter of '' Raised by Wolves'', released in September 2020 on

as part of an overall deal with the network.

Personal life

Guzikowski is of Polish descent - his great-grandmother was from Poland. He moved to Los Angeles after selling his first script in 2009, and is married with three children. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

but is no longer practicing, although, he states "I often make connections to Catholic iconography or Bible stories".

Filmography

Film * ''

'' (2012) * '' Prisoners'' (2013) * '' Papillon'' (2017) Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guzikowski, Aaron Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male writers American male screenwriters American television writers Screenwriters from Massachusetts American male television writers Writers from Brockton, Massachusetts