Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for co-writing the scripts to ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' (2007), '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' (2009), ''

Star Trek Into Darkness ''Star Trek Into Darkness'' is a 2013 American science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. It is the 12th installment in the ''Star Trek'' franchise ...

'' (2013), and '' The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014) with his writing and producing partner

Roberto Orci Roberto Gaston Orcí (July 20, 1973 – February 25, 2025) was a Mexican-American film and television screenwriter and producer. Born in Mexico City, Orci began his longtime collaboration with Alex Kurtzman while at school in California. Toge ...

, and directing and co-writing '' The Mummy'' (2017). He made his directorial debut with '' People Like Us'' (2012), co-written alongside Orci and Jody Lambert. Kurtzman is known, alongside Orci, for frequently collaborating with

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...

and J.J. Abrams, as well as co-creating the TV series '' Star Trek: Discovery'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', and '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds''.

Early life and education

Kurtzman was born into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. His longtime screenwriting partner

was his best friend in high school. Kurtzman attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Career

Kurtzman first teamed with Orci on the syndicated series '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', for the television unit of Pacific Renaissance Pictures, then operating out of Universal International. After they produced several storylines to cope with the absence of lead actor Kevin Sorbo following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

that Sorbo had suffered during the fourth season, Kurtzman and Orci, both aged 24, were placed in charge of the show. They moved into films after they were asked to rewrite

's '' The Island''. The film earned nearly $163 million at the worldwide box office, on a budget of $126 million, which was enough of a success that they were brought in to write Bay's ''

'', which earned $710 million. Though ''The Island'', ''Transformers'' and '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' were not particularly well received by critics, the three films earned a combined $1.7 billion. They co-created the Fox TV series ''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts and music * "The Fringe", or Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * Purple fri ...

'' in 2008 along with J. J. Abrams. After the pilot, Kurtzman served as consulting producer on the show for the remainder of its run. They then co-wrote the 2009 film ''

''. In 2011, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine described Orci and Kurtzman as "Hollywood's Secret Weapons" as, over the course of the previous six years, their films had grossed a combined total of over $3 billion at the box office. The partnership also wrote '' People Like Us'', originally known as ''Welcome to People'', which was Kurtzman's theatrical directorial debut. Kurtzman has frequently worked with a tight-knit group of film professionals which include J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Adam Horowitz,

, Edward Kitsis, Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner, and Bryan Burk. In April 2014, both Orci and Kurtzman confirmed to ''Variety'' that they would no longer work together on film projects; they added that they would still work together—but only on television projects. In 2018, Kurtzman signed a new five-year deal with

CBS Television Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount (Network) Television, as a re ...

to oversee and expand the ''Star Trek'' franchise on television, including serving as executive producer on '' Star Trek: Discovery'' (which he also co-showruns with

Michelle Paradise Michelle Paradise is an American writer, producer and actress. She created, wrote and starred in the short film ''The Ten Rules'' and the television series ''Exes and Ohs'', and subsequently became a writer and producer for the television series ...

), '' Star Trek: Short Treks'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', and '' Star Trek: Lower Decks''. In August 2021, Kurtzman and his production company Secret Hideout extended their overall deal with CBS Studios through 2026.

Personal life

In 2002, Kurtzman married Samantha Counter, the daughter of lawyer

Nick Counter James Nicholas Counter III (1940–November 6, 2009) was an American labor attorney, who served as the long-standing president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and as chief negotiator for the major studios who squared ...

Filmography

Film

Producer only * '' Eagle Eye'' (2008) * '' The Proposal'' (2009) (Executive producer) * '' Now You See Me'' (2013) * ''

Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...

'' (2013) * ''

Now You See Me 2 ''Now You See Me 2'' (also known as ''Now You See Me: The Second Act'') is a 2016 American heist film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Ed Solomon, based on a story by Solomon and Peter Chiarelli. It is the sequel to '' Now You See Me'' ( ...

'' (2016) * '' Rob Peace'' (2024) * '' Star Trek: Section 31'' (2025) * '' Now You See Me: Now You Don't'' (2025)

Television

Executive producer only * '' Transformers Prime'' (2010–2013) * ''

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

'' (2014) * ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

'' (2014–2018) * ''

Salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

'' (2017–2018) * ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing innate (inborn) elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to me ...

'' (2018–2019) * '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' (2020–2024) * '' Star Trek: Prodigy'' (2021–present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtzman, Alex 1973 births 21st-century American Jews Living people American male screenwriters American male television writers Television writers from California American showrunners American television directors Crossroads School alumni Film directors from Los Angeles Film producers from California Jewish American screenwriters Television producers from California Wesleyan University alumni Writers from Los Angeles