Max Borenstein (born June 20, 1981) is an American screenwriter. He is best known for his work on the ''MonsterVerse'' film series featuring classic

Kaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the produc ...

's Godzilla mythos, including writing ''Godzilla'' (2014) and '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017), and contributing to the story of '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019) and ''

Godzilla vs. Kong ''Godzilla vs. Kong'' is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. A sequel to '' Kong: Skull Island'' (2017) and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019); it is the fourth film in Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, the 36th film ...

'' (2021). In 2022, he co-created the sports drama series '' Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'' on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

Life and career

Borenstein wrote, edited, and directed the 2003 film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' while a senior at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. The film starred Peter Cellini,

Zoe Kazan Zoe Swicord Kazan (; born September 9, 1983) is an American actress, playwright, and screenwriter. She made her acting debut in the film ''Swordswallowers and Thin Men'' (2003) and later appeared in films such as '' The Savages'' (2007), '' Revo ...

Fran Kranz Francis Elliott Kranz (born July 13, 1981) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his portrayal of Topher Brink in the science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse''. He had prominent roles in the films '' The Cabin in the Woods'' a ...

and Graham Norris, and featured ''

Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...

'' star

Sally Pressman Sally Pressman Bernstein is an American actress and dancer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Roxy LeBlanc on the Lifetime television series ''Army Wives'' (2007–2013). Early life Pressman was born Sally Pressman Bernstein in New Y ...

and ''

Midnight's Children ''Midnight's Children'' is a 1981 novel by Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, published by Jonathan Cape with cover design by Bill Botten, about India's transition from British colonial rule to independence and partition. It is a postco ...

'' lead

Satya Bhabha Satya Sorab Bhabha (born 13 December 1983) is a British actor known for his role as Matthew Patel in the 2010 film '' Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'' and his recurring role as Shivrang in '' New Girl''. Life and career Bhabha was born in London, E ...

. The film won Best Feature and Best Screenplay at the New York Independent Film Festival and was named Best First Feature 2003 by ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' critic Kevin Thomas. Borenstein's 2008 screenplay ''What Is Life Worth?'', based on

Kenneth Feinberg Kenneth Roy Feinberg (born October 23, 1945) is an American attorney specializing in mediation and alternative dispute resolution. He served as the Chief of Staff to Senator Ted Kennedy, Special Master of the U.S. government's September 11th Vi ...

's memoir of the same name, was included on The Black List, an annual list compiled by Hollywood executives of their favorite unproduced screenplays. On February 14, 2018, it was reported that he would produce his screenplay into film alongside

Michael Sugar Michael Sugar is an American film and television producer and principal at Sugar23, best known for producing '' Spotlight'', ''13 Reasons Why'', ''Maniac'' and ''The Knick''. Life and career Sugar attended the Armand Hammer United World Coll ...

Marc Butan Marc Butan is an American film producer and CEO at MadRiver Pictures, a Santa Monica, California-based motion picture production company. During his career, he has served as co-president at Sierra/Affinity, president at Panorama Media, president ...

, Sean Sorensen, and Bard Dorros, with director

David Frankel David Frankel (born April 2, 1959) is an American filmmaker. Most known as the director of 2006 film, '' The Devil Wears Prada'', he is an executive producer and the director of the first and fourth episodes of the Netflix miniseries '' Inventing ...

helming the project. It was ultimately directed by

Sara Colangelo Sara Colangelo is an American film director and screenwriter known for her films ''Little Accidents'' and '' Worth''. ''Filmmaker Magazine'' named her one of its "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2010. Colangelo graduated from Phillips Exete ...

under the title '' Worth''. His 2009 screenplay ''Jimi'', commissioned by

Legendary Pictures Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

and based on the life of guitarist Jimi Hendrix, was also included on The Black List. Borenstein has written and/or co-written additional projects for Legendary's

MonsterVerse The MonsterVerse is an American multimedia franchise and shared fictional universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other monster characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd. The franchise is produced by Legendary Pictures and co-produced a ...

, including ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produ ...

'', '' Kong: Skull Island'', and '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters''. He was hired to write ''Paladin'' for

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American Film studio, film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action featur ...

, and ''Mona'' for

New Regency Regency Enterprises (commonly referred to as Regency onscreen and copyrighting as Regency Entertainment (USA), Inc. in the U.S. and Monarchy Enterprises S.á.r.l. overseas) is an American entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was fou ...

. On May 4, 2017,

announced that Borenstein is one of four writers working on a potential pilot for a ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the firs ...

'' spin-off. In addition to Borenstein, Carly Wray,

Jane Goldman Jane Loretta Anne Goldman''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 11 June 1970) is an English screenwriter, author and producer. With Matthew Vaughn, she co-wrote the screenplays of '' Kingsm ...

, and

Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films '' L.A. Confidential'' and '' Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the film ...

are also working on potential pilots. Borenstein has been working and communicating with

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

, the author of ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, '' A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who in ...

'', the series of novels upon which the original series is based. Current ''Game of Thrones'' showrunners

D. B. Weiss Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R ...

and

David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of ''Game of Thrones'' (2 ...

would also be executive producers for whichever project is picked up by HBO.

Filmography

Film

Executive producer * ''Ascension'' (2008)

Television

Short films

References

External links

* American male screenwriters Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1981 births {{US-screen-writer-stub