Michael France (January 4, 1962 April 12, 2013) was an American screenwriter. He is best remembered for writing the screenplays for ''

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

'' (1993), the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

film ''

GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond (lit ...

'' (1995), and the comic book films '' Hulk'' (2003), '' The Punisher'' (2004), and ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

'' (2005).

Early life

France was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a kid he loved comics and movies, which may have inspired him to write. He attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in the early 1980s, working as a projectionist at a small movie theater in Gainesville and participating in its programming. He earned a graduate degree from the film school at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

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 ...

Career

France moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, where he sold the script for ''

''. He later wrote the scripts for ''

'', '' Hulk'', '' The Punisher'', and ''

''. He also did some uncredited work on ''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an o ...

''. France bought the historic Beach Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida; built in 1939, the theater is known for its screening of

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

and

foreign film World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive d ...

Personal life

France lived in St. Pete Beach, Florida, with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children, Annabelle and Carolynn, twins, age 10 at the time, and Thomas, age 15. He died on April 12, 2013, after complications resulting from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

. He was 51 years old.

References

External links

*
The One-Page Screenplay: Michael France's Tips on Suicide Notes
Movieline.com article, June 22, 2009
Star Trek fans get ready for the big premiere
10Connects.com article (with video), May 8, 2009
Shop Local: Beach Theatre
The Daily Loaf article, December 11, 2008

'' St. Petersburg Times'' article June 14, 2008 *[https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1492000231.html?dids=1492000231:1492000231&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+8%2C+2008&author=ANDREW+DELONG&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=130&desc=THE+FRANCE+CONNECTION The France Connection] '' St. Petersburg Times'' article June 8, 2008
Hollywood meets 'Rocky Horror'
PoynterOnline.org article July 2, 2007

'' St. Petersburg Times'' article April 12, 2007 * ttp://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/08/Neighborhoodtimes/Local_screenwriter_bu.shtml Local screenwriter buys St. Pete Beach theater'' St. Petersburg Times'' article April 8, 2007
Floridian: Flexing his writer's muscle
'' St. Petersburg Times'' article June 20, 2003
IGN: 10 Questions: Mike France
June 19, 2003 interview
Countdown to 'Hulk': Screenwriter Michael France's Big, Green Vision
Comic Book Resources interview, June 16, 2003
Floridian: Riding Spider-Man's coattails
'' St. Petersburg Times'' article May 10, 2002
The Beach Theatre
Independent landmark movie theatre in St. Pete Beach, FL, owned by screenwriter Michael France. Built in 1939.
Newmarket Press biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:France, Michael 1962 births 2013 deaths American male screenwriters University of Florida alumni Writers from St. Petersburg, Florida Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Deaths from diabetes 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Florida