Michael J. Wilson (born January 13, 1966) is an American screenwriter best known as the creator of the ''Ice Age'' movie franchise for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. He became the second sole-creator of an animated movie franchise that went on to generate over $1 billion from theatrical and ancillary markets after only one sequel.

Career

Wilson contributed creatively to the films ''

Little Giants ''Little Giants'' is a 1994 American family sports comedy film directed by Duwayne Dunham and written by James Ferguson, Robert Shallcross, Tommy Swerdlow, Michael Goldberg from the story by Ferguson and Robert Shallcross. The film stars R ...

'' and ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'', and for television he co-created and executive produced the CBS series ''

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

'' starring

Valerie Bertinelli Valerie Anne Bertinelli (born April 23, 1960) is an American actress and television personality. She began acting as a child actor, child and made her screen debut in a 1974 episode of Apple's Way, ''Apple's Way''. She gained wide recognition f ...

, Mathew Perry, and

Craig Bierko Craig Philip Bierko (born August 18, 1964) is an American actor. Early life Bierko was born in Rye Brook, New York, where, for a brief time, his mother Pat was president of The Harrison Players, a local community theatre. After graduating Bl ...

. After working in television, Wilson created the ''Ice Age'' movie franchise for 20th Century Fox where he became the first of several screenwriters on the project. In 2002 ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

'', starring

Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his role as Raymond "Ray" Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005), for which he won three Primetime Emm ...

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

, and

Denis Leary Denis Colin Leary (born August 18, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Born in Massachusetts, he first came to prominence as a stand-up comedian, especially through appearances on MTV (including the comedic song " Asshole") and th ...

, was a box office success, received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination, and became one of animation's highest-grossing movies. Following the release of ''Ice Age'', Wilson worked as writer on other family movies. He co-wrote the live-action movie ''

The Tuxedo ''The Tuxedo'' is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Kevin Donovan and starring Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt. It is a spy parody that involves a special tuxedo that grants its wearer superhuman abilities. It al ...

'' starring

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

and

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, producer and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel serie ...

as well as the animated film ''

Shark Tale ''Shark Tale'' is a 2004 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks. The film was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman, from a screenplay written by Letterman and Michael J. Wilson. The film features the vo ...

'' for DreamWorks. After its release in 2006 '' Ice Age: The Meltdown'', including theatrical markets (worldwide box office) and

ancillary market Ancillary markets are non-theatrical markets for feature films, like home video, television, Pay Per View, VOD, Internet streaming, airlines and others. History Before television, studios played their films in theaters exclusively. However, ...

s (home media, cable, merchandising, books,

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

theme parks An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, etc.), pushed franchise total revenues to over ten figures. Wilson subsequently collaborated on the animated Italian production of ''

Gladiators of Rome ''The Gladiators of Rome'' is a 2002 action strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous, decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almos ...

'' for Rainbow/Iginio Straffi, then returned to the ''Ice Age'' franchise as screenwriter for '' Ice Age: Collision Course'' (2016). Wilson also sold the original spec screenplay ''Samurai'' (aka ''Blood In Blood Out'') with Gavin O'Connor to Warner Brothers, about the drug cartel money laundering world. In 2017, Wilson wrote ''Crashing Star'', an action-adventure comedy, now in pre-production (2019) for media giant Dalian Wanda and producer Audrey Wu/Dorra Marr Cultural Media. In 2018 and 2019, he worked on an original musical drama motion picture with singer/songwriter/musician Jason Derulo & actress/dancer Ragon Miller to star Derulo.

Personal life

Wilson is married with children and resides in a community north of Los Angeles.

Filmography

* ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Ice Age: Collision Course'' (2016)

References

External links

*
Michael J. Wilson
at 20th Century Fox
Michael J. Wilson
on iTunes {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Michael J. American male screenwriters Blue Sky Studios people DreamWorks Animation people Living people Place of birth missing (living people) 1966 births