Ross LaManna is an American screenwriter and author. He is best known for creating the ''

Rush Hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English, Indian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice e ...

'' series 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

Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series '' Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990 ...

. His first novel, ''Acid Test'', was published in the U.S. and Canada by Ballantine Books. The geopolitical thriller was chosen as an Amazon.com "Penzler Pick" and as The Mysterious Bookshop's selection for "Best First Fiction". It was published in several foreign territories and as an audiobook. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in Los Angeles, graduating ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts in screenwriting, and also holds a Master of Arts from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in dramatic writing. He began in the entertainment industry working on international legal affairs at the independent studio

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

purchased a speculative script he had written while at Embassy, and soon thereafter he was hired by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

under a two-picture writing deal.

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that was founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna in 1976. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in th ...

later hired him under a unique, two-year "in-house screenwriter" arrangement, where he worked on a number of their projects. He has written original screenplays, adaptations or rewrites for Fox, Disney, Paramount, Columbia, Universal, HBO Films and many independent companies. He was Chairman of the Undergraduate and Graduate Film Departments at the

Art Center College of Design The ArtCenter College of Design is a private art college in Pasadena, California. It was incorporated in 1930 as a degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the visual arts and design. ...

in Pasadena, California from 2011 to 2024. He was also on the Board of Directors for the United States Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office. At Art Center, he brought in a number of notable filmmakers as part-time instructors, including the cinematographer

Affonso Beato Affonso Henrique Beato (born July 13, 1941) is a Brazilian cinematographer. Career He started his cinematic career during the 1960s, gaining international recognition with his work on Glauber Rocha's '' Antonio das Mortes'' (1969). He has serv ...

, ASC, the storyboard artist Tim Burgard, the director/producer

Jeremiah Chechik Jeremiah S. Chechik (born Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian film and television director and photographer. His feature work includes ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' (1989), ''Benny & Joon'' (1993), ''Diabolique (1996 film), Diabol ...

, the cinematographer

Allen Daviau John Allen Daviau (June 14, 1942 – April 15, 2020) was an American cinematographer known for his collaborations with Steven Spielberg on ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), ''The Color Purple'' (1985), and '' Empire of the Sun'' (1987). ...

, ASC, the screenwriter Doug Eboch, the director David Kellogg, the composer Dennis McCarthy, the title designer Dan Perri, the director/producer Richard Pearce, the entertainment attorney Lee Rosenbaum, the writer/director

Bobby Roth Robert Jay Roth (born 1950) is an American television and film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Born and raised in Los Angeles, Roth began his tertiary education at the University of California, Berkeley studying philoso ...

, the director/actor

Mark Rydell Mark Rydell (born Mortimer H. Rydell; March 23, 1929) is an American film director, producer and actor. He has directed several Academy Awards, Academy Award-nominated films including ''The Fox (1967 film), The Fox'' (1967), ''The Reivers (film) ...

, the producer/director John Suits, the director

Ron Underwood Ronald Brian Underwood (born November 6, 1953) is an American film and television director, known for directing such films as '' Tremors'' (1990), '' City Slickers'' (1991), '' Heart and Souls'' (1993),'' and Mighty Joe Young'' (1998). Early ...

and the editor

Billy Weber Billy Weber is an American film editor with several film credits dating from '' Days of Heaven'' (1978). One of Weber's first editing roles was as associate editor (as William Weber) on Terrence Malick's first feature as a director, ''Badlands'' ...

References

External links

* American male screenwriters Arizona State University alumni Living people USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Screenwriters from Arizona Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-screen-writer-stub