Ronald Shusett

Ronald Shusett is known for writing and producing mostly high-profile science fiction film scripts, such as the "Alien" franchise and "Total Recall." With "Alien," directed by Ridley Scott, Shusett worked collaboratively with writer Dan O'Bannon, though Shusett came up with the concept for one of the most memorable and iconic scenes, in which an alien bursts through John Hurt's stomach. Though there were several sequels and crossovers, Shusett was only directly involved with "Alien vs. Predator"--a crossover idea that actually originated from a comic book, though Shusett wrote the original story for the script. O'Bannon and Shusett collaborated on the script and production on "Total Recall," an action sci-fi film directed by sci-fi auteur Paul Verhoeven that was critically very well-received and financially successful. Shusett wrote a sequel to this film, but it became so drastically modified by outside parties that it eventually became the neo-noir sci-fi film "Minority Report," directed by Steven Spielberg. Though almost none of Shusett's original ideas were left in the film, he acted as executive producer. In a fairly rare departure from more action-based films, Shusett and O'Bannon also wrote the screenplay for the horror sci-fi film "Bleeders," based on an H.P. Lovecraft novel about a monstrous and grotesque inbreeding family.