Jonathan Hensleigh

About Jonathan Hensleigh

Who is it?: Writer, Director, Producer
Birth Year: 1959
Alma mater: University of Massachusetts Amherst (1981) Tulane University Law School (J.D.)
Occupation: Writer, producer, director
Spouse(s): Gale Anne Hurd (m. 1995)

Jonathan Hensleigh

Jonathan Hensleigh was born on 1959, is Writer, Director, Producer. One of the most prolific screenwriters in the action/adventure genre, Jonathan started his career writing episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992) for George Lucas and ABC. He wrote Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995), re-conceived from his original spec script "Simon Says". He followed that with Jumanji (1995). His script for the The Saint (1997) was completely re-written by others. After this frustration, he enjoyed a long working friendship with producer Jerry Bruckheimer with whom he collaborated on many projects since 1996. He re-wrote the whole script for The Rock (1996) without credit, which he tried desperately to achieve via WGA arbitration.He did uncredited re-writes on Con Air (1997) and the remake of Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000) and received executive producer credits on both. Armageddon (1998), from Jonathan's original idea, was the second time Jonathan had the highest grossing film, worldwide, at the box office. The other was Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995).Jonathan's next projects are Gemini Man (2019) for Disney and The Punisher (2004) for Artisan/Marvel, which he will also direct in late 2002.
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Biography/Timeline

1981

Hensleigh graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1981 with a degree in history. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law, received his J.D. from Tulane University Law School, and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1985. Before moving into writing, he worked as an attorney for several years. At the age of 31 Hensleigh began writing scripts and screen plays. He had previously written a novel and a three-act stage play but did not go to film school.

1993

Hensleigh's start in the entertainment industry came writing episodes of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He received his first film credit in 1993's A Far Off Place, for which he wrote an early version of the script. His next two projects were Die Hard with a Vengeance and Jumanji, both of which were released in 1995. The Die Hard sequel was based on a spec script Hensleigh had originally conceived as a Brandon Lee action film before the actor's death, with the working title Simon Says. The script was considered for the fourth installment of the Lethal Weapon series before being picked up for Die Hard.

1998

Hensleigh worked with Bay again on the 1998 disaster film Armageddon, and officially received credit for the screenplay. He helped rewrite scripts for the Jerry Bruckheimer projects, Con Air (1997) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), receiving executive Producer credit for those. (This credits someone whose work on the film would otherwise go unacknowledged).

2004

Hensleigh made his debut as a Director with The Punisher in 2004, with the assistance of his wife, veteran Hollywood Producer Gale Anne Hurd. He co-wrote the script with Michael France, based on the Marvel Comics character The Punisher. Working on a tight schedule and with a relatively small budget, Hensleigh made a violent but restrained action movie that would be questionable to the spirit of the character.

2008

At one point, he was set to write and direct Hulk, working on pre-production of that film for a year before pulling out. Some unrealized projects Hensleigh has worked on include a Gemini Man film and sequels to Jumanji and The Punisher. As of October 3, 2008, Hensleigh is developing the series Red Mars, which is based on the novel of the same name for AMC.

2011

In 2011, Hensleigh wrote and directed Kill the Irishman, based on the book To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia, about the Cleveland mobster Danny Greene who was active in the 1960 and 1970s.

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