Screen Writer of Alien and Total Recall Dan O'Bannon Has Died of Crohn's

This information is from The New York Times via:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/movies/21obannon.html

Dan O’Bannon, whose screenplays for “Alien,” “Total Recall,” “The Return of the Living Dead” and other films made him a cult hero among science fiction aficionados, died on Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 63.

The Writers Guild of America confirmed his death. The cause was Crohn’s disease, a chronic gastrointestinal disorder that Mr. O’Bannon endured for 30 years, his wife, Diane, told The Los Angeles Times.

Mr. O’Bannon had an early start as a screenwriter when he and the director John Carpenter, students at the time at the University of Southern California film school, wrote the low-budget film “Dark Star,” which was released as a feature in 1974.

After working as a computer animator for the director George Lucas on “Star Wars” and trying, unsuccessfully, to develop a film based on the Frank Herbert novel “Dune,” Mr. O’Bannon created the story of “Alien” with the screenwriter Ronald Shusett and wrote the screenplay on his own.

The film, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver, is about a spaceship with a vicious monster loose onboard. (The creature begins as a parasite that explodes from a crew member’s chest.) It became a box office hit, a classic of science fiction and horror, and the progenitor of a lucrative Hollywood franchise, with its several sequels.

“I love gore films and I grew up with ’50s monster movies,” Mr. O’Bannon told the journal Cinefantastique in 1979, speaking of the film’s origins. “The idea for the monster in ‘Alien’ originally came from a stomach ache I had.”

In 1985 Mr. O’Bannon wrote and directed “The Return of the Living Dead,” part homage to the George Romero zombie film “Night of the Living dead” and part genre spoof. In 1990 he teamed with Mr. Shusett again, among others, to write “Total Recall,” a violent, futuristic tale set partly on Earth and partly on Mars and based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. It starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone.

Daniel Thomas O’Bannon was born in St. Louis on Sept. 30, 1946. He attended Washington University in St. Louis and MacMurray College in Abilene, Tex., before earning an M.F.A. from U.S.C.

His other screenwriting credits include “Blue Thunder” (1983); “Lifeforce” (1985) and “Invaders From Mars” (1986), both directed by Tobe Hooper (who directed “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Poltergeist”); “Screamers” (1995); and “Bleeders” (1997).

He also directed “The Resurrected” (1992), based on a story by H. P. Lovecraft, whom Mr. O’Bannon called “the greatest horror writer who ever lived.”

Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Adam.

Condolences go out to the family - Dan will live on in the hearts and memories of many people, as well as an incredible legacy.

R.I.P Joshua Coleman

I was on twitter this afternoon, and came across a user who had lost his good friends from Crohn's Disease. I asked him if I could share his friends story on CDSN, and he said yes. In memory of Joshua Coleman (this exert is from http://nerdyjustin.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/r-i-p-joshua-coleman-an...

early this morning, a friend of mine who is also living with Crohn's Disease passed away in the hospital. he had his wife and brother with him at the time. he has been living with Crohn's for 14 years and had made great progress in treatment. he has been a friend of mine for almost a year now, and was a great support when I needed it. he was doing so well, even got off of a few medications and was actually gaining weight. but over the past week he started having a lot of pain and became ill. I talked to him Wednesday while he was laying in his bed waiting for his wife to come home early from work to help him. he made a few jokes and said it’s just normal, which I agree it is from time to time. but he apparently was taken to the e.r. yesterday evening where he was emitted and passed away 7 hours later. he was a great guy and was always optimistic. I met him on a medical forum almost a year ago when I was whining about my own Crohn's problems and we became friends instantly. he even sent be a bottle of Protonix last February because I ran out and had no insurance. he was in much better condition than I was. he only had one major surgery from Crohn's and no longer needed infusions. but this came up out of no where and got him. so it doesn’t matter how well we treat it, doesn’t matter if we go into remission or get slightly more pain free, it can jump up and get us whenever it feels like it. it’s fucking Christmas and now his family has to deal with his loss. he was doing so much better than he was last year, and had planned on being there and able to eat Christmas dinner with his family. there is now an empty chair at the table because of this stupid disease. I’m more angry than upset right now, I just can’t believe it. I’ve never lost anyone from suffering from the same disease as I am and it’s really a bitch slap in the face, especially since I am not even at 50% efficiency as he was. all i can do right now is pray for his family. I need a cigarette and a drink. who cares if it’s bad for me, I really don’t care.

Thank You Justin MaHaffey for allowing me to post this.