J. Michael Straczynski

Writer

J. Michael Straczynski

Born July 17, 1954 in Paterson, New Jersey, USA20 films

Joseph Michael Straczynski (/strəˈzɪnski/; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.

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Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was a co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009); he was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012) and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.

A prolific writer across a variety of media and a former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers, and Artisans.

Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show (see Babylon 5's use of the Internet). Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Description above from the Wikipedia article J. Michael Straczynski, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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The best way into J. Michael Straczynski's work
World War Z posterFirst watchWorld War Z20136.9A well-loved, accessible way into their work.Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging…View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

20 films
  1. TBAOne Second AfterWriter
  2. TBAHappy F*cking New Year.Writer
  3. TBALiminalGraphic Novel
  4. 2024Watchmen: Chapter IIAdaptation
  5. 2024Watchmen: Chapter IAdaptation
  6. 2023Babylon 5: The Road HomeWriter
  7. 2013World War ZScreenstory
  8. 2012Underworld: AwakeningScreenplay
  9. 2011ThorStory
  10. 2009Ninja AssassinWriter
  11. 2008ChangelingWriter
  12. 2007Babylon 5: The Lost Tales - Voices in the DarkWriter
  13. 2002Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in StarlightWriter
  14. 2000Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die ForWriter
  15. 1999Babylon 5: A Call to ArmsScreenplay
  16. 1998Babylon 5: The River of SoulsScreenplay
  17. 1998Babylon 5: ThirdspaceScreenplay
  18. 1998Babylon 5: In the BeginningScreenplay
  19. 1993Babylon 5: The GatheringScreenplay
  20. 1989The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeTeleplay