Daniel Waters

Biography

Daniel Waters got his start writing a popular column called "Troubled Waters" for his high school newspaper where he wrote fictitious stories about his real-life classmates, not unlike the writing that appeared in his "Heathers" screenplay. Such made him especially popular. His stories led to a career writing screenplays. He came to prominence in 1989 for writing the black comedy Heathers, for which he received a 1990 Edgar Award. "Heathers" was an attempt for him to write of the true nature of teenagers and high-school society. His later work didn't match the same trendsetting and definition. Over the next four years, he served as co-writer on the comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, scripted the sequel Batman Returns, and then wrote the films Hudson Hawk (for which he re-teamed with Heathers director Michael Lehmann) and Demolition Man. He received the "Worst Screenplay" Golden Raspberry Award for both Hudson Hawk and Ford Fairlane. In 2001, Waters made his directorial debut with Happy Campers, another teen comedy in a black vein that, after a long delay, was released straight to DVD. His follow-up, Sex and Death 101, a hybrid of science fiction, dark comedy, and romantic thriller, won the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director at the 2007 Seattle International Film Festival. It was released theatrically on April 4, 2008 in New York and Los Angeles. The film reteamed Waters with Heathers star Winona Ryder.