American screenwriters and producers
Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris
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Occupation(s)
| Screenwriter, producer
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Years active
| 1987?present
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Ethan Reiff
and
Cyrus Voris
are American
screenwriters
and
producers
. They are known for their work in both feature films and television.
Career
[
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]
1980s
[
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]
Reiff and Voris met while both were undergraduates at
New York University
's
Tisch School of the Arts
. Beginning in the late 1980s while still based in New York, they wrote - along with Mark Bishop - several scripts including
Slayer
and
Demon Knight
.
[1]
The latter became a popular spec script that saw considerable positive coverage in Hollywood for a number of years.
[1]
1990s
[
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]
The duo's first produced efforts came with rewrites on Rafal Zielinski's
Under Surveillance
(1991),
Albert Pyun
's
Brainsmasher...A Love Story
(1993), and the
Dolph Lundgren
vehicle
Men of War
(1994).
Demon Knight
Their spec script
Demon Knight
continued to draw interest from various studios before it was officially picked up by
Joel Silver
's
Silver Pictures
and was optioned to be third in a series of three
Tales from the Crypt
theatrical features.
[1]
Universal Pictures
executives thought the script had more potential than the other two scripts and the movie was quickly sent into production as the inaugural
Tales from the Crypt
feature with
Ernest Dickerson
directing.
[1]
The resulting film,
Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight
, was released in the United States in January 1995 and proved to be a box office success for the company, garnering just over $21 million at the domestic box office, earned mixed reviews from critics and over the years became a cult film.
[2]
[3]
Josh Kirby... Time Warrior!
While Universal was making
Demon Knight
, the duo were hired as screenwriters by
Charles Band
's
Full Moon Entertainment
where they developed a number of scripts. Their biggest endeavor for the company was
Josh Kirby... Time Warrior!
, a six-part film series developed for family audiences that followed the titular teen as he journeyed through time. Reiff and Voris created the overall arch of the series and scripted four of the entries themselves.
During this time the script for
Slayer
was also optioned and planned as the U.S. film debut for acclaimed Hong Kong film director
Ronny Yu
. However, after years of development, this film would not come to fruition.
[4]
The duo also contributed to the development of
Freddy vs. Jason
. They worked with producer
Sean S. Cunningham
and delivered several drafts before leaving the project.
[5]
Brimstone
During the summer of 1998, it was announced the duo had signed a developmental deal with
Warner Bros. Television
for a series titled
Brimstone
.
[6]
The premise revolved around a dead policeman, played by
Peter Horton
, who returns to life to collect escaped souls for the Devil, played by
John Glover
. The show debuted on October 23, 1998 on
Fox
. The show garnered good reviews and a solid audience, but was cancelled in 1999 after one season. In the ensuing years it has gained a cult following and is currently ranked number 13 on TvShowsOnDvd.com's list of unreleased shows that should be made available as of September 28, 2017
[update]
.
During this period they also worked on an unrealized project,
Camelot 3000
, for Warner Bros. and producer
Mark Canton
. This was an adaptation of the early 1980s limited
comic book series
written by
Mike W. Barr
and penciled by
Brian Bolland
.
In 1999, the duo wrote and produced the pilot
M.K.3
starring
Zoe McLellan
. A futuristic retelling of the story of
The Three Musketeers
featuring a female
d'Artagnan
, the pilot was developed by
Warner Bros. Television
and
Fox
, but remains unaired.
[7]
[8]
2000s
[
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]
Bulletproof Monk
The duo's first produced script of the new millennium was for
Bulletproof Monk
. The fourth U.S. feature for Hong Kong action star
Chow Yun-fat
, the film opened in April 2003 and earned $37.7 million worldwide.
[9]
Sleeper Cell
In 2004, the duo returned to television with the announcement of a new show called
The Cell
for
Showtime
, where they acted as both writers and executive producers.
[10]
The eventual show, re-titled
Sleeper Cell
, focused on a group of Islamic terrorists embedding in the U.S. and planning an attack on Los Angeles. The show debuted on December 4, 2005 and lasted for two seasons. The series garnered the duo the highest accolades of their career with over a dozen industry award nominations, including an Emmy nomination for
Outstanding Miniseries
.
[11]
Robin Hood
In 2007, a screenplay from the duo titled
Nottinigham
was purchased by Universal Studios and producer
Brian Grazer
in an auction for seven figures.
[12]
A retelling of the legend of
Robin Hood
, the script was re-developed and re-written to serve as the basis for the eventual
Robin Hood
, directed by
Ridley Scott
and starring
Russell Crowe
.
[13]
Kung Fu Panda
In 2008, the duo saw their biggest commercial success with the
DreamWorks Animation
family film
Kung Fu Panda
, based on their original story. As explained by Reiff, the final screenplay was a combined effort: "The story is pretty much exactly the story we wrote. The characters are the characters that we created. But the jokes and all the details came from the two guys from
King of the Hill
who got the screenplay credit, and they did an amazing job."
[14]
The film was released in the U.S. in June 2008 and earned $631 million worldwide.
[15]
The film soon blossomed into a large, successful
franchise
that includes three theatrical sequels, short films, a television show, and video games.
Also in 2008, the duo were brought on by
Warner Bros. Studios
and
Bruckheimer TV
as executive producers of
Eleventh Hour
.
[14]
A remake of a
UK television series
, it ran on
CBS
from October 9, 2008 to April 2, 2009.
[16]
2010s
[
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]
Legends
In 2014, the duo were brought on by
Fox 21 Television Studios
and
TNT
to serve as showrunners for the pilot and forthcoming series,
Legends
starring
Sean Bean
.
[17]
Reiff and Voris helped hire the writing staff and ran development, generating multiple episodic stories & teleplays, but left the series prior to production. The pair are credited as contributing writers on the first three episodes.
Knightfall
In 2018, Reiff and Voris joined the
History Channel
series
Knightfall
for the second season, which premiers in March 2019. In addition to writing several episodes, they also are Executive Producers on the series.
[18]
Developing projects
In 2010, the duo adapted
A. Lee Martinez
’s 2005 horror comedy novel
Gil’s All Fright Diner
into a screenplay for an animated feature for
Barry Sonnenfield
to direct at
Dreamworks Animation
.
[19]
In 2013, the duo sold the pitch and wrote a screenplay adaptation of
Daniel Nayeri's
short story
Wish Police
for
Reel FX
, to be directed by the Spanish animation producing-directing trio known as Headless.
[20]
In 2014, the duo again worked with Dreamworks Animation by writing several drafts of
Princess Mei Ying and the Eight Immortals
, an animation project inspired by the Ancient Chinese folktales of the
Eight Immortals
.
In 2015, the duo helped sell
Vlad, Son of the Dragon
- a historical retelling of the story of 15th Century Balkan Prince
Vlad Tepes
- to
A&E Networks
and
History Channel
, and wrote the pilot for the potential series.
2020s
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Filmography
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Tales from the Script, by Anthony C. Ferrante,
Fangoria Magazine
, No. 140, March 1995
- ^
Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris
at
Box Office Mojo
- ^
"Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight (1995)"
.
Rotten Tomatoes
. 13 January 1995.
Archived
from the original on 2019-03-26
. Retrieved
2018-12-15
.
- ^
Giving Away the Bride, by Matthew Kiernan,
Fangoria Magazine
, No. 178, November 1998
- ^
Freddy & Jason Go to Development Hell: Part One, by Anthony C. Ferrante,
Fangoria Magazine
, No. 226, September 2003
- ^
"With "Hollyweird" off Fox's schedule, the pressure is on "Brimstone"
"
.
Variety
. varietyultimate.com. September 11, 1998
. Retrieved
October 10,
2017
.
- ^
"Players"
.
Variety
.
Archived
from the original on July 25, 2021
. Retrieved
July 24,
2021
.
- ^
"Fox leaps into fall sked"
.
Variety
.
Archived
from the original on July 25, 2021
. Retrieved
July 24,
2021
.
- ^
"Bulletproof Monk (2003)"
.
Box Office Mojo
. Amazon.
Archived
from the original on 2011-05-14
. Retrieved
2010-06-01
.
- ^
"Showtime Climbing"
.
Variety
. 13 January 2005.
Archived
from the original on 2017-10-12
. Retrieved
2017-10-10
.
- ^
"2006 Primetime Emmy Awards"
.
IMDb
.
Archived
from the original on February 19, 2017
. Retrieved
April 13,
2013
.
- ^
"Scott set for 'Nottingham'
"
.
Variety
. 30 April 2007.
Archived
from the original on 2016-01-22
. Retrieved
2017-10-10
.
- ^
"Interviews in Sherwood: Ethan Reiff"
. boldoutlaw.com.
Archived
from the original on 2017-10-12
. Retrieved
2017-10-10
.
- ^
a
b
Real Science?, by Ian Spelling,
Starlog Magazine
, No. 370, November 2008
- ^
"Weekend Box Office Results for June 6?8, 2008"
.
Box Office Mojo
. June 8, 2008.
Archived
from the original on June 2, 2011
. Retrieved
May 30,
2011
.
- ^
"CBS PressExpress ? Eleventh Hour ? About the Show"
.
CBS
.
Archived
from the original on 2009-02-25
. Retrieved
2008-10-10
.
- ^
"Cyrus Voris & Ethan Reiff Join TNT Pilot 'Legends' As Showrunners"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. 20 December 2012.
Archived
from the original on 2017-10-13
. Retrieved
2017-10-10
.
- ^
"
'Knightfall' Gets Season 2 Premiere Date On History, First Trailer"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. 10 February 2019.
Archived
from the original on 2019-02-19
. Retrieved
2019-02-18
.
- ^
"Barry Sonnenfeld Adapting Gil's All Fright Diner for Dreamworks Animation"
.
/Film
. 17 December 2009.
Archived
from the original on 2017-10-12
. Retrieved
2017-10-10
.
- ^
"Cannes: IM Global Takes Reel FX's 'Wish Police' (EXCLUSIVE)"
.
Variety
. 5 May 2016.
Archived
from the original on 2019-04-26
. Retrieved
2017-10-10
.
External links
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]