Ed Solomon
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Biography
An accomplished screenwriter and producer, Ed Solomon is probably best-known for the snappy dialogue and clever stories he brought to the original feature film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989) and the big-screen versions of "Men in Black" (1997) and "X-Men" (2000), both blockbuster movies based on popular comic books.
While studying economics at UCLA, Solomon developed two very important working relationships--one with Chris Matheson, with whom he would later co-write "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and its sequel "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" (1991), the other with a young comedian named Garry Shandling. Solomon's association with that performer led to his appointment as executive story editor on Showtime's highly acclaimed series "It's Garry Shandling's Show."
Solomon started his career selling jokes to Shandling and other comedians and writing plays. Upon leaving UCLA, he toured the country as a stand-up comedian and at the age of 21 joined the writing staff of the popular ABC sitcom "Laverne & Shirley" in the early 1980s. After his stint with "It's Garry Shandling's Show" in the mid- to late-1980s, Solomon and Matheson decided to try to bring to the big screen a pair of characters they had created in a college improv group. The writers sold their script and teenagers and young adults everywhere flocked to theaters to watch "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," a light-hearted romp featuring two California dudes (played by heartthrobs Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter) traveling through time. Solomon and Matheson reunited in 1991 for the charming, yet less successful sequel "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," which the writers also co-produced. Solomon followed that effort up with screenplays for the poorly received "Leaving Normal" (1992) and "Super Mario Bros." (1993). He hit pay dirt in 1995, however, when he penned the script for the blockbuster summer movie "Men in Black," which was based on the Malibu comic book series and starred Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. Seemingly most comfortable and successful crafting fantasy-themed comedies, the screenwriter made a foray into darker territory in 2000 when he co-wrote the script for "X-Men," another feature film based on a comic book series. That same year he also lent his talents to the Garry Shandling turkey "What Planet Are You From?" and the feature film production of "Charlie's Angels."
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1986
Hired as a writer on "It's Garry Shandling's Show" (Showtime) for three seasons; also served as executive story editor
1989
First collaboration with Chris Matheson, co-wrote screenplay for blockbuster teen comedy "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"; also made cameo appearance as a waiter
1991
Co-wrote (with Matheson) the sequel "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey"; also acted and served as associate producer with Matheson
1992
Scripted and co-produced the poorly received "Leaving Normal"; directed by Edward Zwick
1993
Wrote screenplay for "Super Mario Bros," based on the video game of the same name
1997
Penned the smash hit movie "Men in Black," based on the Malibu comic book series
2000
Co-wrote the screenplay for Shandling's big-screen bomb "What Planet Are You From"?
2000
Did uncredited work on the script for "X-Men"
2000
Co-scripted the feature film version of "Charlie's Angels"; directed by McG and co-starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz
2003
Made feature directing debut with "Levity"; also wrote and produced
2003
Penned the remake of "The In-Laws," starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks
2009
Wrote and produced the comedy film "Imagine That" with Eddie Murphy
Family
Companions
