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D. B. Weiss

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D. B. Weiss
Weiss in 2016
Born
Daniel Brett Weiss

(1971-04-23) April 23, 1971 (age 53)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
EducationWesleyan University (BA)
Trinity College Dublin (MPhil)
University of Iowa (MFA)
Occupations
  • Television producer
  • writer
SpouseAndrea Troyer
Children2

Daniel Brett Weiss (/waɪs/; born April 23, 1971)[1] is an American television writer and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known for co-creating Game of Thrones (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R. Martin's series of books A Song of Ice and Fire.

Early life

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Weiss was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. His family is Jewish, with ancestral roots in Germany.[2] He graduated from Wesleyan University and earned a Master of Philosophy in Irish literature from Trinity College Dublin, where he wrote his thesis on James Joyce's Finnegans Wake,[3] "Understanding the (Net) Wake."[4] He later earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[5]

Career

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Weiss worked as personal assistant on films such as The Viking Sagas for New Line Cinema. For a brief period, he also worked as a personal assistant for musician Glenn Frey.[3] Weiss went to Dublin in 1995 to study Anglo-Irish literature and met David Benioff, the screenwriter of Troy. Three years later, around 1998, they met again in Santa Monica, California.[3]

Weiss and Benioff co-wrote a screenplay for a film titled The Headmaster, but it was never made.[3] In 2003, they were hired to collaborate on a new script of Orson Scott Card's book Ender's Game, in consultation with the then-designated director Wolfgang Petersen.[6][7] It was not used.[8]

Weiss's 2003 debut novel, Lucky Wander Boy, is themed around video games. In 2006, he said he had written a second novel that "needs a second draft".[9] The same year, Weiss completed a screenplay for a film adaptation of the video game series Halo, based on a script by Alex Garland,[10][11] but director Neill Blomkamp declared the project dead in late 2007.[12]

Weiss also worked on a script for a prequel to I Am Legend,[13] but in May 2011, director Francis Lawrence said that he did not think the prequel would ever happen.[14]

Weiss collaborated with Benioff on the HBO television series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire.[15] Benioff and Weiss also directed three episodes together. For the first two, they flipped a coin to decide who would get the credit on the show. Weiss received directing credit for "Two Swords", Season 4 episode 1, while Benioff was credited for "Walk of Punishment", Season 3 episode 3.[3] Benioff and Weiss were both credited for co-directing the series finale, "The Iron Throne".

On July 19, 2017, Weiss announced that he and Benioff were going to begin production on another HBO series, Confederate, after the final season of Game of Thrones. Weiss and Benioff said, "We have discussed Confederate for years, originally as a concept for a feature film, but our experience on Thrones has convinced us that no one provides a bigger, better storytelling canvas than HBO."[16] In January 2020, HBO President Casey Bloys confirmed that the project had been officially canceled.[17]

On February 6, 2018, Disney announced that Weiss and Benioff would write and produce a new series of Star Wars films after the last season of Game of Thrones ended in 2019.[18] Toward the end of the last season, a petition to HBO was started on Change.org. It described showrunners Benioff and Weiss as "woefully incompetent writers" and demanded "competent writers" to remake the eighth season of Game of Thrones in a manner "that makes sense".[19] The petition eventually amassed over 1.5 million signatures.[20] In the Chicago Sun Times, Richard Roeper wrote that the backlash to the eighth season was so great that he doubted he had "ever seen the level of fan (and to a lesser degree, critical) vitriol leveled at" Game of Thrones.[21]

In early 2019, Weiss and Benioff entered into an exclusive $200 million deal with Netflix to produce several films and television shows exclusively for it.[22][23] In late October 2019, it was reported that Weiss and Benioff had exited their deal with Disney due to their commitments to Netflix.[24][25][26]

Weiss and Benioff's first project on Netflix were as directors of Leslie Jones's stand-up comedy special Time Machine.[27]

In September 2020, it was announced that Weiss, Benioff and Alexander Woo would write and executive produce the Netflix series 3 Body Problem based on the similarly named Chinese novel series.[28]

Personal life

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Weiss and his wife, Andrea Troyer, have two children.[29]

Bibliography

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Author

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Title Year Type
Lucky Wander Boy 2003 Novel

Filmography

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Film

Year Title Writer Producer
2022 Metal Lords Yes Yes

Television

Year Title Director Writer Executive
Producer 		Creator Notes
2011–2019 Game of Thrones Yes Yes Yes Yes Directed and wrote episodes "Two Swords" and "The Iron Throne"
Wrote 45 episodes
2013–2017 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia No Yes No No Wrote episode "Flowers for Charlie"
Cameo as "Bored Lifeguard #2" (In episode "The Gang Goes to a Water Park")
2014 The Specials No No Yes No
2020 Leslie Jones: Time Machine Yes No No No TV special;
Co-director with David Benioff
2021 The Chair No No Yes No
2024 3 Body Problem No Yes Yes Yes Wrote 4 episodes

Awards and nominations

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Year Title Award/Nominations
2011–2019 Game of Thrones Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series (2015,2016,2018 and 2019)[30]
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (2015-2016)[30]
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (2012)[31]
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (2013-2014)[32][33]
Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Drama (2015)[34]
Golden Nymph Awards for Outstanding International Producer (2012)[35]
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series (2011-2014)[30]
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (2011-2014)[30]
Nominated—Producers Guild of America Award for Best Episodic Drama (2011-2014, 2016, 2018)[36][37][38][39][40][41]
Nominated—BAFTA for Best International Programme (2013)[42]
Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Dramatic Series (2011-2012, 2014–2016, 2018)[43][44][45][46][47][48]
Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama (2015-2016)[46][47]
Nominated—Writers Guild of America Award for New Series (2011)[43]
Nominated—Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (2015, 2017)[49][50]
Nominated—USC Scripter Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2016-2017)[51][52]
Nominated—Humanitas Prize for 60 Minute Network or Syndicated Television (2017)[53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "D.B. Weiss Biography". StarPulse. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "The Jewish legacy behind Game of Thrones". Times of Israel.
  3. ^ a b c d e "The Surprising Connection Between Game of Thrones and Monty Python". Vanity Fair. March 24, 2014.
  4. ^ Weiss, D.B. (1995). ""Understanding the (Net) Wake"". The Modern Word. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "Bio". Lucky Wander Boy. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  6. ^ "Game of Thrones: Interview with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss". HBO. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "DB Weiss talks Halo". Writerswrite.com. July 19, 2006. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  8. ^ "Card talks Ender's Game movie". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. April 18, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  9. ^ "GameSetInterview: Halo Screenwriter DB Weiss". GameSetWatch. July 13, 2006. Archived from the original on September 11, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  10. ^ Miller, Ross (July 14, 2006). "DB Weiss takes on Halo script". Joystiq. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  11. ^ Fritz, Ben (October 31, 2006). "No home for Halo pic". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
  12. ^ Farrell, Nick (October 9, 2007). "Halo movie canned". The Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ "I Am Legend prequel in the works". UPI.com. September 26, 2008. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  14. ^ "Exclusive: 'I Am Legend Prequel' is Dead, Says Francis Lawrence". MTV Movies blog. May 3, 2011. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  15. ^ Fleming, Michael (January 16, 2007). "HBO turns Fire into fantasy series". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2011.
  16. ^ Hibberd, James (July 19, 2017). "Game of Thrones showrunners reveal their next epic HBO series". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
  17. ^ Ausiello, Michael (January 15, 2020). "Confederate Officially Axed: HBO Confirms Controversial Slavery Drama From Game of Thrones EPs Is Dead". TVLine. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  18. ^ Brenican, Anthony (February 6, 2018). "Game of Thrones creators developing new Star Wars films". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  19. ^ Multiple sources:
    1. "Game of Thrones petition: 500,000 demand series eight remake". BBC News. May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
    2. McCarthy, Tyler (May 16, 2019). "'Game of Thrones' fans are petitioning HBO to remake the last season 'with competent writers'". Fox News. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
    3. "'This was abysmal': Nearly 1 million disgruntled 'Game of Thrones' fans demand a final season remake". The Washington Post. May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
    4. Fieldstadt, Elisha (May 16, 2019). "Nearly 800,000 'Game of Thrones' fans sign petition for remake of season 8". NBC News. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
    5. Jancelewicz, Chris (May 15, 2019). "More than 1 million upset 'Game of Thrones' fans sign petition to remake Season 8". Global News. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  20. ^ Staples, Louis. "Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Lost – why is it so hard for TV shows to pull off the perfect ending?". The Independent. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  21. ^ Roeper, Richard (May 19, 2019). "'Game of Thrones' finale review: Enthralling series comes to a satisfying end". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  22. ^ Munzenrieder, Kyle (August 8, 2019). "What Will David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Bring to Netflix For $200 Million?". W. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  23. ^ Statt, Nick (August 7, 2019). "Game of Thrones creators sign $200 million Netflix deal to make exclusive shows and films". The Verge. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  24. ^ Boucher, Geoff (October 29, 2019). "'Star Wars' Setback: 'Game Of Thrones' Duo David Benioff & D.B. Weiss Exit Trilogy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  25. ^ "Game of Thrones creators Benioff and Weiss drop Star Wars movies for Netflix". The Guardian. October 29, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  26. ^ Byford, Sam (October 29, 2019). "Game of Thrones showrunners quit Star Wars trilogy to work on Netflix projects". The Verge. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  27. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (December 19, 2019). "'Leslie Jones gets a Game of Thrones-themed trailer for Netflix special Time Machine". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  28. ^ Otterson, Joe (September 1, 2020). "'Three-Body Problem' Series From David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Alexander Woo Set at Netflix". Variety. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  29. ^ "Andrea Troyer: Game Of Thrones D.B Weiss' Wife". Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  30. ^ a b c d "Game of Thrones". Emmys.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  31. ^ "2012 Hugo Award Winners". thehugoawards.org. World Science Fiction Society. September 2, 2012. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  32. ^ "2013 Hugo Award Winners". thehugoawards.org. World Science Fiction Society. September 1, 2013. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  33. ^ "2014 Hugo Award Winners". thehugoawards.org. World Science Fiction Society. August 17, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  34. ^ "'Big Short' takes home top prize at Producers Guild of America awards". Fox News. January 24, 2016. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  35. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (June 14, 2012). "HBO's 'Game of Thrones,' 'Game Change' Win Top Prizes at Monte Carlo TV Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  36. ^ "PGA Announced Theatrical Motion Picture and Long-Form Television Nominations for 2012 PGA Awards". TVLine. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  37. ^ Chitwood, Adam (November 28, 2012). "Homeland, Game of Thrones, Modern Family, and Louie Lead Television Nominations for 2013 Producers Guild Awards". Collider. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  38. ^ "TV Nominees For PGA Awards Unveiled". Deadline Hollywood. December 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  39. ^ "'American Sniper,' 'Birdman' & 'Boyhood' Among PGA Awards Nominees". Deadline Hollywood. January 5, 2015. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  40. ^ DeSantis, Rachel (January 5, 2017). "People v. O.J., Stranger Things score Producers Guild Award nominations". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  41. ^ Dupre, Elyse (January 5, 2018). "2018 Producers Guild Award Nominations: The Full List of Film and TV Nominees". E! News. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  42. ^ "Television in 2013". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 2013. Archived from the original on April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  43. ^ a b A. Fernandez, Jay (February 19, 2012). "Writers Guild Awards: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  44. ^ "WGA Announces TV Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  45. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 4, 2014). "Writers Guild TV Nominations: 'True Detective' & 'Louie' Lead Way, Amazon Breaks Through With 'Transparent'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  46. ^ a b McNary, Dave (February 13, 2016). "WGA Honors 'Big Short,' 'Spotlight,' 'Mad Men' at 68th Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  47. ^ a b O'Connell, Michael (December 5, 2016). "WGA TV Nominations Include 'Westworld,' 'This Is Us' and 'Stranger Things'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 6, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  48. ^ Littleton, Cynthia. "Writers Guild Award TV Nominations: 'The Americans,' 'Handmaid's Tale,' 'GLOW' Grab Multiple Mentions". Variety. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  49. ^ "2015 Nominations". thehugoawards.org. World Science Fiction Society. April 4, 2015. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  50. ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (April 4, 2017). "Here are the 2017 Hugo Award nominees". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  51. ^ THR Staff (January 7, 2016). "USC Scripter Awards Unveils Film Nominations, Expands into TV". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  52. ^ McNary, Dave (January 11, 2017). "'Arrival,' 'Fences,' 'Game of Thrones' Earn USC Scripter Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  53. ^ "'Game of Thrones,' 'Black-ish' Top Humanitas Prize Finalists". Variety. January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
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