Jonathan Blair Hensleigh (born February 13, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, working primarily in the action-adventure genre, best known for writing films such as Jumanji, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and Armageddon, as well as making his own directorial debut with the 2004 comic book action film The Punisher.
Early life Hensleigh graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1981 with a degree in history.Carey, Mary. "True to their school". UMass Magazine, Winter 1999. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law, earned his J.D. from Tulane University Law School, and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1985. Before transition into writing, he worked as an attorney for seven years.
At the age of 31, Hensleigh began writing scripts and screenplays. He had previously written a novel and a three-act stage play but did not go to film school.
Movie career Hensleigh's start in the entertainment industry came writing episodes of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. He received his first film credit in 1993's A Far Off Place, for which he wrote an early version of the script.Marx, Andy. "Just Far Away: An Adventure in Adventureland", Los Angeles Times, July 19, 1992, p. 24. His next two projects were Die Hard with a Vengeance and Jumanji, both of which were released in 1995. The Die Hard sequel was based on a spec script Hensleigh had originally conceived as a Brandon Lee action film before the actor's death, with the working title Simon Says. The script was considered for the fourth installment of the Lethal Weapon series before being picked up for Die Hard.
Hensleigh participated in writing for The Rock, which became the subject of a dispute with the Writers Guild of America. In this case, the spec script (by David Weisberg and Douglas Cook) was reworked by several writers, but other than the original team, Mark Rosner was the only one granted official credit by guild arbitration. Despite their work on the script, neither Hensleigh nor Aaron Sorkin were credited in the film. The director Michael Bay wrote an open letter of protest, in which he criticized the arbitration procedure as a "sham" and a "travesty". He said Hensleigh had worked closely with him on the movie and should have received screen credit.Welkos, Robert W. "'Cable,' 'Rock' in Disputes on Writing Credits". Los Angeles Times, May 21, 1996, p. 1.
Hensleigh worked with Bay again on the 1998 disaster film Armageddon, and officially received credit for the screenplay. He helped rewrite scripts for the Jerry Bruckheimer projects, Con Air (1997) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), receiving executive producer credit for those.
Hensleigh made his debut as a director with The Punisher in 2004, with the assistance of his wife, veteran Hollywood producer Gale Anne Hurd. He co-wrote the script with Michael France, based on the Marvel Comics character The Punisher. The film was shot on a tight schedule and with a relatively small budget.Olsen, Mark. "Just call him 'The Punisher'", Los Angeles Times, April 11, 2004, p. E8.
At one point, he was set to write and direct Hulk, working on pre-production of that film for a year before pulling out. Some unrealized projects Hensleigh has worked on include a Gemini Man film and sequels to Jumanji and The Punisher. As of October 3, 2008, Hensleigh was developing the series Red Mars, which is based on the novel of the same name for AMC.AMC Plans Mars Mission
In 2011, Hensleigh wrote and directed Kill the Irishman, based on the book To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia, about the Cleveland mobster Danny Greene who was active in the 1960s and 1970s."Ray Stevenson Is The Irishman", EmpireOnline
Filmography YearTitleDirectorWriterNotes 1992–1995 The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Television series (5 episodes) 1993 A Far Off Place 1995 Die Hard with a Vengeance Jumanji 1997 The Saint 1998 Armageddon Also executive producer 2004 The Punisher Directorial debut 2007 Next Welcome to the Jungle Also cinematographer; direct-to-video 2011 Kill the Irishman 2021 The Ice Road 2025 Ice Road: Vengeance
Executive producer only Con Air (1997) Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
Uncredited writing works The Rock (1996) Con Air (1997) Virus (1999) Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) Gemini Man (2019)
References
External links
Newsarama interview with Jonathan Hensleigh New York Times Filmography Hensleigh's Massachusetts Bar record