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Jonathan R. Betuel. Writer: The Last Starfighter. Jonathan Betuel had his first Novel "The Dogfighter" published when he was 21. Shortly thereafter with friends at NYU Film School, he began reading screenplays. Expressive. Visual. Minimal.
- Producer, Writer, Director
- Jonathan R. Betuel
- So Transitioning from Writer to Writer/Director Felt Pretty Natural?
- Did You Think of Changing The Title at Any Stage to Combat Any Confusion?
- Is Luma Still Taking A Lot of Your Energy?
- What Stage Is The “Last Starfighter” Sequel at with Co-Writer Gary Whitta?
- Any Tidbits About The Story?
- So It Won’T Be Hard to Recapture That Innocent Magic in A Time of Such Cynicism?
I think writing is the key to directing for a lot of directors, like Jim Cameron and other people. If you start out as a writer it’s a difficult path but it’s cleaner in certain ways. You know your point of view and it’s a bit like ‘if you take a chance on me I’ll take a chance on you. You can help me hire the best people and I recognise that I’m t...
I think they brought in title experts to come up with alternate titles, but the other titles didn’t test as well as the one I’d given it, so they kind of backed off that. That was the studio machinery – once they get started on that you don’t have as much say as you think you do.
It’s still my baby, but it doesn’t take as much as it did and I’ve gone back to writing and have some things that may go forward, but what with the plague happening now, it’s kind of difficult.
It looks like we’ll be making the deal to get it going. Gary’s a gifted collaborator, we’ll be writing the script together but it’s taken a long time. I had to go through a process that took years to recapture the rights, but that was recently completed and although nothing is ever clear sailing, it looks like we have a really good opportunity now....
The leads are now parents and time has passed. It’s not a remake, it’s going to continue the story. What’s changed is time itself, certainly as the video world and the alien world have continued to tick away. It’s not a time capsule of the 80s by any means, we’re taking it to the next level. Passing the torch… or the joystick.
People still dream. People still long to be a hero in their own life and to those they love, whether their methodology is the same or different. The material everyone has in terms of wanting to do more in life and do more for others, I think is the story that fuels many movies. It has from the beginning.
Oct 20, 2020 · Well, get ready to go back once again, as one of the writers behind the cherished 1984 sci-fi adventure The Last Starfighter, Jonathan R. Betuel, has now offered a promising update on his...
- Reporter & News Editor
Jonathan R. Betuel. Writer: The Last Starfighter. Jonathan Betuel had his first Novel "The Dogfighter" published when he was 21. Shortly thereafter with friends at NYU Film School, he began reading screenplays. Expressive. Visual. Minimal.
Jun 7, 2024 · On this episode, Will chats with Jonathan Betuel, the writer of “The Last Starfighter,” about the origins of the film, his experience with arcade games, and whether a potential sequel is still in the works.
Mar 26, 2021 · The Last Starfighter Blu-ray. $23 at Amazon. Help defend the Frontier against Zur and the Kodan armada in this 1984 classic sci-fi adventure. View Deal. The sizzle reel teased the idea of many...
May 15, 2015 · The idea for Starfighter first came to a young New York advertising copywriter named Jonathan Betuel during one of his daily arcade trips in the early ’80s.
