Daniel H. Wilson (born March 6, 1978) is a New York Times bestselling author,[1] television host and robotics engineer. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. His books include the award-winning humor titles How to Survive a Robot Uprising, Where's My Jetpack? and How to Build a Robot Army and the bestseller Robopocalypse.
Early life
Daniel H. Wilson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma,[2] the elder of two children. He is Cherokee and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.[3]
Education
Wilson attended Booker T. Washington High School, graduating in 1996. He earned his B.S. in Computer Science at the University of Tulsa in 2000, spending one semester studying philosophy abroad in Melbourne, Australia at the University of Melbourne. He completed an M.S. in Robotics, another M.S. in Machine Learning, and his PhD in Robotics in 2005 at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His thesis work, entitled Assistive Intelligent Environments for Automatic Health Monitoring, focused on providing automatic location and activity monitoring in the home via low-cost sensors such as motion detectors and contact switches. He has worked as a research intern at Microsoft Research, the Xerox PARC, Northrop Grumman, and Intel Research Seattle.
In October 2010, How to Survive A Robot Uprising was re-optioned by Steve Pink (writer of the films High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank) and actor Jack Black.[6]
Bro-Jitsu
In May 2007 (before publication), Bro-Jitsu was optioned by Nickelodeon Movies (a subset of Paramount Pictures) and Wilson hired to write the screenplay.[7]
Robopocalypse
In November 2009, Wilson sold his novel Robopocalypse to Doubleday, with Jason Kaufman (editor of Dan Brown, among others) coming on as editor. One day before rights to the novel were purchased, Wilson sold film rights to DreamWorks SKG, with Steven Spielberg officially signing on to direct.[8] On March 7, 2018, Michael Bay replaced Spielberg as director over Spielberg's scheduling conflicts.[9]
Amped
In November 2010, Wilson sold his novel AMPED to Doubleday, again working with editor Jason Kaufman.[10] Film rights to the novel were sold to Summit Entertainment, with Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow, I, Robot) attached to direct.[11][12]
The Nostalgist
In 2014, Wilson's short story was adapted into the short film The Nostalgist written and directed by Giacomo Cimini. The short film premièred June 19, 2014, at the Palm Springs International Shortfest.[13]
Alpha
In 2014, it was announced that Lionsgate Studios has acquired the distributing rights to Wilson's screenplay for the upcoming sci-fi film Alpha. Anthony Scott Burns is attached to direct, and Brad Pitt is reportedly involved in production as well.[14]
Television host
Wilson hosted a series on the History Channel entitled The Works, which debuted on July 10, 2008. Ten episodes of The Works aired, in which Wilson explained the hidden workings of everyday items, including Sneakers, Guns, Beer, Garbage, Robots, Skydiving, Power Tools, Steel, Motorcycles, and Tattoos. He has also appeared as himself in Modern Marvels and Countdown to Doomsday.
References
^"Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - June 26, 2011 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^Dean, C (February 14, 2006). "If Robots Ever Get Too Smart, He'll Know How to Stop Them". New York Times.
^"Daniel H. Wilson's About page". Retrieved May 29, 2018.
^Fleming, Mike; Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 22, 2010). "Steven Spielberg Commits To Next Direct 'Robopocalypse'". Deadline. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^Kroll, Justin (March 7, 2018). "Michael Bay Sets '6 Underground,' 'Robopocalypse' as Next Two Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
^Deahl, Rachel. "Daniel H. Wilson: A Hollywood Favorite Awaits His Publishing Moment". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
^Fleming, Mike Jr. (December 1, 2010). "Summit 'AMPS' Book Deal For Alex Proyas". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
^Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 18, 2011). "Summit's Post-'Twilight' Chapter To Be Underwritten By Book Adaptations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
^"Futureshock". psfilmfest.org. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
^Kit, Borys (November 20, 2014). "Brad Pitt's Plan B Teams With 'Robopocalypse' Writer for Sci-Fi Thriller 'Alpha' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
External links
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