David Seltzer

David Seltzer during the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike

David Seltzer (born 1940) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director who is perhaps best known for having written The Omen, directing the 1986 comedy-drama Lucas starring Corey Haim, the 1988 comedy Punchline starring Sally Field and Tom Hanks, and the 1992 box office flop Shining Through starring Melanie Griffith and Michael Douglas, for which he won a Razzie Award as Worst Director.

Writing credits

Seltzer had an uncredited role in writing the screenplay of the 1971 musical film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The film credits the original book's author, Roald Dahl, as the sole screenplay adaptor, however it has been revealed that Seltzer rewrote 30 percent of Dahl's script, adding such elements as the "Slugworth subplot", music other than the original Oompa Loompa compositions (including "Pure Imagination", and "The Candy Man Can") and the ending dialog to the movie.

Seltzer's other writing credits include the novel Prophecy and the screenplays for the films My Giant, Six Weeks, Lucas, and Punchline, the latter two of which he also directed.

TV appearances

Seltzer was featured in The Dialogue interview series. In this 90 minute interview with producer Mike DeLuca, Seltzer explains why writing is like love-making and why there is no such thing as fiction, and why you don't win arguments with movie stars.

External links

• The Dialogue: Learn from the Masters Interview
• David Seltzer at the Internet Movie Database