Shane Black

Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American filmmaker and actor who has written such films as Lethal Weapon, The Monster Squad, The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, and The Long Kiss Goodnight. He is also known as the original creator of the Lethal Weapon franchise. As an actor, Black is best known for his role as Rick Hawkins in Predator (1987). He made his directorial debut with the film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005. Black went on to write and direct Iron Man 3 (2013), The Nice Guys (2016), and The Predator (2018). Early life and education Black was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Paul and Patricia Ann Black. His father was in the printing business, and helped Black get an interest in hardboiled fiction, such as the works of Mickey Spillane and the Matt Helm series. After living in the suburbs of Lower Burrell and Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, his family moved to Fullerton, California, during his sophomore year of high school. There he attended Sunny Hills High School and later UCLA where he majored in film and theater and graduated in 1983. Black had a long history writing comic strips, short stories, and journalism. During his senior year he decided to make a living from it once his classmate Fred Dekker showed him a science fiction script he did for an assignment. Black's older brother, Terry Black, also wrote short stories and decided to move into screenplays starting with 1988's Dead Heat, in which Shane has a cameo.