Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946, New York City) is an author of dozens of fiction and non-fiction works and has had his works in more than 100 books. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Cinema from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1968. Foster's writing focuses primarily on science fiction and fantasy genres, although he has had some non-fiction published. Foster has had his works translated into over 50 languages.
In 1995, he wrote the novelization for the LucasArts video game, The Dig, based on an original idea by Steven Spielberg. He wrote the novelizations for Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), two films directed by J.J. Abrams. He also authored the novelization for the first three movies of the Alien franchise.
Biography
He wrote the novelization of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, as George Lucas' ghost writer, and the very first Expanded Universe novel: Splinter of the Mind's Eye. He later returned to Star Wars, first writing the Republic-era novel The Approaching Storm, and later the novelization of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.[1] and the short story "Bait" (published in Star Wars Insider 162).
In 2018, Foster posted an unofficial treatment for Star Wars: Episode IX on his website.[2]
After Disney bought Lucasfilm, Foster stopped receiving royalties from the novels written before the acquisition, including the novelization of the first Star Wars movie and Splinter of the Mind's Eye. A few years later, the same happened when Disney took control of 20th Century Fox, and didn't respect the contract between the author and the studio, for which he had written novelizations for the Alien franchise. In 2019, Foster seized the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Grievance Committee, which tried to settle the dispute. A year later, after encountering strong resistance from Disney, the SFWA decided to go public with the affair. Mary Robinette Kowal, SFWA's President, commented: "In my decade with the organization, the fact that we are forced to present this publicly is unprecedented."[3][4][5]
Bibliography
| Year | Title | Contribution(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization | Author | Uncredited |
| 1978 | Splinter of the Mind's Eye | Author | |
| 2002 | The Approaching Storm | Author | |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Author | |
| 2015 | "Bait" | Author | Published in Star Wars Insider 162 |
Sources
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Approaching Storm Interview and Excerpt on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
"Bookshelf" – Star Wars Insider 50- "Legendary Authors: Alan Dean Foster" – Star Wars Insider 156
- "50 Things to Notice in Star Wars: The Force Awakens" – Star Wars Insider 165
- "Adventures in the Audiosphere" – Star Wars Insider 201
Notes and references
- ↑ Osborn, Alex: Star Wars Celebration: Alan Dean Foster Writing The Force Awakens Novelization. IGN (archived from the original on October 20, 2017)
- ↑ Greenberg, Glenn: Star Wars writers predict how the Skywalker Saga will end (2019-12-10) on syfy.com published by syfy.com (archived from the original on September 25, 2020)
- ↑ Kowal, Mary Robinette: #DisneyMustPay Alan Dean Foster (2020-11-18) on sfwa.org published by SFWA (archived from the original on November 19, 2020)
- ↑ Flood, Allison: Star Wars author appeals to Disney in fight over royalties (2020-11-19). The Guardian (archived from the original on November 23, 2020)
- ↑ Lopatto, Elizabeth: Star Wars Novelist Says Disney Won't Pay Him Royalties it Owes Him (2020-11-19) on theverge.com published by Vox Media (archived from the original on November 23, 2020)
