Edward James Solomon (born September 15, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for writing the screenplays to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Men in Black (1997), and Now You See Me (2013).

Ed Solomon
Born
Edward James Solomon

(1960-09-15) September 15, 1960 (age 64)
Occupation(s)Screenwriter, director, producer
Spouse
Cynthia Cleese
(m. 1995; div. 2011)
Children2

Career

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Solomon began his career in college as a joke writer, stand up comedian, and playwright. While still in college, he was a staff writer for Laverne & Shirley – making him (at the time) the youngest member of the Writers Guild of America. He then spent three years writing the cult Showtime TV series, It's Garry Shandling's Show, before venturing into feature films in the 1980s. He helped create and co-write the critically acclaimed comedies Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (with Chris Matheson). Solomon also worked on a number of hit franchise films, including Men in Black, Charlie's Angels, and then writing the Now You See Me films.

Solomon worked on an early version of a Universal The Invisible Man remake,[1] with Johnny Depp. In March 2016 he completed production on Mosaic, a 12-hour long-form TV project for HBO in collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh.[2] This production would mark the first in a series of collaborations with Soderbergh, including the neo-noir film No Sudden Move in 2021, and more recently, the crime series Full Circle, which premiered July 13, 2023.[3]

Personal life

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He married Cynthia Cleese, daughter of Connie Booth and John Cleese, in 1995.[4][5] They have two children and divorced in 2011.

Solomon is Jewish.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Writer Producer Director
1989 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Yes No Stephen Herek
1991 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey Yes Co-producer Peter Hewitt
1992 Leaving Normal Yes Associate Edward Zwick
Mom and Dad Save the World Story No Greg Beeman
1993 Super Mario Bros. Yes No Rocky Morton
Annabel Jankel
1997 Men in Black Yes No Barry Sonnenfeld
2000 What Planet Are You From? Yes No Mike Nichols
Charlie's Angels Yes No McG
2003 The In-Laws Yes No Andrew Fleming
Levity Yes Yes Himself
2009 Imagine That Yes Yes Karey Kirkpatrick
2013 Now You See Me Yes No Louis Leterrier
Rapture-Palooza No Yes Paul Middleditch
2016 Now You See Me 2 Yes Executive Jon M. Chu
2020 Bill & Ted Face the Music Yes Yes Dean Parisot
2021 No Sudden Move Yes No Steven Soderbergh

Acting credits

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure Stupid Waiter
1991 Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey "Stupid" Seance Member
1992 Leaving Normal Jerk in Bar As Edward Solomon
Mom and Dad Save the World Destroyer #13
2010 Barry Munday Doctor #2
2020 Bill & Ted Face the Music Stupid Demon

Other credits

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise Soundtrack Lyrics: "No on Fifteen"
2000 The Prime Gig Special thanks
X-Men Uncredited revision
2005 Paradise Now Special thanks
2008 Choke

Television

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1982–1983 Laverne & Shirley No Yes No 3 episodes
1986–1989 It's Garry Shandling's Show No Yes No 8 episodes;
Also script consultant
1990 The Dave Thomas Comedy Show No Yes No
1992 Arresting Behavior Yes No No
1999 The Unbelievables Yes Yes Yes Television pilot
2017–2018 Mosaic No Yes No
2023 Full Circle No Yes Yes

References

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  1. ^ Kit, Borys (February 9, 2016). "Johnny Depp to Star in Universal's "Invisible Man" Reboot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  2. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (September 24, 2015). "Steven Soderbergh To Direct 'Mosaic' Film For HBO With Garrett Hedlund And Sharon Stone". Indiewire. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 17, 2021). "Steven Soderbergh, Ed Solomon Re-Team for HBO Max Limited Series 'Full Circle' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  4. ^ Cate, Hans ten (February 12, 1997). "NEWS 1997_02_12 – John Cleese Shoots Daughter Cynthia". Daily Llama. Archived from the original on September 24, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "THE SOCIAL SCENE – A Cleese Wedding Held Away From the 'Fawlty' Line / British comedian's daughter marries in the Napa Valley". SFGate. September 18, 1995. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  6. ^ "Screenwriter Ed Solomon's Excellent Adventure". Jewish Journal. March 14, 2018.
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