Paul Harris Boardman is an American screenwriter and film producer,[1] best known for his work in the horror genre. Boardman has also written other screenplays for various studios and production companies, including TriStar, Disney, Bruckheimer Films, IEG, APG, Sony, Lakeshore, Screen Gems, Universal and MGM.
Boardman grew up in the Appalachian region of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Sewanee with honors degrees in English literature and psychology. At Sewanee, he was the editor, a columnist, and a cartoonist for the university newspaper (The Sewanee Purple), and he played wide receiver on the football team. Boardman earned an M.A. in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University, and also studied at St John's College, Oxford, and the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.
After writing his first feature scripts while still a student at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Boardman began working with fellow screenwriter Scott Derrickson, working as a script doctor on Dracula 2000 and co-writing , and he also co-wrote and directed the second unit for Derrickson's directorial debut , a direct-to-video sequel to the long-running horror franchise. In the early 2000s, Boardman and Derrickson co-wrote an adaptation of the epic sci-fi Hyperion novels by Dan Simmons that had Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star and Martin Scorsese attached as director. Boardman was the co-writer and producer of The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Derrickson's critically praised second film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.[2] He has also worked on production rewrites of The Messengers, Scream 4, and Poltergeist. Boardman produced the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still for Fox.[3] He wrote and produced Devil's Knot, about the West Memphis Three, based on the book by Mara Leveritt, starring Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth and directed by Atom Egoyan. It had its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival, and was released in 2014.[4] In addition, Boardman wrote The Substitute for producer Sam Raimi, Mandate, and Columbia Pictures,[5] and he wrote a suspense thriller, The Living, for Lakeshore Entertainment, which he was also attached to produce.[6]
Boardman was co-writer and executive producer on Thunderstruck, a sci-fi drama pilot for AMC,[7] and he co-wrote and was attached to executive produce a drama pilot for MTV. Boardman also adapted Stephen King's The Tommyknockers for The Konigsberg/Sanitsky Company and NBC.
In October 2011, it was announced that Boardman would co-write the horror-thriller Two Eyes Staring for Summit Entertainment, starring Charlize Theron, who is also attached to produce.[8] In September 2012, it was announced that Boardman will adapt the James Patterson bestseller Guilty Wives for Maven Pictures, and he will also executive produce the film.[9]
Boardman co-wrote and executive produced the supernatural thriller Deliver Us from Evil for Screen Gems and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. It began filming in June 2013 and was released on July 2, 2014.[10] In October 2020, it was announced that Netflix had greenlit the supernatural horror series Archive 81, which Boardman wrote and developed based on the popular podcast created by Marc Sollinger and Daniel Powell, and Boardman will executive produce.[11]
Boardman's other screenplays in development include The Birds for Universal Pictures, Mandalay Pictures, and Platinum Dunes, and Tom Slick, Mystery Hunter for Storyscape Entertainment and Teakwood Lane Productions.
| Year | Film | Credit | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Love in the Ruins | Written by | Short film rowspan="2" | Co-wrote with Scott Derrickson |
| 2000 | ||||
| Written by, second unit director | Co-wrote with Scott Derrickson, direct-to-video | |||
| Dracula 2000 | Uncredited rewrite | Co-wrote with Scott Derrickson | ||
| 2005 | The Exorcism of Emily Rose | Written by, producer | ||
| 2007 | The Messengers | Uncredited rewrite | ||
| 2008 | The Day the Earth Stood Still | Producer | ||
| 2011 | Scream 4 | Uncredited production rewrite | ||
| 2013 | Devil's Knot | Screenplay by, producer | Co-wrote with Scott Derrickson | |
| 2014 | Deliver Us from Evil | |||
| 2015 | Poltergeist | Uncredited script work | ||
| 2016 | Cell | Special thanks | ||
| 2022 | Archive 81 | Writer, developed by, executive producer |