Flint Dille
Encyclopedia
Flint Dille is a screenwriter, game designer, and novelist. He is best known for his animated work on Transformers
, G.I. Joe
, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
, and his game-writing, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
, and Dead to Rights
, as well as his non-fiction book written with John Zuur Platten.
. In 1977, he graduated from U.C. Berkeley
with a Bachelors degree in Ancient History and Classical Rhetoric. He received a Master of Fine Arts
in Professional Writing (Cinema) from the University of Southern California
. He lives in Los Angeles, California
.
Flint Dille is the grandson of John F. Dille, publisher of the original Buck Rogers
comic strip, and is part of the Dille Family Trust, which owns the rights to the character.
and Visionaries
. After that, Dille worked briefly at CBS on the in-house production of Garbage Pail Kids, before working with Amblin' on several projects, including Feivel Goes West, Tiny Toons (as a movie), We're Back and various other projects.
TSR and Dungeons & Dragons
At the same time as his animation career was beginning, Dille met Gary Gygax
, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons
, and they began collaborating on a number of projects, including The Sceptre of Seven Souls and the Sagard book series. For the rest of the 1980s, Dille focused on animation writing and game writing and design. At TSR Dille also worked on the Buck Rogers Board and Role-Playing Games, the Gulf War I simulation 'Line In the Sand' and Dragonstrike where he wrote and Directed the Video which was an early example of a 'hybrid' film, containing blue screen and digital backgrounds and animation. Dille also directed several audio Interactive discs, including First Quest, Karameikos, Red Steel and Planescape. The TSR Audio Disc: Terror T.R.A.X: Track of the Vampyre, was later re-done as a CD-ROM by Groliers, directed by Flint Dille and programmed by Peter Marx and Evolutionary Publishing.
Dille's sister, Lorraine Williams
, was once manager of the game publisher TSR, Inc.
Dille introduced her to Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax at Gygax's request. He co-authored a script with Gygax for a Dungeons & Dragons film; however, the film was never made. Dille, with co-author John Zuur Platten, formed the Bureau of Film and Games.
Interactive Games
Dille's career shifted to interactive games in the late 80's when he worked on several projects for the Sega CD platform, including Double Switch, Maximum Surge and Corpse Killer. At that point, Dille then worked on Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike for Electronic Arts, writing the videos and completed a transition from paper games and products to video games.
Dille won "Story of the Year" for his work on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
and on Dead to Rights
. Dille was the writer for other video games, including Fantastic Four 2
, Teen Titans
, Superman Returns
, James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies
, Soviet Strike, and Nuclear Strike.
Frank Miller
Dille is a close friend of comics creator Frank Miller
; "Frank and I met during what I call our 'professional adolescence' when he was doing the Dark Knight and I was doing the Transformers cartoon series," says Dille, "and we've been great friends ever since." Dille was selected to spearhead the design, scriptwriting, story generation, and overall production of a video game adaptation of Miller's Sin City
for Red Mile Entertainment. Miller planned to direct a Buck Rogers film, with Dille as producer, but this project was scrapped in 2009.
Other projects
Dille co-created and co-executive produced Dimension
's 2005 horror film, Venom
.
Dille also taught an Alternate Reality Game Design class at UCLA film school, Winter Semester 2011.
Dille co-wrote the Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger
series of graphic novels with David Marconi
, and also the Buck Rogers XXVC
comic modules Rude Awakening.
Video games
Screenwriting
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
, G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe
G.I. Joe is a line of action figures produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier , Action Sailor , Action Pilot , Action Marine and later on, the Action Nurse...
, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
, and his game-writing, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is a first-person action/stealth video game developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by Vivendi Games. Released for the Xbox and Windows in 2004, the game is a tie-in prequel to the futuristic science fiction film The Chronicles of Riddick...
, and Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights is a third-person shooter produced by Namco. It was released on June 3, as a timed exclusive for the Xbox, and releases for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube followed thereafter. A year after its console debut, the game was released for Microsoft Windows...
, as well as his non-fiction book written with John Zuur Platten.
Personal background
Dille was born in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Robert Crabtree and Virginia Nichols Dille. He attended Glenbrook South High SchoolGlenbrook South High School
Glenbrook South High School, or GBS, is a public four-year high school located in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Northfield Township High School District, which also includes Glenbrook North High School...
. In 1977, he graduated from U.C. Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
with a Bachelors degree in Ancient History and Classical Rhetoric. He received a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Professional Writing (Cinema) from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. He lives in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Flint Dille is the grandson of John F. Dille, publisher of the original Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers
Anthony Rogers is a fictional character that first appeared in Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan in the August 1928 issue of the pulp magazine Amazing Stories. A sequel, The Airlords of Han, was published in the March 1929 issue....
comic strip, and is part of the Dille Family Trust, which owns the rights to the character.
Professional background
After grad school, Dille worked as a freelance script reader, production assistant, and assistant art director before getting his first writing job from Joe Ruby at Ruby/Spears as a Saturday Morning Development writer. This led to writing scripts for Mr. T., The Puppy, and RoboForce. Later, Dille went to work for Sunbow Productions and served in various capacities as Writer, Story Editor, Associate Producer, Co-Producer on several shows, including Transformers (Generation 1), G.I. Joe, InhumanoidsInhumanoids
Inhumanoids was an animated series and Hasbro toy property in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as Transformers and G.I. Joe, the show was produced by Sunbow and Marvel Productions and animated in Japan by Toei Animation...
and Visionaries
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light
Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light was originally a range of action figures from Hasbro, released in 1987. This action figure range was promoted by two different media, telling the stories of the characters...
. After that, Dille worked briefly at CBS on the in-house production of Garbage Pail Kids, before working with Amblin' on several projects, including Feivel Goes West, Tiny Toons (as a movie), We're Back and various other projects.
TSR and Dungeons & Dragons
At the same time as his animation career was beginning, Dille met Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, and they began collaborating on a number of projects, including The Sceptre of Seven Souls and the Sagard book series. For the rest of the 1980s, Dille focused on animation writing and game writing and design. At TSR Dille also worked on the Buck Rogers Board and Role-Playing Games, the Gulf War I simulation 'Line In the Sand' and Dragonstrike where he wrote and Directed the Video which was an early example of a 'hybrid' film, containing blue screen and digital backgrounds and animation. Dille also directed several audio Interactive discs, including First Quest, Karameikos, Red Steel and Planescape. The TSR Audio Disc: Terror T.R.A.X: Track of the Vampyre, was later re-done as a CD-ROM by Groliers, directed by Flint Dille and programmed by Peter Marx and Evolutionary Publishing.
Dille's sister, Lorraine Williams
Lorraine Williams
Lorraine Dille Williams is an American businesswoman who was in charge of the gaming company TSR, Inc. from 1986 to 1997. Williams was hired as TSR's manager by company co-founder Gary Gygax in 1984. She gained control of TSR the following year when the Blume brothers sold her their controlling...
, was once manager of the game publisher TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
Dille introduced her to Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax at Gygax's request. He co-authored a script with Gygax for a Dungeons & Dragons film; however, the film was never made. Dille, with co-author John Zuur Platten, formed the Bureau of Film and Games.
Interactive Games
Dille's career shifted to interactive games in the late 80's when he worked on several projects for the Sega CD platform, including Double Switch, Maximum Surge and Corpse Killer. At that point, Dille then worked on Soviet Strike and Nuclear Strike for Electronic Arts, writing the videos and completed a transition from paper games and products to video games.
Dille won "Story of the Year" for his work on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay is a first-person action/stealth video game developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by Vivendi Games. Released for the Xbox and Windows in 2004, the game is a tie-in prequel to the futuristic science fiction film The Chronicles of Riddick...
and on Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights
Dead to Rights is a third-person shooter produced by Namco. It was released on June 3, as a timed exclusive for the Xbox, and releases for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube followed thereafter. A year after its console debut, the game was released for Microsoft Windows...
. Dille was the writer for other video games, including Fantastic Four 2
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (video game)
Hypers Daniel Wilks commends the game for "being better than Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End". However, he criticises it for being "dull, repetitive and lazy".-External links:*...
, Teen Titans
Teen Titans (console game)
The second Teen Titans video game based on the Teen Titans animated series made for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. It also features the five main Titans from the animated series. The bosses include Plasmus, Mumbo, Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Cinderblock, Overload, Ternion, and Slade.-Story:The...
, Superman Returns
Superman Returns (video game)
Superman Returns is a video game loosely based on the movie of the same name, developed by Electronic Arts-Tiburon in Orlando, Fla., in conjunction with Warner Bros...
, James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies
Tomorrow Never Dies (video game)
Tomorrow Never Dies is a third-person shooter based on the James Bond film of the same name. Developed by Black Ops and published by Electronic Arts, it was released on November 16, 1999 exclusively for the Sony PlayStation. It is the first 007 game of many that was published by Electronic Arts...
, Soviet Strike, and Nuclear Strike.
Frank Miller
Dille is a close friend of comics creator Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
; "Frank and I met during what I call our 'professional adolescence' when he was doing the Dark Knight and I was doing the Transformers cartoon series," says Dille, "and we've been great friends ever since." Dille was selected to spearhead the design, scriptwriting, story generation, and overall production of a video game adaptation of Miller's Sin City
Sin City
Sin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" , and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several...
for Red Mile Entertainment. Miller planned to direct a Buck Rogers film, with Dille as producer, but this project was scrapped in 2009.
Other projects
Dille co-created and co-executive produced Dimension
Dimension Films
Dimension Films is a motion picture unit currently a part of The Weinstein Company. It was formerly used as Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax Films, to produce and release genre films...
's 2005 horror film, Venom
Venom (2005 film)
Venom is a 2005 American voodoo horror-of-demonic-film starring Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, Meagan Good, D.J. Cotrona and Method Man.-Plot:...
.
Dille also taught an Alternate Reality Game Design class at UCLA film school, Winter Semester 2011.
Dille co-wrote the Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger
Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger
Agent 13: The Midnight Avenger was the name of a novel series based on Top Secret/S.I. setting published by TSR, Inc. from 1986 to 1988. There were three stories in the series, following the actions of the protagonist referred to in the novels only as Agent 13, or simply, The Agent...
series of graphic novels with David Marconi
David Marconi
David Marconi is an American screenwriter and film director. His writing credits include the screenplays for Enemy of the State and Live Free or Die Hard.-Filmography:*Rumble Fish...
, and also the Buck Rogers XXVC
Buck Rogers XXVC
Buck Rogers XXVC is a game setting created by TSR, Inc. in the late 1980s. Products based on this setting include novels, graphic novels, a role-playing game , board game, and video games...
comic modules Rude Awakening.
Video games
- Batman: Rise of Sin TzuBatman: Rise of Sin TzuThe game received substantial publicity. Many critics found the beat 'em up gameplay repetitive.Game Informer reviewed this game and gave it a 5 out of 10...
- Sagard the Barbarian Interactive Gamebook series with E. Gary Gygax
- Dead to RightsDead to RightsDead to Rights is a third-person shooter produced by Namco. It was released on June 3, as a timed exclusive for the Xbox, and releases for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube followed thereafter. A year after its console debut, the game was released for Microsoft Windows...
- Wheelman
Screenwriting
- An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
- The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
(1986) - Visionaries: Knights of the Magical LightVisionaries: Knights of the Magical LightVisionaries: Knights of the Magical Light was originally a range of action figures from Hasbro, released in 1987. This action figure range was promoted by two different media, telling the stories of the characters...
(several episodes)