The Insiders
Episode 39
Zak Penn on the Avengers, Action Movies, and Atari Games
The Avengers writer Zak Penn joins the Insiders to talk about writing action blockbusters, and his documentary Atari: Game Over. Writing for the Marvel universe, his work on The Incredible Hulk, The Last Action Hero, Suspect Zero, and his ongoing collaborations with the brilliant Werner Herzog are shared. How to write in Hollywood, his own curiosities and passions-including mining for the world’s worst video game for Atari: Game Over, and working on big and low budget movies is shared with host Sebastian Twardosz for the Insider.
Episode Breakdown
00:00 Welcome Zak Penn to The Insiders.
00:45 What was it like to sell his first spec, Last Action Hero, at 23 year olds?
02:05 Writing Last Action Hero with Adam Leff and finding an agent or manager.
06:45 Zak Penn’s experience on the set of Last Action Hero.
09:25 Loving action movies versus writing action movies.
11:15 His second film, PCU, was based on his time at Wesleyan.
15:30 How PCU furthered Zak Penn’s career.
16:40 Losing his writing partner and writing Suspect Zero.
19:13 Suspect Zero leads to rewriting scripts at Dreamworks.
23:05 What is arbitration?
23:35 Why do people go to Penn to rewrite a script?
27:00 What is Zak Penn’s perception of current superhero movies?
30:05 The differences between working with Marvel studio versus other studios.
32:00 Building the Marvel universe.
33:45 Writing The Incredible Hulk.
35:35 Producing Osmosis Jones.
37:18 Zak Penn directing debut Incident at Loch Ness with Werner Herzog.
39:47 Working with Werner Herzog.
41:00 Making low and big budget films.
42:40 Directing the documentary Atari: Game Over.
45:42 Zak Penn’s writing process.
48:15 Thank you and Goodbye.
Guest Bio
Zak Penn’s career began as a screenwriter when he sold his first script, LAST ACTION HERO, at the age of twenty-three. Since then, Penn has become known for his work on numerous films based on Marvel comics, including X-MEN 2 and X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, ELEKTRA, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, and most recently, THE AVENGERS. He has also dabbled in other genres, writing scripts for disparate films such as P.C.U., BEHIND ENEMY LINES and SUSPECT ZERO.
Penn’s shift into independent cinema began when he collaborated with his idol, Werner Herzog, on the script for RESCUE DAWN. Penn directed and co-starred with Herzog in INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS, his award-winning “hoax” documentary about the legendary director’s attempts to make a film about the equally legendary monster. THE GRAND, Penn’s second completely improvised film, was his third film with Herzog, and featured an eclectic cast including Woody Harrelson, David Cross, Ray Romano, Cheryl Hines, Dennis Farina and Gabe Kaplan.
In addition, Penn co-wrote the original story for ANTZ and produced the animated film OSMOSIS JONES. He has also acted in a number of independent films, including STAR MAPS and CHUCK & BUCK. His first foray into television was the critically acclaimed original series ALPHAS starring David Strathairn. Penn recently directed the documentary ATARI: GAME OVER for Xbox Entertainment Studios.
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