Rhett Reese

American screenwriter

Rhett Reese

Reese at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con

Occupation(s)| Screenwriter, producer
Years active| 1992–present
Spouse|

Chelsey Crisp

(m. 2016)​

[1]
Children| 2[2]

Rhett Reese is an American screenwriter. His early credits included Clifford's Really Big Movie and Cruel Intentions 3. He has collaborated with Paul Wernick, writing the films Zombieland, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Life, as well as Deadpool, Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Together they also created the reality series The Joe Schmo Show.

## Early life

[edit]

Reese grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and one of his high school friends was the brother of Paul Wernick. Years later, as a budding screenwriter, Reese met Wernick again as he worked as a television producer, and one of Wernick's jobs, Big Brother 2, inspired both to do their own take on reality shows, The Joe Schmo Show.[3][4] Broadcast on Spike TV, the series drew the highest ratings for the channel.[5] The Joe Schmo Show was also named on numerous Best Of lists, including Time magazine's "Top 10 TV Shows of 2003" and Entertainment Weekly's "50 Best TV Shows Ever on DVD."[6][7]

## Career

[edit]

In 2004, Reese and Wernick created and executive-produced Stuck on ODB, a comedy reality show starring Ol' Dirty Bastard (ODB) of the Wu Tang Clan for Spike TV. However, ODB died before the show ever aired.[8] A year later, Wernick and Reese followed up with Invasion Iowa, a high-concept, high-stakes comedy hybrid starring William Shatner. The show premiered on Spike on March 29, 2005.[9]

Reese and Wernick's first feature collaboration was the 2009 film Zombieland, which they created and also executive-produced. The film was released by Sony Pictures on October 2, 2009, and became the highest-grossing zombie film at the time.[10]

Reese and Wernick followed Zombieland with Paramount Pictures' G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013),[11][12] starring Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, and Bruce Willis. The sequel outperformed the original, grossing $375 million.[13]

In February 2012, it was announced Universal Studios had acquired Reese and Wernick's script for a feature film adaptation of Cowboy Ninja Viking.[14] In September 2012, their original science fiction spec screenplay Epsilon was sold to Sony Pictures, with plans to co-produce with Michael De Luca.[15] In April 2015, Reese and Wernick had optioned Thomas Oliver's book The Real Coke, The Real Story to produce a film about the failed launch of New Coke.[16]

## Personal life

[edit]

Reese lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress, writer and producer Chelsey Crisp.[1]

## Filmography

[edit]

Film

Year  | Title  | Writer  | Executive
Producer  | Director

|
|
|
|

2000  | Dinosaur | Story[a] | No  | Ralph Zondag
Eric Leighton
2001  | Monsters, Inc. | Story[a] | No  | Pete Docter
2004  | Clifford's Really Big Movie | Yes  | No  | Robert Ramirez
Cruel Intentions 3 | Yes  | No  | Scott Ziehl
2005  | Tarzan II | Story[a] | No  | Brian Smith
2009  | Zombieland | Yes  | Yes  | Ruben Fleischer
2013  | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | Yes  | No  | Jon M. Chu
2016  | Deadpool | Yes  | Yes  | Tim Miller
2017  | Life | Yes  | No  | Daniel Espinosa
2018  | Deadpool 2 | Yes  | Yes  | David Leitch
2019  | 6 Underground | Yes  | Yes  | Michael Bay
Zombieland: Double Tap | Yes  | Yes  | Ruben Fleischer
2022  | Spiderhead | Yes  | No  | Joseph Kosinski
2023  | Ghosted | Yes  | No  | Dexter Fletcher
2024  | Deadpool & Wolverine | Yes  | Yes  | Shawn Levy
2025  | Now You See Me: Now You Don't | Yes  | No  | Ruben Fleischer
TBA  | Balls Up | Yes  | No  | Peter Farrelly
TBA  | Eenie Meanie | No  | Producer  | Shawn Simmons

1. ^ a b c Additional story materials

Television

Year  | Title  | Writer  | Producer  | Creator

|
|
|
|

2005  | Invasion Iowa | Yes  | No  | Yes
2003–2004, 2013  | The Joe Schmo Show | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
2019  | Wayne | Yes  | Executive  | No
2023–present  | Twisted Metal | Yes  | Yes  | Yes
2023  | The Continental: From the World of John Wick | No  | Executive  | No

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Bio". Chelsey Crisp. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
2. ^ "Chelsey Crisp on Instagram: "I'm a goner ❤️"".
3. ^ Wojciechowski, Michele (October 31, 2016). "Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick: From High School to Deadpool". Parade. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022.
4. ^ Gordon, Jason. "Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (DEADPOOL) | OnWriting". Writers Guild of America East (Interview). Archived from the original on August 5, 2022.
5. ^ Kissell, Rick (October 29, 2003). "'Joe' no schmo for Spike TV". Variety. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
6. ^ "Top 10 Everything 2003". Time. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
7. ^ "The 50 Best TV Shows Ever on DVD". Entertainment Weekly. No. 363\. November 26, 2004.
8. ^ Barshad, Amos (March 29, 2013). "Q&A: G.I. Joe: Retaliation Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on Stuck on Dirty, Their Never-Aired Ol' Dirty Bastard Reality Show". Grantland (Interview). Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
9. ^ Weintraub, Joanne (March 28, 2005). "Shatner miniseries goes boldly where no prank has gone before". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
10. ^ "Weekend Report: Weekend Report: 'Wild Things' Roars, 'Citizen,' 'Activity' Thrill". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
11. ^ Weintraub, Steve (January 6, 2010). "Exclusive: G.I. JOE SEQUEL is Happening; Zombieland's Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick Writing G.I. JOE 2". Collider.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
12. ^ Seigel, Tatiana (January 11, 2009). "Par OKs 'G.I. Joe' sequel, dates 'Trek'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
13. ^ "G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 28, 2012). "Universal And Marc Forster Team On 'Cowboy Ninja Viking'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
15. ^ Kit, Borys (September 12, 2012). "'Zombieland' Writers Sell Sci-Fi Project 'Epsilon' to Sony (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
16. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 27, 2015). "'Deadpool' Scribes Wernick & Reese Uncap Pic On Disastrous New Coke Launch". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rhett Reese.

* Rhett Reese at IMDb
* Podcast Interview with Rhett Reese at Scripts & Scribes

* v
* t
* e

Works by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Films written|

* Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004, Reese only)
* Cruel Intentions 3 (2004, Reese only)
* Zombieland (2009)
* G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
* Deadpool (2016)
* No Good Deed (2017)
* Life (2017)
* Deadpool 2 (2018)
* 6 Underground (2019)
* Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
* Spiderhead (2022)
* Ghosted (2023)
* Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
* Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025)
* Balls Up (TBA)

TV series created|

* The Joe Schmo Show (2003–2004, 2013)
* Invasion Iowa (2005)
* Twisted Metal (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template