Warren Skaaren

Warren Skaaren (March 9, 1946 – December 28, 1990) was an American screenwriter and film producer.

Career Skaaren was appointed by Governor Preston Smith as executive director of the newly formed Texas Film Commission on December 9, 1970. His first success was getting the film The Getaway (1972) shot in Texas. Skaaren later formed FPS Inc., a television and film productions services company in Dallas. The company handled location shooting for the television series Dallas and worked on the film Tender Mercies (1983). Meanwhile, he was pivotal behind the distribution of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), to which he claimed credit for crafting the film's title.

In 1983, Skaaren was approached by a Texas businessman to write a script about the Gurkhas, who were Nepalese soldiers serving in the British Army. He spent one year writing the spec script titled Of East and West. He was later hired to rewrite Top Gun (1986) and credited as an associate producer, having compiled the last ten drafts. Among his revisions were changing Kelly McGillis's character from being a gymnast into a military instructor. Skaaren then co-wrote the script for Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988), sharing credit with Michael McDowell. In 1988, Skaaren did preliminary research for Days of Thunder (1990), but was approached to rewrite the script for Batman (1989). Due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, Sam Hamm was not allowed to finish his script for Batman so Warner Bros. contacted Skaaren to rewrite the film's shooting script before filming was to begin. In a 1990 interview with Comics Scene magazine, he took credit for expanding the role of the Joker, removed the character Robin from the script, and inserted the now-criticized scene of Alfred letting Vicki Vale into the Batcave.

Skaaren died of bone cancer on December 28, 1990. He was 44 years old.

Legacy Skaaren's archive resides at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

Filmography Fire with Fire (1986) with Bill Phillips, Paul Boorstin and Susan Boorstin Top Gun (1986) uncredited as writer but credited as associate producer Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) with Larry Ferguson Beetlejuice (1988) with Michael McDowell Batman (1989) with Sam Hamm