Ross LaManna is an American screenwriter and author. He is best known for creating the Rush Hour series starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.[1]
His first novel, Acid Test, was published in the U.S. and Canada by Ballantine Books. The geopolitical thriller was chosen as an Amazon.com "Penzler Pick" and as The Mysterious Bookshop's selection for “Best First Fiction.” It was released in several foreign territories and as an audiobook.
He attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Screenwriting, and also holds a Master of Arts from Arizona State University in Dramatic Writing.
He began in the entertainment industry doing international legal affairs at the independent studio Embassy Pictures. Columbia Pictures purchased a spec script he wrote while at Embassy, and soon thereafter he was hired by United Artists under a two-picture writing deal. Carolco Pictures later hired him under a unique, two-year "in-house screenwriter" arrangement, where he worked on a number of their projects. He has written original screenplays, adaptations or rewrites for Fox, Disney, Paramount, Columbia, Universal, HBO Films, and many independent companies.
He currently serves as Chairman of the Undergraduate Film Department at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and also on the Board of Directors for the United States Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office. At Art Center, he brought in a number of notable filmmakers as part-time instructors, including cinematographer Affonso Beato, ASC, director/producer Jeremiah Chechik, cinematographer Allen Daviau, ASC, screenwriter Doug Eboch, director David Kellogg, composer Dennis McCarthy, title designer Dan Perri, director/producer Richard Pearce, entertainment attorney Lee Rosenbaum, writer/director Bobby Roth, director/actor Mark Rydell, director Ron Underwood, and editor Billy Weber.
Art Center College of Design, Undergraduate Film Department - Staff and Faculty Biographical Data
Ross LaManna on the Internet Movie Database - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482780/