Richard Christian Matheson

Richard Christian Matheson (born October 14, 1953) is a novelist, short story writer and screenwriter/producer. He is the author of the novel Created By, the short story collections Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks and Dystopia, and the novella "The Ritual of Illusion." Matheson has also edited and compiled the commemorative book Battleground, which celebrates the behind-the-scenes production of Stephen King's short story for the TNT mini-series Nightmares and Dreamscapes.

He has written and co-written feature film and television projects for Stephen J. Cannell, Richard Donner, Ivan Reitman, Joel Silver, Steven Spielberg, Bryan Singer, Roger Corman and many others.

To date, Matheson has written and co-written pilots for comedy and dramatic series for Showtime, Fox, NBC, ABC, TNT, HBO, Spike and CBS, and also served as Executive Story Consultant and Executive Producer for many series. He has had seven feature films produced, including the critically hailed, paranoid satire, Three O'Clock High.

Matheson wrote the screenplay for the critically lauded Sole Survivor, a Fox three-hour mini-series based on Dean Koontz's best-selling novel of the same name. He also co-wrote and Co-Executive Produced the 2004 Showtime film Paradise, and wrote the original, dark suspense films Delusion and Demons. He also wrote the adaptation of Roger Zelazny's Nebula Award-Winning Science Fiction/Fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber, as a four-hour mini-series for Syfy.

Matheson recently co-created and co-wrote thirteen episodes of Chemistry, an edgy, erotic half-hour comedy series for HBO Productions and wrote three scripts for Showtime's Masters of Horror, two of which were directed by Tobe Hooper - "Dance of The Dead" and "The Damned Thing". For TNT’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes mini-series, Matheson wrote the critically hailed adaptation of Stephen King’s short story Battleground, starring William Hurt. This one-hour episode won two Emmys and The New York Times called it “...a minor masterpiece.” Matheson also edited and compiled the commemorative book Battleground, which celebrates the behind-the-scenes production of the episode.

He has recently created/written Majestic, a one-hour paranormal series for TNT based on the work of Whitley Strieber, and co-created and developed Dragons, a six-hour mini-series with director Bryan Singer. Matheson recently completed an Internet horror project with Roger Corman, directed by Joe Dante.

Matheson is considered a cutting-edge voice in surreal, psychological horror fiction and master of the short story. His 75 critically lauded stories have been published in major anthologies, including The Year's Best Horror Stories, The Year's Best Fantasy Stories, and The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror.

Matheson is considered an expert on the occult and worked with the UCLA Parapsychology Labs, investigating haunted houses and paranormal phenomena. He was deeply involved in the much-publicized case upon which the film The Entity was based.

Matheson has also been a professional drummer for over thirty years, studied privately with the legendary Cream drummer Ginger Baker, and worked as a studio musician. He has played with Stephen King and Dave Barry in the writers' band The Rock Bottom Remainders and with Pat DiNizio of the rock band The Smithereens. He also plays drums with As Above, So Below, a rock band which includes P.G. Sturges. Their debut album, Smash-Cut, was released in 2009.

Matheson runs his own Production Company in Los Angeles and is president of Matheson Entertainment, a Production Company he co-founded with his father, Richard Matheson.

His father is fiction writer and screenwriter Richard Matheson and his paternal grandparents are from Norway.