Daniel Thomas "Dan" O'Bannon was an American motion-picture screenwriter, director and occasional actor, usually in the science fiction and horror genres. O'Bannon was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Bertha and Thomas Sidney O'Bannon, a carpenter. He attended the University of Southern California , where he met John Carpenter and collaborated with him on the 45-minute USC School of Cinema-Television short Dark Star . Carpenter expanded the short into a feature which was released in 1974 with a final budget of only US$60,000. O'Bannon served in a number of capacities, including... scripting, editing and acting in one of the leading roles . In 1975, Dark Star won the Golden Scroll award for Best Special Effects. O'Bannon, growing up a science-fiction and horror enthusiast, abandoned technical work for screenwriting.
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