Wesley Strick

Wesley Strick began his writing career as a rock critic and journalist, contributing articles and reviews in the late 1970’s to Circus, Creem and Rolling Stone.

Strick’s first screenplay, the James Woods/Robert Downey Jr. courtroom drama True Believer, was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Mystery Motion Picture in 1989. His screenplay for Mike Nichols’ Wolf, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson, won a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film of 1994. He’s written, rewritten and co-written a wide variety of Hollywood films, from the horror-comedy Arachnophobia to the melodrama Return To Paradise to the videogame adaptation Doom. In the early 1990's, Strick penned the Martin Scorsese remake of Cape Fear.

Strick’s first novel, Out There In The Dark, was published in 2006 by St. Martin’s Press. 2010 saw the release of his "reboot" of A Nightmare On Elm Street starring Jackie Earle Haley and Rooney Mara. The movie won Favorite Horror Film at the People’s Choice Awards. Strick’s script for Loft (a remake of the 2005 Belgian thriller, produced by Joel Silver) is currently in post-production. In 2011, Wesley adapted I Slept With Joey Ramone, a memoir by Joey’s brother Mickey Leigh, for Fox Searchlight.

Strick has served as an advisor at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab since 1995.

30 articles

By Artist | By Date

List of articles in the library by artist

Adam & The Ants: Kings Of The Wild Frontier (Epic)

Review by Wesley Strick, Creem, April 1981

THIS IS ridiculous. ...

Bad Company's Burning Sky

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, March 1977

Rodgers and Ralphs Mix Celestial Magic At Chopin's Chateau ...

Bernie Taupin, Elton John: Elton John: Elton's Blue Moves

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 17 January 1977

In One Era and Out Another ...

Blondie: Plastic Letters (Chrysalis)

Review by Wesley Strick, Circus, 11 May 1978

ABOVE ALL, Blondie is supposed to be about Fun — the group even printed a defensive Fun Manifesto on the liner of its debut Private ...

Brian Eno, David Bowie, Iggy Pop: Bowie Now: New Songs for Day and Night

Report and Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 28 February 1977

THESE ARE the facts:David Bowie's latest album, Low, is two-sided. Side One contains seven crypto-disco tracks, no track shorter than 1:42 or longer than 3:26. ...

Eric Carmen: Change Of Heart (Arista)

Review by Wesley Strick, Creem, February 1979

FIRST THE FACTS: A record that leads off with something called the 'Desperate Fools Overture', which sounds like Chicken George's love theme, is not a ...

The Flamin' Groovies: Flamin' Groovies: Now (Sire SRK6059)

Review by Wesley Strick, Rolling Stone, 7 September 1978

IT SEEMS PERVERSE, even mordant, to call the new Flamin' Groovies album Now. But since Low and Wow have been taken, Now must serve as ...

Hall & Oates: Back Together Again

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 13 October 1977

Hall & Oates Abandon Philly Soul ID, Adopt Heavy Metal Stance ...

Heart Gets Back on the Right Beat

Interview by Wesley Strick, Rolling Stone, 30 November 1978

Legal battles behind them ...

Kiss: Love Gun Is a Real Bazooka

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 4 August 1977

Behind the Scenes of the First Kiss Simulated Concept LP ...

Led Zeppelin: The Tour In Progress: Jimmy Plage Files His Report

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 9 June 1977

ROBERT PLANT comes bouncing into the hotel room in satin blouse, second-skin denims and high-heeled sneakers. "We've got a new Jimmy Page," he crows. "He's ...

Led Zeppelin Plays It For Fun

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 23 June 1977

Jimmy Page Pauses for a Few Words about Roots, Keith Richards and Zep's Musical Karma ...

Joni Mitchell Meets Don Juan's Reckless Daughter

Report by Wesley Strick, Circus, 2 March 1978

NINETEEN SEVENTY EIGHT is a watershed year for Joni Mitchell; Don Juan's Reckless Daughter (Asylum) is the superlative singer-songwriter's tenth album; its release marks the ...

Nazareth's Game Plan: Fight It Out Until It's Right

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 14 February 1977

IN GERMANY, their rock-hard rendition of Joni Mitchell's 'This Flight Tonight' won an award for chart longevity. On their recent 13-date cross-Canadian tour, they played ...

Olivia Newton John: Olivia Newton-John: Totally Hot (MCA)

Review by Wesley Strick, Creem, March 1979

OLIVIA NEWTON-John lost her virginity on the cover of her Greatest Hits album, released last year. Inside the grooves, though, she was caught begging sadistic ...

Nils Lofgren: I Came to Dance (A&M)

Review by Wesley Strick, Circus, 9 June 1977

NILS GOT A haircut. Check the sleek black cover of Lofgren's latest — he looks like a troublemaker. A certified Travis Bickle time-bomb, Nils is ...

Peter Frampton: Philadelphia Screams for More

Report and Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 18 August 1977

Frampton Previews I'm In You Before 90,000 Expectant Fans ...

Iggy Pop: The Idiot (RCA Victor)

Review by Wesley Strick, Circus, 12 May 1977

IN 1974, RAY Manzarek invited Iggy Pop to front for the Doors. It's said that Iggy dyed his hair jet black to suit the part. ...

Iggy Pop's Revenge

Report and Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 26 May 1977

The Return, In Relative Good Health, Of Rock's Ragged Edge ...

Queen: A Day at the Races Is A Self-Made Masterpiece

Report and Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 31 January 1977

IT WAS SOME WEEKS BACK, and Europe's biggest rock band had four months' studio time behind them, and two weeks ahead. "It feels like we've ...

Queen: A Day At The Races (Elektra)

Review by Wesley Strick, Circus, 28 February 1977

OKAY, SO they're effete, flaky, fey. And proud. So what? This (sort-of) sequel (self-produced) to A Night at the Opera reeks of arch naivete. Freddie Mercury warbles ...

Radio Birdman: Radios Appear (Sire SRK 6050)

Review by Wesley Strick, Rolling Stone, 24 August 1978

THE SAINTS' recent emigration to England reopens the question: is there punk after Perth? In Sydney, which some describe as Canoga Park on the far ...

Todd Rundgren: Hermit Of Mink Hollow (Bearsville)

Review by Wesley Strick, Creem, August 1978

TODD RUNDGREN OPENS HIS EYES ...

Boz Scaggs Treads the MOR Tightrope

Profile and Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 16 February 1978

Down Two Then Left Plays Funk Against Fancy ...

The Sex Pistols Are Cocked

Report by Wesley Strick, Circus, 5 January 1978

Will Their Punk Madness Spread to the States? ...

The Sex Pistols: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols (Warner Bros.)

Review by Wesley Strick, Circus, 2 March 1978

Johnny Rotten Assaults Rock & Roll ...

Starz Story

Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 28 April 1977

The Sweetly Shocking Rockers Who Brought You 'Pull the Plug' Are Back With Their Second LP Violation. ...

Television: Symbolist Coffee Break: A Dream Date With T.V.

Interview by Wesley Strick, Gig, September 1976

IF IT CAN boast nothing more, Television bears the distinction of being Manhattan's most written-up, unrecorded band. Given the availability of press hype, you don't ...

Thin Lizzy: Tonight There's Gonna Be Trouble!

Profile and Interview by Wesley Strick, Circus, 30 December 1976

Thin Lizzy Stalks the Fury of Fandom. By Wesley Strick ...

Dennis Wilson: Pacific Ocean Blue (Caribou)

Review by Wesley Strick, Creem, November 1977

THIS BIG, BRAVE album — the only Beach Boys solo spin-off ever — is a small revelation. No one who has heard Dennis croak 'You ...

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