Cinco Paul
Born (1964-05-05) May 5, 1964[1][2]
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.[3]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University, USC School of Cinematic Arts[1]
OccupationScreenwriter
Children3[1]
Ken Daurio
Born1971 or 1972 (age 51–52)[2]
United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationScreenwriter
Children3[1]

Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio are American screenwriters, collaborating on the screenplays for animated films, including the Despicable Me franchise, Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax and The Secret Life of Pets. The duo is co-creators of the 2021 Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon, with Paul also serving as the series songwriter and executive producer.

Life and career

Paul

Paul was named after Cinco de Mayo, a celebration held on his birthday.[1] After graduating from Yale University, Paul served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tokyo.[4] Shortly after returning from his mission he married his girlfriend whom he had met at Yale and to whom he was engaged just before leaving on his mission.[4] He then won a short film competition and received a fellowship at the USC School of Cinematic Arts,[1] where he graduated in 1993 from the Graduate Screenwriting Program.[5] The following year, he sold his first screenplay to Columbia Pictures.[4]

Daurio

Daurio started making films with a Super 8 camera at age 9. After high school, he began directing music videos and directed more than 100 videos.[6]

Collaboration

Paul and Daurio have been collaborating since 1999.[5] They met when Paul wrote a musical for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' 150-year celebration of the pioneers' arrival in Utah, in which Daurio had one of the leads.[1]

Hitting it off, having similar senses of humor, they formed a band called the Otter Pops, playing at local outdoor malls.[5] Within a year they sold their first script, and a year later their second script, Bubble Boy, was made into a film,[6] which was a critical and commercial failure.[4] To get noticed, they used to sing story pitches to film producers. Although not always successful, this strategy resulted in several produced films, including Bubble Boy and College Road Trip (2008).[6]

They were personally chosen by Audrey Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, to write a computer-animated feature film adaptation of Horton Hears a Who! for Blue Sky Studios via 20th Century Fox Animation, led by Chris Meledandri.[6] In 2007, when Meledandri founded a film production company named Illumination Entertainment, Paul and Daurio followed him.[1]

At Illumination, they wrote screenplays for the highly-successful animated film Despicable Me[1] and its sequel, Despicable Me 2. They also wrote for Illumination's other films, the live action/animated Easter-themed Hop and adapted another Dr. Seuss book into a computer-animated film, The Lorax.[7] Although Paul and Daurio are screenwriting partners, they prefer to work independently. They divide up scenes and read pages to each other, trying to make each other laugh.[6]

Paul, having an education in screenwriting, generally works on scenes that contain emotion and require the three-act structure, while Daurio, being a more visually oriented person, usually does scenes with action, sight gags and physical comedy.[5] Both being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[1] their beliefs have had significant impact on their careers. They prefer "to write movies that are uplifting, optimistic and for everybody," while avoiding being "preachy."[1]

The pair adapted Bubble Boy into a stage musical featuring original songs, for which an original cast recording was released on Sh-K-Boom Records in 2017 produced by Paul, Justin Goldner & Kurt Deutsch.[8] Paul is also developing an original musical, A.D. 16, with playwright Bekah Brunstetter centered on the relationship between teenage Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.[9] On January 29, 2018, Paul and Daurio were hired to a film adaptation of Birthright for Universal Pictures and Skybound Entertainment.[10]

Paul will be making his feature directorial debut with the live-action animation film Winter Wonderland and will also write original songs for the project.[11]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Toone, Trent (June 27, 2013). "Latter-day Saint screenwriters talk about their movie careers, 'Despicable Me 2'". Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Haun, Harry (June 25, 2013). "Gru & Crew, take two: Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio revisit ex-villain in 'Despicable Me 2'". Film Journal. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Sheila (July 3, 2013). "Writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio Talk DESPICABLE ME 2, Giving the Minions a Bigger Part, and Adding Romance". Collider.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Riess, Jana (July 9, 2015). ""Despicable Me" creator on Mormonism, Minions, and "the best calling in the church"". Religion News Service. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Sluis, Sarah (June 22, 2010). "Despicable glee: Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio brainstorm 3D animated tale of evil genius". Film Journal. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Engel, Allison (2010). "The Singing Screenwriters". USC Trojan Family Magazine. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  7. ↑ Murray, Rebecca (May 21, 2010). "Exclusive Interview with Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio". About.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Bubble Boy [Original Cast Recording] - Cinco Paul | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  9. ↑ "A.D. 16". www.publictheater.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  10. ↑ Jacka, Sally (January 29, 2018). "Announcing the BIRTHRIGHT Movie!". Skybound.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. "Hot Project: Cinco Paul To Make Directorial Debut On Imagine/Warner Music Group Animated Film 'Winter Wonderland'". Deadline Hollywood.
  12. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 24, 2014). "Chris Meledandri's Illumination Sets Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet And Kevin Hart For 3D Animated 'Pets' Pic At Universal". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  13. ↑ "'Despicable Me' Screenwriter Discusses Local Honor, Theme Park Attraction". Conejo Valley Happening. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015. We just started writing Despicable Me 3,...
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