Tab Murphy is an American screenwriter, film producer, and film director.
Biography Murphy's theatrical debut, Gorillas in the Mist, was nominated for an Academy Award for his writing. In 1995, Murphy made his directorial debut with Last of the Dogmen and wrote the feature. Afterwards, Murphy has spent nearly ten years with The Walt Disney Company writing The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996, Tarzan in 1999, Atlantis: The Lost Empire in 2001, and Brother Bear in 2003. During his time with Disney, he was hired by TriStar Pictures to write a treatment to a planned sequel to the 1998 film Godzilla. But due to negative reviews from critics and audiences alike, the planned sequel was cancelled. After working with Disney for a few years, he then left the company in 2006 and went to work at Warner Bros. Animation for a couple years. His work includes Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and Batman: Year One, and he wrote several episodes for the 2011 Thundercats reboot, Teen Titans Go! and Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!. While at Warner Bros., Murphy wrote the direct-to-video 3D thriller film Dark Country for Sony Pictures and Stage 6 Films, based on a short story written by Murphy, and directed by Thomas Jane. He was attached to write an animated feature directed by Kirk Wise called Galaxy Gas, and a TV pilot that was sold to Legendary Pictures. Towards the end of the 2010s, Murphy became involved as a writer of two crowdsourced short films: The Haunted Swordsman and The Passengers, based on the Stephen King short story Rest Stop. In June 2020, Murphy became attached to write a reimagining of the 1980 horror film The Changeling.
Filmography Title Year Role My Best Friend Is a Vampire 1987 Screenwriter, associate producer Gorillas in the Mist 1988 Story Last of the Dogmen 1995 Director, screenwriter The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996 Screenwriter, animation story Tarzan 1999 Screenwriter Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001 Screenwriter, story The Making of Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2002 Himself, special thanks Brother Bear 2003 Screenwriter Dark Country 2009 Superman/Batman: Apocalypse 2010 Batman: Year One 2011 Thundercats 2011-2012 Teleplay (7 episodes) Teen Titans Go! 2013 Writer: story, teleplay (2 episodes) Road to Slipstream 2014 Special thanks Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! 2016, 2017 Writer: story, teleplay (2 episode) The Haunted Swordsman 2019 Short film; writer The Passenger 2020 Bobbleheads The Movie StoryKangaroo Valley 2022 Documentary; screenwriterThe Changeling TBA Screenwriter
Unproduced Features Godzilla 2 (1999) Beijing Safari (2012) Untitled China Project Galaxy Gas
Bibliography Year Title Notes 2005 Untitled Short Story This short story was discovered by Dark Country's director Thomas Jane for Murphy to write the film. 2012 Dark Country Digital graphic novel, based on Murphy's script
Collaborators The Walt Disney Company: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Brother Bear (writer) Warner Bros.: Gorillas in The Mist, Batman: Year One, Batman/Superman: Apocalypse, Thundercats, Teen Titans Go, Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! (writer)
Award nominations 1989 Academy Awards - Best Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium for Gorillas in the Mist) 1989 WGA Award - Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (for Gorillas in the Mist) 1997 Golden Raspberry Award - Worst Written Film Grossing Over $100 Million (for The Hunchback of Notre Dame) 1999 Annie Awards - Outstanding Individual Achievement for Writing in an Animated Feature Production (for Tarzan) 2003 Annie Awards - Outstanding Writing in an Animated Feature Production (for Brother Bear)
References
External links
Official Facebook Page An Interview Tab Murphy - Atlantis Screenwriter; by Rick West - June 14, 2001 Tab Murphy on Cake