Daniel Waters
Daniel Waters (born November 10, 1962) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is the older brother of director Mark Waters, and is best known for writing the movies Heathers and Batman Returns, co-writing Hudson Hawk and Demolition Man, and writing and directing Happy Campers.
Daniel Waters

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- Name
- Daniel Waters
- Born
- 10 November 1962
- Birthplace
- Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
- Occupation
- Screenwriter, film director
- Nationality
- United States.
- Fields
- film direction, film screenwriting, film production and acting.
- Education
- James Whitcomb Riley High School.
- Honours
- Edgar Awards and Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay.
- Languages
- English.
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Daniel Waters (born November 10, 1962) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is the older brother of director Mark Waters, and is best known for writing the movies Heathers and Batman Returns, co-writing Hudson Hawk and Demolition Man, and writing and directing Happy Campers.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Daniel Waters studied at James Whitcomb Riley High School. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is film direction, film screenwriting and film production. Distinctions recorded are Edgar Awards and Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Daniel Waters • Born — 10 November 1962 • Birthplace — Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. • Occupation — Screenwriter, film director • Relatives — Mark Waters (brother)
Early life
Early life
Waters was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in South Bend, Indiana. In high school, Waters wrote a popular column titled "Troubled Waters" for his high school newspaper, where he wrote fictitious stories about his real-life classmates—not unlike the writing that appeared in his screenplay for Heathers. He then wrote, directed and starred alongside Larry Karaszewski in a local sketch comedy titled Beyond Our Control in the early 1980s. Waters moved to Montreal where he graduated from McGill University. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, and was the manager of a video store.
Screenwriting credits
Screenwriting credits
Waters came to prominence in 1988 for writing the black comedy Heathers, for which he received a 1990 Edgar Award. Heathers was an attempt for him to write of the true nature of teenagers and high-school society. Heathers was not a box-office hit for Waters when it was released, but the movie has become a cult classic. Waters won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture. Over the next four years, Waters served as co-writer on the comedy The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, wrote the sequel Batman Returns, and then wrote the films Hudson Hawk (for which he re-teamed with Heathers director Michael Lehmann) and Demolition Man. He received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay for both Hudson Hawk and Ford Fairlane. In 1995, he authored the first draft of the Catwoman solo movie. The story about Selina moving to a Vegas-like city called 'Oasisburg' and fighting parodies of male superheroes failed to resonate with Tim Burton or anyone at Warner.
Turn as a director
Turn as a director
In 2001, Waters made his directorial debut with Happy Campers, another teen comedy in a black vein that, after a long delay, was released straight to DVD. His follow-up, Sex and Death 101, a hybrid of science fiction, dark comedy, and romantic thriller, won the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director at the 2007 Seattle International Film Festival. It was released theatrically on April 4, 2008, in New York and Los Angeles. The film re-teamed Waters with Heathers star Winona Ryder.
Filmography
Filmography
Film • Year — Title — Director — Writer • 1989 — Heathers • 1990 — The Adventures of Ford Fairlane • 1991 — Hudson Hawk • 1992 — Batman Returns • 1993 — Demolition Man • 2001 — Happy Campers • 2007 — Sex and Death 101 • 2014 — Vampire Academy Television • Year — Title — Writer — Executive Producer — Notes • 1980-1981 — Beyond Our Control • 2018 — #Fashionvictim — TV movie
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1962
Daniel Waters born at Cleveland.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1163097: Daniel WatersWikimedia Foundation
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Daniel Waters worked in film direction, film screenwriting, film production and acting. He belonged to Writers Guild of America West. Recorded as having received Edgar Awards and Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay.
Career and activity
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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