Dan Gerson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Gerson
Gerson (left) with Robert Baird at Monsters University premiere in June 2013
Born	Daniel Robert Gerson (1966-08-01)August 1, 1966 New York City, U.S.
Died	February 6, 2016 (aged 49) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Screenwriter, voice actor
Years active	1997–2016
Notable work	Monsters, Inc. Monsters University Big Hero 6
Spouse(s)	Beau Stacom ​ (m. 1995)​
Children	2

Daniel Robert Gerson (born August 1, 1966 – died February 6, 2016) was a talented American writer and voice actor. He was famous for his amazing work on many popular animated movies from Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He helped write the stories for beloved films like Monsters, Inc., Monsters University, and Big Hero 6. This last film was his final work as a screenwriter.

Dan Gerson also helped with the stories for other great movies. These include Chicken Little, Cars, Meet the Robinsons, Up, Inside Out, and Zootopia. He also worked on TV shows like Big Wolf on Campus. Big Hero 6 won an Academy Award for being the best animated film. It was also the highest-earning animated movie in 2014. Dan Gerson also won a BAFTA award for his work.

Dan Gerson's Early Life

Dan Gerson grew up in New York City. He went to the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. Later, he studied at Cornell University. After that, he earned another degree from NYU. He started his career writing for NBC television. In 1999, he joined Pixar. Dan Gerson was married to Beau Stacom, and they had two children together.

Creating Movie Magic

Dan Gerson was a screenwriter. This means he wrote the scripts and stories for movies. He was also a voice actor, giving voices to characters in films.

Writing Monsters, Inc.

Dan Gerson said that writing his first movie, Monsters, Inc., was a team effort. He would meet with the directors, Pete Docter and David Silverman. They would talk about a scene and what they wanted. Dan would suggest ideas and then write the part of the story.

After he wrote it, they would review it together. Then, a story artist would draw out the scenes. The artist could add their own ideas to make the story even better. Sometimes, Dan would suggest ways to make a joke funnier visually. When the scene went to the animators, they would make it even more amazing. Another writer, Andrew Stanton, said that Dan Gerson really improved Monsters, Inc. after he left the project.

The Challenge of Monsters University

Dan Gerson's writing partner, Robert L. Baird, said that it took seven years to develop Monsters University. This movie is a "prequel," meaning it tells a story that happened before Monsters, Inc.. Dan Gerson explained that writing a prequel was tricky. Audiences already knew how the story would end.

He said they wanted to make Mike Wazowski the main character. The big challenge was making people care about Mike's journey, even though they knew where he would end up. They hoped the audience would get so involved that they might even forget the ending for a bit.

Dan Gerson also mentioned that making a college comedy for kids was hard. They wanted to show the fun of college life without including anything too grown-up. He always stressed how important teamwork and rewriting were. He said they would write a script, then the "Pixar brain trust" (a group of creative people) would help them improve it. They would do this many times, making the movie better each time. This is why it took years to write a film. He advised young writers to keep writing and rewriting to get better.

Lending His Voice to Characters

Besides writing, Dan Gerson also used his voice in some of his films. He often played small roles, like a janitor or a police desk sergeant. For example, in Monsters, Inc., he voiced the janitors Smitty and Needleman. The director, Pete Docter, liked his guide voices so much that he kept them in the final movie. Dan Gerson's name even appeared on a scoreboard in Monsters, Inc. as the least successful monster. He also voiced the Desk Sergeant in Big Hero 6.

Dan Gerson's Film List

Here are some of the movies Dan Gerson worked on:

• Monsters, Inc. (2001) - He wrote the screenplay and was a voice actor.
• Chicken Little (2005) - He helped with extra story material.
• Cars (2006) - He helped with extra screenplay material.
• Meet the Robinsons (2007) - He helped with extra story material.
• Monsters University (2013) - He was a writer and voice actor.
• Big Hero 6 (2014) - He was a writer and voice actor.

Remembering Dan Gerson

Dan Gerson passed away in Los Angeles on February 6, 2016. He was 49 years old. At the time of his death, he was working on Cars 3. Other screenwriters finished the film, and it was dedicated to his memory.