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Daniel Waters
Screenwriter-director Daniel Waters rocketed to the top of the Hollywood heap after garnering acclaim for his first indie screenplay, only to spend the decades that followed toiling away on mainstream studio projects. A viciously satiric, pitch-black teen comedy, "Heathers" (1989) not only made teen idols of Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, but turned Waters into a bona fide Hollywood player virtually overnight.