Gregory Widen

Is the screenwriter Gregory Widen prophetic? For one, he wrote and directed "The Prophecy," a supernatural spectacle starring Christopher Walken as the Archangel Gabriel--and had the foresight to leave the franchise behind when it was relegated to direct-to-video sequels. Widen also wrote the screenplay that became "Highlander" while still an undergrad at UCLA. The concept of transplanting an immortal medieval Scotsman to modern-day New York had initially come to him during a summer sojourn in Scotland. His fish-out-of-water idea itself turned out to be undying; the movie has spawned four sequels, both on TV and in theaters, as well as a full-fledged television series that lasted for six seasons. In another brush with the paranormal and macabre, he wrote an episode of the groundbreaking anthology series "Tales from the Crypt." Widen also spent some time as a fireman, and the loss of a comrade to the back-draft in a burning building prompted the writer to pen a script based on that subject, "Backdraft"; the final product was directed by Ron Howard and had a cast that included Donald Sutherland, Kurt Russell, and Robert De Niro. Widen's real-life experiences must have also influenced his creating "Rescue 77," a show about first responders that aired on the WB network.