J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay

John D. Payne[1] (b. 1979 or 1980)[2] and Patrick McKay (b. 1980 or 1981)[2] are an American screenwriting duo best known for developing the Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

"Patrick McKay" redirects here. Not to be confused with Patrick Mackay or Pat McKay.
J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay
Born
  • Payne: 1979 or 1980 (age 43–44)
  • McKay: 1980 or 1981 (age 42–43)
Alma mater
  • Payne: Yale University
  • McKay:
Occupations
  • Writers
  • producers
Years active1997–present (as of 2022)
Known forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
SpousePayne: Rachel Payne
Children
  • Payne: 2
  • McKay: 2

Early life

The two are originally from McLean, Virginia.[3] The two met in 1997 on their high school debate team, and directed a short play that J. D. wrote for their school's festival.[4][5] Payne attended Yale University and studied English Literature, graduating with honors. McKay attended Stonehill College and studied Theater Arts, and American University, where he received an MFA in Creative Writing.[6]

Career

Their script Midas helped them get agency representation and management. In August 2010, they sold their first ever script Goliath to Relativity Media.[5][4] Scott Derrickson was set to direct the project for Relativity.[7] In 2011, they were hired to write Deadliest Warrior for Paramount based on the Deadliest Warrior Spike television series.[8]

After writing Deadliest Warrior, Payne and McKay went to work for Bad Robot Productions. There, they wrote Boilerplate, which is based on the novel of the same name, and Micronauts.[9][10] After, the duo wrote Law Zero for Warner Bros.[5][4]

In December 2013, they were hired to write Star Trek Beyond with Roberto Orci.[11] Their script was later rewritten by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung.[12]

In April 2014, the two were hired to write a new reboot of Flash Gordon (in development) for 20th Century Fox.[10]

In July 2016, the duo were hired to write the fourth Star Trek film after working on Beyond.[13] They later revealed that the plot was inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, and involved character James Kirk meeting his father George Kirk, but they were the same age because of a "cosmic quirk" in the Star Trek universe.[1] When the project fell apart after two and a half years, it pushed Payne and McKay to "start taking TV seriously. That led us to Rings of Power."[14][1]

Payne and McKay joined the Godzilla vs. Kong writers' room in March 2017.[15] Four months later, they were announced to have written the most recent draft of Disney's Jungle Cruise.[16] In August, they were set to write A People's History Of The Vampire Uprising for Fox and 21 Laps.[17]

The two were hired to write Amazon's Lord of the Rings series in July 2018.[18] They were confirmed as showrunners in July 2019.[19] To develop the series, Payne and McKay believed J. R. R. Tolkien's lesser-known Second Age was the key. They worked together to map out five seasons of television that told the first five minutes of the prologue in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. After their first pitch to Amazon, they got a call to return, but they had to pitch all five seasons of the series. The two mapped out the series at Payne's assistant's apartment, and successfully pitched the show. Afterwards, they were called back for seven more pitches. In initial meetings with the Tolkien Estate, Payne quoted Tolkien and greeted Simon Tolkien in Elvish. Their idea for the series lined up with Simon Tolkien's vision, and their former boss J. J. Abrams recommended them to Amazon.[2][20]

In February 2022, they set up their 2017 Black List script Escape with The Hideaway Entertainment, with James Watkins to direct the film.[21]

Personal life

McKay is married with two children.[6] Payne is married to actress and opera singer Rachel Payne, and has two children, Adam and Ethan. Payne is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[3][4]

Filmography
Year Title Notes
2016 Star Trek Beyond Uncredited[13]
2021 Godzilla vs. Kong Uncredited[21]
2021 Jungle Cruise Uncredited[22]
2022–present The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Developers, wrote 4 episodes

References
  1. Zilko, Christian (October 15, 2022). "'Star Trek' Writers on the Unmade, Kubrick-Inspired Sequel They Wrote for Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth". IndieWire. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  2. Hibberd, James (October 5, 2022). "'The Rings of Power' Showrunners Break Silence on Backlash, Sauron and Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  3. "Young Latter-day Saint Couple Guided to Pursue Careers Around the World". The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. March 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  4. Eash, Candy (March 2014). "JD Payne". Mormon Artist. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  5. "Exclusive! TREK 3 Writers Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne". TrekCore. June 29, 2014. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  6. "Patrick McKay". Amazon Prime Video Press. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  7. Kit, Borys (August 31, 2011). "Taylor Lautner, Dwayne Johnson Offered Roles as David and Goliath (Abandoned Project, it is not known if it is in production or not, there is no information from Relavity Media)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  8. Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 20, 2011). "Paramount Finds Its 'Deadliest Warrior' Scribes". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  9. Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 3, 2011). "Paramount, Bad Robot Set Scribes For 'Boilerplate'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  10. Kit, Borys (April 22, 2014). "'Flash Gordon' Movie in the Works at Fox (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  11. Shaw, Lucas (December 6, 2013). "'Star Trek 3' Beams Up 'Boilerplate' Writers J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay". TheWrap. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  12. Kit, Borys (January 21, 2015). "Simon Pegg and 'Dark Blue' Co-Creator Doug Jung to Write 'Star Trek 3'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  13. Cureton, Sean K. (July 18, 2016). "Star Trek 4 is Officially a Go; Synopsis & Writers Revealed". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  14. Westenfeld, Adrienne (October 14, 2022). "For the Rings of Power Showrunners, the Road Goes Ever On". Esquire. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  15. Kit, Borys (March 10, 2017). "'Godzilla vs. Kong' Film Sets Writers Room (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  16. Kroll, Justin (July 31, 2017). "Jaume Collet-Serra to Direct Dwayne Johnson in Disney's 'Jungle Cruise'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  17. Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 22, 2017). "JD Payne & Patrick McKay Bite Into Fox & 21 Laps' 'A People's History Of The Vampire Uprising'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  18. Andreeva, Nellie (July 28, 2018). "'The Lord Of the Rings' Hires Writers JD Payne & Patrick McKay As Amazon Series Moves To Next Development Phase – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  19. Flook, Ray (July 27, 2019). ""Lord of the Rings": Orlando Bloom Has Some Bad News for Legolas Fans About That Amazon Prime Series". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  20. Cohen, Ben (September 8, 2022). "Amazon Wanted a Lord of the Rings Show. It Turned to Frodo and Sam". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  21. Grobar, Matt (February 7, 2022). "The Hideaway Entertainment To Produce Thriller 'Escape' From 'Rings Of Power' Creators J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay; James Watkins To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  22. Orange, B. Alan (September 15, 2018). "The Rock Wraps Disney's Jungle Cruise with a Final Set Video". MovieWeb. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
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