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17-513: The Dragonology books launched the Ologies book series in 2003. The publishers eventually published books with similar formats and themes on both real and fictional topics such as Egyptology , wizardry , pirates , Greek mythology , monsters , and several others. As of 2024, there are 15 main books in the Ologies series. In 2012 Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman announced that they intended to produce

34-667: A film adaptation of the Dragonology books. In 2018 Paramount Pictures announced plans to adapt the Ologies book series into interconnected films under producers Akiva Goldsman and Greg Lessans. The books are published in the United States and Canada by Candlewick Press and in the United Kingdom by Templar Publishing. The games and toys were produced by Sababa Toys. The releases in the Dragonology series include: Ology (book series) Human history The Ologies are

51-708: A licensing agreement to create video games for the Wii and Nintendo DS based on Dragonology , Wizardology and Pirateology . Nik Nak was to develop the Wii titles. Dragonology for the Nintendo DS was released in November 2009. All other “Ologies” video games were cancelled and never produced. In 2008, Universal Studios acquired the film rights to the Dragonology series, with Leonard Hartman set to write and executive produce

68-406: A narrative, Steer has said that "it's slightly different from traditional reading. Readers can dip in and out, but the essential story is told in a linear way." The large-format books contain many novelty items of ephemera including removable maps and postcards, letters that can be unfolded, and tactile items such as “dragon scales”, "mummy cloth" and "gold doubloons". The books are illustrated by

85-548: A new five-year deal with CBS Television Studios to oversee and expand the Star Trek franchise on television, including serving as executive producer on Star Trek: Discovery (which he also co-showruns with Michelle Paradise ), Star Trek: Short Treks , Star Trek: Picard , and Star Trek: Lower Decks . In August 2021, Kurtzman and his production company Secret Hideout extended their overall deal with CBS Studios through 2026. In 2002, Kurtzman married Samantha Counter,

102-448: A series of illustrated, interactive, montessori style books presented in an encyclopedic format. The inspirations for the topics range from fantasy and the unknown (myths and legends, creatures and monsters, paranormal and aliens) to non-fictional human and natural history. The series is primarily authored and edited by Dugald A. Steer . The various "authors" of the books are pseudonyms representing fictional characters who are experts in

119-485: A variety of artists, including Helen Ward, Wayne Anderson, Nghiem Ta, Chris Forsey, A. J. Wood, Douglas Carrel, J.P. Lambert, Ian P. Andrew, Nick Harris, Anne Yvonne Gilbert , John Howe , Tomislav Tomic, G. Hunt, R. Sella, and Carole Thomann. For some books, there were minor differences in titles and cover designs between the British, Australian, Italian and North American publishers. In October 2007, Codemasters announced

136-573: Is known, alongside Orci, for frequently collaborating with Michael Bay and J.J. Abrams , as well as co-creating the TV series Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Picard , and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . Kurtzman was born into a Jewish family and raised in Los Angeles , California . His longtime screenwriting partner Roberto Orci was his best friend in high school. Kurtzman attended Wesleyan University . Kurtzman first teamed with Orci on

153-651: Is to act as overseer and producer of the franchise. Alex Kurtzman Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for co-writing the scripts to Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) with his writing and producing partner Roberto Orci , and directing and co-writing The Mummy (2017). He made his directorial debut with People Like Us (2012), co-written alongside Orci and Jody Lambert. Kurtzman

170-496: The New York Times ' children's bestsellers list for 76 weeks. The books, which are intended for young readers, have spawned additional merchandise including action figures, plush toys, board games and card games, and a video game. Each of the books is given a fictional "author", and purport to be the writings and lost journals of fictional investigators and experts. Since the books follow an encyclopedia format rather than

187-504: The adaptation. In August 2012, it was reported that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci would produce the film for Universal. In October 2012, it was reported that Carlos Saldanha , the director of the Ice Age and Rio films, was developing for 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios an animated feature film based on Alienology: The Complete Book of Extraterrestrials . On January 31, 2018, Paramount Pictures announced they were in

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204-451: The pilot, Kurtzman served as consulting producer on the show for the remainder of its run. They then co-wrote the 2009 film Star Trek . In 2011, Forbes magazine described Orci and Kurtzman as "Hollywood's Secret Weapons" as, over the course of the previous six years, their films had grossed a combined total of over $ 3 billion at the box office. The partnership also wrote People Like Us , originally known as Welcome to People , which

221-537: The process of developing a film franchise centered around all of the Ologies books (15 books as of 2024), by setting up a writers' room currently consisting of Jeff Pinkner , Michael Chabon , Lindsey Beer, Joe Robert Cole , Nicole Perlman and Christina Hodson . The vision for the franchise is the hope that each of the writers will embrace the books by working with visual artists to create treatments that will eventually evolve into seven movie scripts with interconnected stories. Paramount also announced that Akiva Goldsman

238-769: The subject matter. However, some of the pseudonyms used, such as Dr. Ernest Drake from the Dragonology portion of the series, may have been based on real people. The books are published by Templar Publishing in the United Kingdom, Five Mile Press in Australia, Rizzoli Libri in Italy, Candlewick Press in the United States, and Penguin Random House in Canada. The first book, Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons (2003) , remained on

255-570: The syndicated series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys , for the television unit of Pacific Renaissance Pictures, then operating out of Universal International . After they produced several storylines to cope with the absence of lead actor Kevin Sorbo following a stroke that Sorbo had suffered during the fourth season, Kurtzman and Orci, both aged 24, were placed in charge of the show. They moved into films after they were asked to rewrite Michael Bay 's The Island . The film earned nearly $ 163 million at

272-481: The worldwide box office, on a budget of $ 126 million, which was enough of a success that they were brought in to write Bay's Transformers , which earned $ 710 million. Though The Island , Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen were not particularly well received by critics, the three films earned a combined $ 1.7 billion. They co-created the Fox TV series Fringe in 2008 along with J. J. Abrams . After

289-517: Was Kurtzman's theatrical directorial debut. Kurtzman has frequently worked with a tight-knit group of film professionals which include J. J. Abrams , Damon Lindelof , Adam Horowitz , Roberto Orci , Edward Kitsis , Andre Nemec , Josh Appelbaum , Jeff Pinkner , and Bryan Burk . In April 2014, both Orci and Kurtzman confirmed to Variety that they would no longer work together on film projects; they added that they would still work together—but only on television projects. In 2018, Kurtzman signed

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