# Rich Wilkes
**Rich Wilkes** (Richard Wilkes, born 1966) is an American screenwriter whose films center on rock music and youth culture. He wrote the 1994 comedy *[Airheads](https://www.edgepedia.org/airheads)*, created the *xXx* action franchise with the 2002 film *xXx*, and co-wrote the 2019 [Mötley Crüe](https://www.edgepedia.org/motley-crue) biopic *The Dirt*. He is also the singer of Carne Asada, a punk rock mariachi band.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rich_wilkes) • [2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) • [3](https://www.richwilkes.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966, Princeton, New Jersey, USA[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rich_wilkes) |
| Major-studio debut | *Airheads* (1994), directed by Michael Lehmann, distributed by 20th Century Fox[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) |
| Franchise creation | Sole screenwriter of *xXx* (2002) and holder of "based on characters created by" credits on the sequels[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) |
| *The Dirt* | Co-writer of the Mötley Crüe biopic (2019), based on the book by Neil Strauss and the band; the film took 17 years to reach the screen[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) |
| Music career | Singer of Carne Asada, a punk rock mariachi band formed in 2004; the band played the Vans Warped Tour[3](https://www.richwilkes.com/) |
| Education | University of California, Santa Cruz; American Film Institute screenwriting program, left after his first year[4](https://indiefilmhustle.com/rich-wilkes/) |
## Early life and education
He began writing for 'zines and newspapers in the 1980s, interviewing punk and rock figures including [Jello Biafra](https://www.edgepedia.org/jello-biafra), Keith Morris, Bad Religion, NOFX, The Vandals, Avenged Sevenfold, Sum-41, and [Buckcherry](https://www.edgepedia.org/buckcherry).[3](https://www.richwilkes.com/)
At the [University of California, Santa Cruz](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-california-santa-cruz), there was no film program, so he studied theater arts with a film emphasis. Because the school had no screenwriting major, he designed his own major, submitting a screenplay as his thesis. He then entered the two-year screenwriting program at the [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute). During his first year, one of his scripts was optioned by Touchstone for $10,000, the same amount as the year's tuition, and he left the program without completing the degree. That optioned script became *Glory Daze*, the first film produced by Chris Moore, who was then his agent.[4](https://indiefilmhustle.com/rich-wilkes/)
## Screenwriting career
**1990s comedies.** Wilkes's major-studio debut was as screenwriter of *Airheads* (1994), about a band called The Lone Rangers that takes a radio station hostage to get its song played; the film starred [Brendan Fraser](https://www.edgepedia.org/brendan-fraser), Adam Sandler, and [Steve Buscemi](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-buscemi), and Wilkes also appears on screen as the "Corduroy Rocker".[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) He followed it with a co-writer credit alongside director James Melkonian on *The Stöned Age* (1994), a comedy set in the [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) stoner subculture of the 1970s, and the same team worked with the prank-call comedy duo The Jerky Boys on *The Jerky Boys: The Movie* (1995).[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) He wrote and directed *Glory Daze*, a college comedy drawing on his own days at Santa Cruz; sources list its release as 1995 or 1996.[5](https://www.movie-list.com/actors/rich-wilkes) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rich_wilkes)
**The xXx franchise.** Wilkes is credited as the sole screenwriter of the 2002 action-adventure film *xXx*, and his "based on characters created by" credit on the sequels establishes him as the creator of the franchise.[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/) His own website credits his films with over $1.2 billion in worldwide box office adjusted for inflation.[3](https://www.richwilkes.com/)
**The Dirt.** Wilkes co-wrote *The Dirt* (2019), the biopic of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, based on the New York Times bestselling book by [Neil Strauss](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-strauss) and the band. The project took 17 years to reach production; [David Fincher](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-fincher) was attached to direct in 2004 and [Larry Charles](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-charles) in 2008 before the film was finally made for Netflix.[2](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/)
## Music
Wilkes is the singer of Carne Asada, a band formed in 2004 that describes itself as the world's original punk rock mariachi band and played the Vans Warped Tour. The band was originally put together as a prank to get onto the [Warped Tour](https://www.edgepedia.org/warped-tour), and its story is told in the 2006 music documentary *Punk Like Me*, in which Wilkes also appears as himself and as the character Rico Suave; he is credited as writer and executive producer on the film.[3](https://www.richwilkes.com/)
## Later work
His later screen credits include co-writer and story credit on *Bulletproof 2* (2020).[5](https://www.movie-list.com/actors/rich-wilkes) In a 2022 interview he described the changed economics of studio screenwriting: in the 1990s studios commissioned large numbers of scripts from pitch meetings, while by the 2020s writers were expected to arrive with a finished script, an attached star, a director, and financing already in place.[4](https://indiefilmhustle.com/rich-wilkes/)
## References
1. [Rich Wilkes, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/rich_wilkes)
2. [BPS 169: The Ugly Truth of Being a Hollywood Screenwriter with Rich Wilkes, Bulletproof Screenwriting](https://bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/rich-wilkes/)
3. [Home, Rich Wilkes Screenwriter (official site)](https://www.richwilkes.com/)
4. [IFH 571: The Ugly Truth of Being a Hollywood Screenwriter with Rich Wilkes, Indie Film Hustle](https://indiefilmhustle.com/rich-wilkes/)
5. [Rich Wilkes, Movie List](https://www.movie-list.com/actors/rich-wilkes)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screenwriters and television writers › Film screenwriters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license