# Terry Rossio
**Terry Rossio** (born 1960) is an American screenwriter who, in a long partnership with Ted Elliott, co-wrote the Disney animated feature *Aladdin* (1992), *Shrek*, *The Mask of Zorro*, and the first three *Pirates of the Caribbean* films, and served as executive producer and screenwriter on *Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides*[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/rossio-terry-1960) • [2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf). With Elliott he shared an Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA for *Shrek*, which won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Film in 2002[2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1960[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/rossio-terry-1960) |
| Writing partner | Ted Elliott, whom he met at Santa Ana's Saddleback High School; the two worked on the school newspaper and made home movies together[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html) |
| First produced film | *Little Monsters* (1989), totally rewritten after their original script had attracted attention[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html) |
| Breakthrough | *Aladdin* (1992), co-written with Elliott, the highest-grossing film of that year[2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf) |
| Best-known franchise | *Pirates of the Caribbean*: *The Curse of the Black Pearl*, *Dead Man's Chest*, and *At World's End*, plus executive producer and screenwriter duties on *On Stranger Tides*[2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf) |
| Awards | Oscar nomination and BAFTA (Film Award, best adapted screenplay, 2002) for *Shrek*; Annie Award for animated-feature writing, 2001[2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/rossio-terry-1960) |
| Other credits | *The Mask of Zorro*, *Small Soldiers*, *Godzilla* (story), *Treasure Planet*, *Déjà Vu* (with Bill Marsilii)[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html) • [4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9780857854322_A23728010/preview-9780857854322_A23728010.pdf) |
## Early career
Rossio and Elliott struggled to break in while working a variety of jobs. Unlike many aspiring writers, they met five nights a week in a coffee shop to write and decided early to focus on getting any film made rather than developing a single pet project[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html). After about six years, a chance connection through the boyfriend of a waitress at the coffee shop led to their break. Their first produced film, *Little Monsters* (1989), was entirely rewritten; Elliott noted that the Writers Guild strike was on, so the rewrite could not have been done by a writer[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html).
The attention from their original *Little Monsters* script led to a two-year deal with Disney, from which *Aladdin* came[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html). DreamWorks co-founder [Jeffrey Katzenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeffrey-katzenberg), who at the time oversaw Disney's animated features, was so pleased with their work that he signed the writers to DreamWorks' first overall deal[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html).
## The Elliott and Rossio partnership
The two write jointly rather than dividing labor; Rossio has described collaboration as producing "one plus one can equal three," with the drawback that the work takes about twice as long[5](https://scriptmag.com/features/habits-of-highly-successful-screenwriters-be-collaborative). He credits his craft training to Elliott himself: "I learned the craft from my writing partner, Ted Elliott. I don't know where his abundance of ability and technique came from, though I can say he's the most well-read person I've ever met." Rossio has never taken a screenwriting course[6](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5af1145d697a987d247c2773/t/5f134a832a4010553e74c05f/1595099782281/The%2B101%2BHabits%2Bof%2BHighly%2BSuccessful%2BScreenwriters%2C%2B10th%2BAnniversary%2BEdition-%2BInsider%2BSecrets%2Bfrom%2BHollywood%27s%2BTop%2BWriters%2Bby%2BKarl%2BIglesias.pdf).
In 1998 the pair had three summer releases within two months: a shared story credit on *Godzilla* and screenwriting credits on *Small Soldiers* and *The Mask of Zorro*[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html). On *Zorro*, director [Martin Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-campbell) called them "fantastic storytellers" and said that although David Ward rewrote much of the dialogue, "the DNA of the script is entirely theirs; it's entirely their story"[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html).
## Shrek and animation
*Aladdin* convinced Katzenberg that the two "took to animation like a duck to water"[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html). They wrote *Shrek*, which won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Film in 2002[2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf). They did not write *Shrek 2*; in a 2006 interview, Elliott explained that the story chosen for the sequel, a variation on *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner*, meant Shrek no longer motivated the plot, and the pair remained on that film only as "creative consultants," contributing character and plot elements[7](https://www.bullz-eye.com/2006/12/13/interview-with-ted-elliot-and-terry-rossio/).
They also worked on DreamWorks' *Sinbad* project around 1998, and Rossio later said it was pure chance that three pirate pictures (that film and the first two *Pirates* movies) were released within seven months of each other[8](https://mjsimpson-films.blogspot.com/2016/04/interview-terry-rossio-2002.html).
## Pirates of the Caribbean
The pair's connection to the franchise predates the films: while working on *Aladdin* in 1992, Elliott and Rossio had devised an approach to a pirate movie and pitched it to Disney as a tie-in to the theme-park ride, and Disney passed[9](https://creativescreenwriting.com/pirates-caribbean/). Producer [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-bruckheimer) later described the situation: Disney supplied a Pirates script that was good but "by-the-numbers," so he brought in Elliott and Rossio, "two of the writers who wrote *Shrek*," who came up with the idea of pirates turning into skeletons in the moonlight and of having to return a treasure rather than steal one[10](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2017/06/23/producer-jerry-bruckheimer-explains-what-makes-pirates-of-the-caribbean-a-success/).
Rossio and Elliott wrote *The Curse of the Black Pearl*, *Dead Man's Chest*, and *At World's End*, and served as executive producers and screenwriters on *Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides*[2](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf).
## Other work
With Bill Marsilii, Rossio wrote the [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington) thriller *[Déjà Vu](https://www.edgepedia.org/deja-vu-2006-film)* (2006); the script reportedly commanded a fee of $7 million, structured as a $2 million guarantee plus a $5 million production bonus[4](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9780857854322_A23728010/preview-9780857854322_A23728010.pdf). Rossio said the script took seven years to write[7](https://www.bullz-eye.com/2006/12/13/interview-with-ted-elliot-and-terry-rossio/). He is also known for *Godzilla vs. Kong* among later credits[11](https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/terry-rossio-writer-pirates-caribbean-part-business-screenwriting).
## Advice to writers
At Rossio's initiative, he and Elliott maintain the website wordplayer.com, where they publish advice on the screenwriting profession; in 1998 Rossio reported more than 5,000 hits per month, and said the goal was to "show aspiring writers the truth" amid a shortage of practical information[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html). He has also written essays on craft, including a much-cited standard called the Warner Bros. hallway test: whether a busy reader can describe the film's premise in a brief, arresting reply[12](https://scriptmag.com/features/concept-is-king). Recurrent points in his advice include that "plot problems are always character solutions" and that a premise choice defines a writer's creative instincts in the eyes of the industry[12](https://scriptmag.com/features/concept-is-king).
## References
1. [Rossio, Terry 1960–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/rossio-terry-1960)
2. [Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides press materials (Cannes Festival PDF)](https://cdn.festival-cannes.com/media/uploads/2023/03/71091.pdf)
3. [Ted and Terry's Excellent Screenwriting Adventures, Los Angeles Times (July 8, 1998)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-08-ca-1608-story.html)
4. [Writers who write (fee table excerpt)](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9780857854322_A23728010/preview-9780857854322_A23728010.pdf)
5. [Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Be Collaborative, Script Magazine](https://scriptmag.com/features/habits-of-highly-successful-screenwriters-be-collaborative)
6. [The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters (Karl Iglesias)](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5af1145d697a987d247c2773/t/5f134a832a4010553e74c05f/1595099782281/The%2B101%2BHabits%2Bof%2BHighly%2BSuccessful%2BScreenwriters%2C%2B10th%2BAnniversary%2BEdition-%2BInsider%2BSecrets%2Bfrom%2BHollywood%27s%2BTop%2BWriters%2Bby%2BKarl%2BIglesias.pdf)
7. [Interview with Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, Bullz-Eye (2006)](https://www.bullz-eye.com/2006/12/13/interview-with-ted-elliot-and-terry-rossio/)
8. [Interview: Terry Rossio (2002), MJ Simpson](https://mjsimpson-films.blogspot.com/2016/04/interview-terry-rossio-2002.html)
9. [Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio on Pirates of the Caribbean, Creative Screenwriting](https://creativescreenwriting.com/pirates-caribbean/)
10. [Producer Jerry Bruckheimer Explains What Makes 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' A Success, Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2017/06/23/producer-jerry-bruckheimer-explains-what-makes-pirates-of-the-caribbean-a-success/)
11. [Terry Rossio, Writer of Pirates of the Caribbean Part I: The Business of Screenwriting, Final Draft](https://www.finaldraft.com/blog/terry-rossio-writer-pirates-caribbean-part-business-screenwriting)
12. [Concept is King, Script Magazine](https://scriptmag.com/features/concept-is-king)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Screenwriters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license