Robert Mark Kamen

Robert Mark Kamen
Born	October 9, 1947
Alma mater	New York University (BA) University of Pennsylvania (PhD)
Occupation(s)	Screenwriter, producer, winemaker
Known for	The Karate Kid Transporter Taken

Robert Mark Kamen (born October 9, 1947) is an American screenwriter, best known as creator of The Karate Kid franchise, as well as for his later collaborations with French filmmaker Luc Besson, which includes the screenplay for The Fifth Element (originally devised by Besson) and the Transporter and Taken franchises. He now produces wine from his vineyards near Sonoma, California.

Early life and education

Kamen was born in 1947. He grew up in the Bronx in New York City. He graduated from New York University in 1969. He received his Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

Career

Kamen is a frequent collaborator of French writer and director Luc Besson, who co-created The Fifth Element, The Transporter, and the Taken series. The two first worked together on the Natalie Portman and Jean Reno thriller The Professional. After the success of The Fifth Element, Besson invited Kamen to join him in his goal of creating a "mini-studio" in Europe, making "movies that would travel, international movies, you know, action movies."

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid is a semi-autobiographical story based on Kamen's life. When Kamen was 17, he was beaten up by a gang of bullies after the 1964 New York World's Fair. He thus began to study martial arts in order to defend himself. Kamen was unhappy with his first teacher who taught martial arts as a tool for violence and revenge. He moved on to study Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate under a teacher who did not speak English but himself was a student of Chōjun Miyagi.

As a Hollywood screenwriter, Kamen was mentored by Frank Price, who told him that producer Jerry Weintraub had optioned a news article about the young child of a single mother who had earned a black belt to defend himself against neighborhood bullies. Kamen then combined his own life story with the news article and used both to create the screenplay for The Karate Kid.

DC Comics had a character called "Karate Kid." The filmmakers received special permission from DC Comics in 1984 to use the title for the first film (and subsequent sequels).

Vineyards

In 1980, after being paid $135,000 for his first screenplay (which was never produced), Kamen used the check to buy 280 acres of rocky land on western slopes of the Mayacamas mountains north of Sonoma in Sonoma County, California. He hired winegrower Phil Coturri to make 46 acres into a vineyard in 1981. In 1984, the first grapes were sold to local winemakers. Half the vineyard was destroyed in a fire in 1996. Kamen replanted the vineyard, and in 1999 he bottled his first Kamen-branded wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2002, Kamen hired Mark Herold to craft his wines.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credit	Notes
1981	Taps	Screenplay by	Co-wrote screenplay with Darryl Ponicsan and James Lineberger
1982	Split Image		Co-wrote screenplay with Robert Kaufman, based on a story by Scott Spencer
1984	The Karate Kid	Written by
1986	The Karate Kid Part II	Written by, characters created by
1989	The Karate Kid Part III
	The Punisher	Producer, uncredited rewrite
1992	Gladiator	Screenplay by, story by	Co-wrote screenplay with Lyle Kessler, co-wrote story with Djordje Milicevic, as Robert Kamen
	The Power of One	Screenplay by
	Lethal Weapon 3		Co-wrote screenplay with Jeffrey Boam, based on a story by Jeffrey Boam
	Under Siege	Uncredited rewrite
1993	The Fugitive
1994	The Next Karate Kid	Characters created by
1995	A Walk in the Clouds	Screenplay by	Co-wrote with Mark Miller & Harvey Weitzman
1997	The Devil's Own	Uncredited rewrite
	The Fifth Element	Screenplay by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson, story by Luc Besson
	The Devil's Advocate	Uncredited rewrite
1998	Left Luggage	Special thanks
2001	Kiss of the Dragon	Screenplay by	Co-wrote screenplay with Luc Besson, based on a story by Jet Li
2002	The Transporter	Written by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson
2005	Unleashed	Artistic consultant, creative consultant
	Transporter 2	Written by, characters created by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson, characters created with Luc Besson
2006	Bandidas	Written by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson
2008	Taken
	Transporter 3	Written by, characters created by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson, characters created with Luc Besson
2010	The Karate Kid	Story by
2011	Colombiana	Written by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson
2012	Taken 2	Written by, characters created by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson, characters created with Luc Besson
2014	Brick Mansions	Artistic consultant
	Lucy	Special thanks
	Taken 3	Written by, characters created by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson, characters created with Luc Besson
2015	The Transporter Refueled	Characters created by	Characters created with Luc Besson
2016	The Warriors Gate	Written by	Co-wrote with Luc Besson
2018–present	Cobra Kai	Characters created by	Based on The Karate Kid films
2019	Angel Has Fallen	Screenplay by	Co-wrote with Ric Roman Waugh and Matt Cook