Many years ago, \u201cFast & Furious\u201d screenwriter Chris Morgan urged his friend Craig Mazin to try out a certain hit postapocalyptic video game. Mazin\u2019s reaction? \u201cEh, zombies. Not high on my list.\u201d But when Morgan finally wore him down, he bought a PlayStation and gave \u201cThe Last of Us\u201d a spin. \u201cI was just blown away,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI\u2019ve never felt that much about a game\u2014until \u2018The Last of Us Part II.\u2019 \u201d Now, he\u2019s the co-creator and showrunner of HBO\u2019s critically acclaimed adaptation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Set in the aftermath of a fungal pandemic that\u2019s transformed most of the human race into vicious, zombie-like creatures, \u201cThe Last of Us\u201d follows the journey of jaded smuggler Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey), a teenager who might just be the key to curing the infection. More than two years after the release of the first season, which earned a whopping 24 Emmy nominations, the second installment debuted April 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back when he first fell in love with the game, Mazin knew he wouldn\u2019t be at the top of anyone\u2019s list to bring the story to the small screen. At the time, he was a comedy guy, best known for co-writing the scripts of the third and fourth installments of \u201cScary Movie\u201d and the second and third of \u201cThe Hangover.\u201d He\u2019s also co-hosted the popular screenwriting podcast \u201cScriptnotes<\/a>\u201d since 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really wanted to work in the entertainment business. But it\u2019s hard to break in and hard to stay in,\u201d he explains. \u201cI had a wife and kids, and I just understood that the more [projects] I did that got produced, the better I would get\u2014because it\u2019s in the making of things that you really learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though he\u2019s since made the shift to dramatic work, Mazin believes that comedy is the ideal training ground for writers. \u201cIt\u2019s the hardest thing to do, and the most technically demanding,\u201d he says. \u201cYou are so accountable to the audience. And that is a discipline I apply as much as I can to dramas to make sure that we\u2019re not being self-indulgent or boring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n