After receiving his
MFA from the
USC School of Cinematic Arts, he co-authored (with
Chris Columbus) the screenplay to the award-winning animated film
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. Other motion picture credits include
Lionheart, helmed by
Oscar-winning director
Franklin J. Schaffner, and
Pet Sematary Two. Based on Outten's early work,
Steven Spielberg selected him to do a rewrite of
Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Although he didn't receive credit on the film, the assignment led to an exclusive multiyear writing deal at
Warner Bros., during which he penned several screenplays, including an unproduced sequel to
The Goonies. Among the television series he has written for is the cult favorite
The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., which aired on the
Fox Network. He also shared writing credit on
Last Rites, an original TV movie for the Starz/Encore! pay cable network starring
Randy Quaid. In March 2009, Outten's original screenplay,
Mysterious Travels, was acquired by
Walden Media and
New Line Cinema to serve as the basis for the 3-D sequel to
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008). He subsequently rewrote the script, customizing the story for the sequel. Titled
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the film starred
Michael Caine,
Dwayne Johnson,
Vanessa Hudgens, and
Josh Hutcherson. Released by
Warner Bros. in 2012,
Journey 2 grossed $335 million at the box office worldwide. ==References==