Steven Lisberger
American film director (born 1951)
title: "Steven Lisberger" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-animated-film-directors", "american-animated-film-producers", "1951-births", "animators-from-new-york-(state)", "film-producers-from-new-york-(state)", "american-male-screenwriters", "film-directors-from-new-york-city", "the-hill-school-alumni", "living-people", "film-directors-from-pennsylvania", "american-science-fiction-film-directors", "screenwriters-from-new-york-(state)", "american-people-of-jewish-descent", "tufts-university-alumni"] description: "American film director (born 1951)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Lisberger" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American film director (born 1951) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Steven Lisberger |
| image | Steven Lisberger by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg |
| caption | Lisberger in 2025 |
| birth_name | Steven M. Lisberger |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | New York City, U.S. |
| alma_mater | Tufts University |
| occupation | |
| yearsactive | 1973–present |
| spouse | Peggy Flook Lisberger |
| children | 1 |
| known_for | Tron |
| :: |
| name = Steven Lisberger | image = Steven Lisberger by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg | caption = Lisberger in 2025 | birth_name = Steven M. Lisberger | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = | alma_mater = Tufts University | occupation = | yearsactive = 1973–present | spouse = Peggy Flook Lisberger | children = 1 | known_for = Tron Steven M. Lisberger (born April 24, 1951) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing the 1982 film Tron.
Early life and education
Lisberger was born in 1951 in New York City and grew up in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Of his ethnic background, he said that his father was Jewish while his mother's side was half Jewish and half Christian, both native German. Lisberger attended The Hill School in Pottstown and Tufts University. In 1973, he graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
Career
While attending Tufts University, Lisberger and five associates formed Lisberger Studios. Their first project of note was Cosmic Cartoon, which earned a Student Academy Award nomination in 1973. It was also featured in the nationally-released anthology film, Fantastic Animation Festival, in 1977. Through his company, Lisberger Studios, Lisberger directed the production of commercials, title sequences, and feature segments for programs, such as Make a Wish and Rebop.
In 1978, after moving to Venice, California, Lisberger and his business partner Donald Kushner conceived and produced a 90-minute animated film, Animalympics, for NBC's coverage of the 1980 Olympics. They then turned their creative efforts to the development of Tron at The Walt Disney Company. It was released in 1982 and has since become a cult classic.
His film Hot Pursuit (1987) features one of Ben Stiller's first speaking roles.
In 1989, Lisberger directed Slipstream, though the film was a critical and commercial failure.
Lisberger spent most of the 1990s and 2000s writing screenplays, with several being optioned by various studios.
In 2007, it was announced that he and Jessica Chobot were working together on a film project called Soul Code, though it was never produced.
Lisberger tried for years to convince Disney to develop a Tron sequel, though the project frequently languished in development hell. Eventually, Disney green-lit Tron: Legacy, and it was released in 2010 with Lisberger serving as producer. The film was a success at the box office and was followed by a television series, Tron: Uprising and another sequel Tron: Ares.
Personal life
Lisberger and his wife, Peggy, live in Santa Monica, California and have a son named Carl.
Filmography
::data[format=table]
| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Cosmic Cartoon | Short film; also animator & art director | |||
| 1980 | Animalympics | Television film | |||
| 1982 | Tron | Also visual effects concepts | |||
| 1987 | Hot Pursuit | ||||
| 1989 | Slipstream | ||||
| 2010 | Tron: Legacy | Cameo as "Shaddix" | |||
| 2025 | Tron: Ares | Creative consultant | |||
| :: |
References
References
- LoProto, Mark. (2019-11-22). "How to Stream 'Tron (1982)': Your Family Viewing Guide".
- Weintraub, Steve 'Frosty'. (2010-03-16). "Steven Lisberger On Set Interview TRON LEGACY - Read or Listen Here".
- (March 23, 2012). "Trying to go beyond Tron".
- (March 17, 2010). "Tron Legacy Set Interview: Steven Lisberger, Creator of Tron – /Film".
- (April 7, 2011). "Disney pulls out the stops for 'Tron' and 'Tron: Legacy'".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::