John Fusco

Photo by Jay Kennedy

Biography

John Fusco was born on March 21, 1959 in Waterbury, Connecticut, United States. Known for his stories of epic Americana; In 1975, Fusco dropped out of high school (Wilby High School) when he was 16 years old to travel the American Southeast as a blues musician and factory worker.

Career

At 21 years of age, he went back to night school where he achieved a GED diploma and was later accepted into New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. At Tisch School of the Arts, his screenwriting mentors were Waldo Salt, Ring Lardner, Jr. and Lorenzo Semple, Jr. His first two student scripts won the national Nissan-FOCUS (Films of College and University Students) Award two years in a row and the second, Crossroads, based on his traveling blues experience, was directed by Walter Hill in 1986. In 1988, Fusco scripted and produced the iconic box office hit Young Guns and its equally-popular sequel Young Guns II in 1990. His research experiences on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (South Dakota) led to the controversial of the film Thunderheart in 1992, an acclaimed exposes federal abuses in contemporary Native American communities. In 2002, his first and only animated film script Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003. Fusco also went on to script the Native American miniseries Dreamkeeper (on ABC) in 2003 and the popular western epic film Hidalgo in 2004. From 2014 to 2016 Fusco was the creator and executive producer of the Netflix original series Marco Polo. In 2019, Fusco scripted the original screenplay The Highwaymen which stars Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson and is directed by John Lee Hancock. Most recently, Fusco’s 2022 original screenplay The Wind & The Reckoning was the source for the indigenous Hawaiian historical drama that won for best film at multiple indie festivals. His latest spec script The Rescue has been purchased by Skydance and will be helmed by Potsy Ponciroli, starring Brandon Sklenar.

Motion Pictures (My List)

Writer

1986: Crossroads

1988: Young Guns

1990: Young Guns II

1992: Thunderheart

2002: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

2004: Hidalgo

2008: The Forbidden Kingdom

2019: The Highwaymen

2022: The Wind & The Reckoning

Producer

1988: Young Guns — Executive Producer

1990: Young Guns II — Executive Producer

1992: Thunderheart

2022: The Wind & The Reckoning

Actor

1990: Young Guns II — Branded Man

Upcoming

Last Train to Memphis — Writer (in-development)

The Alchemist - Writer (in-development)
Spirit Animals — Writer (in-development)
Phantom — Writer (in-development)
Hollywood Horseman (documentary) — Himself (post-production) [Spring 2026]
The Rescue — Writer (pre-production) [January 29, 2027]
Young Guns: Dead or Alive — Writer and Producer (pre-production)

Publications (My List)

2002: Paradise Salvage

2014: Dog Beach

2024: Blue Christmas (short story on digital)

Television

Himself

1994: The Legend of Billy the Kid (documentary)

2002: Spirit of the Wild Mustang (special documentary)

Writer

2003: Dreamkeeper (miniseries)

2014-16: Marco Polo (4 episodes)

2015: Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes (special)

Producer

2003: Dreamkeeper — Associate Producer

2004: America’s First Horse: Hidalgo and the Spanish Mustang (short documentary) — Executive Producer

2006: Silent Thunder (documentary) — Executive Producer

2014-16: Marco Polo — Executive Producer

2015: Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes — Executive Producer

Creator

2014-16: Marco Polo

Upcoming

Hispaniola — Writer and Executive Producer (in-development since 2019)
Thunder Road — Creator and Executive Producer (pre-production)

Albums

Singles (as John Fusco and the X-Road Riders)

2018: Drink Takes the Man

2018: Poutine

2018: Hello, Highway

2018: I Got Soul

Studio Albums

2018: John Fusco and the X-Road Riders (self-title)

2020: John the Revelator

2022: Borderlands (as himself)

Featured Musician / Artist

2018: HCR III — Hill Country Revue (Hammond B-3 Organ)

2025: Something about hope — with H. Jack Williams

Upcoming

2026: Borderlands II

Awards

Films of College and University Students (FOCUS)

1983: Winner for Best Screenplay (Blues Water)

1984: Winner for Best Screenplay (Crossroads)

Western Heritage Awards

1989: Winner for Theatrical Motion Picture (Young Guns)

2003: Winner for Theatrical Motion Picture (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron)

Western Writers of America, Inc. (Spur Award)

2005: Winner for Best Western Drama Script (Hidalgo)

2020: Winner for Best Western Drama Script (The Highwaymen)

2023: Finalist for Best Western Song (Cowboy Picture)

Independent Blues Awards

2021: Independent Blues Artist Award — Nominated for Best Modern Roots (John Fusco and the X-Road Riders)

2021: Independent Blues CD Award — Nominated for Best Modern Roots (John the Revelator)

2021: Independent Blues Song Award — Nominated for Best Modern Roots (The Hottest Part of the Flame)

Other Awards and Honors

2001: New Blood Dagger Award — Shortlisted for Best Novel (Paradise Salvage) *

2004: Humanitarian Award — Winner (Dreamkeeper) **

2006: Best of the West — Winner for Best Western Screenwriter ^

2019: True Westerner Award — Winner ^

2019: Former Texas Rangers Foundation (FTRF) — Captain

2020: C&I Movie Award — Nominated for Best Screenplay (The Highwaymen)

2020: Governor’s Award — Winner for Excellence in the Arts

2022: Festival Prize Award — Winner for Best Screenplay (The Wind & The Reckoning) ^^

Quotes

#1 As a writer of both novels and screenplays, I can say that screenwriting is a vastly rewarding creative life - if you fight hard enough to do it on your own terms. Whether I write books or not, my screenwriting life has been creatively rewarding and remains so.

#2 “Horse Thunder” is what I call the sound of galloping hooves.

#3 Music has always been a part of my storytelling, but I’m excited that it has come back into my creative life in such an unexpected but innate and meaningful way.

Trivia

• In 1971, Fusco (age 12) studied and earned a black belt of Shaolin Kung Fu.
• In 1977, Fusco (age 18) returned home to New England and co-founded the Travis McComb Band, a Southern rock outfit that was composed of several friends from his past in New Haven, Connecticut.
• In 1986, Fusco graduates and earned a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) degree at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
• In Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, Fusco was an adopted of the Oglala Lakota tribe by Chief Frank Fools Crow.
• Fusco wrote Robert Redford’s narration (uncredited) for the 1992 Michael Apted documentary Incident at Oglala.
• Fusco scripted the American Revolutionary War epic film Rebels, which chronicles Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys, but the production was cancelled.
• In 2018, Fusco returned to his blues music background and has been recording original songs with members of the North Mississippi All-Stars. He also plays Hammond B-3 organ on the third album released by the southern band Hill Country Revue (HCR III).
• In 2021, Fusco created his own record label called Rocket 88 Records.

Notes

* The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA)

** First Americans in the Arts (FAA)

^ True West Magazine

^^ Boston Film Festival