Tom Vaughan has been writing professionally for twenty-five years and teaching the subject for almost as long . He studied at the University of Houston with Broadway legend Jose Quintero and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Edward Albee. It was his work as a writer and director in Houston theatre that got him recognized by Hollywood.
He was soon writing screenplays for, among others, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, Disney, ABC, NBC, CBS, Phoenix Pictures, TNT, MTV Films, and Castle Rock Entertainment. He has developed screenplays for Matthew McConaughey, Nicolas Cage, Barry Sonnenfeld, Chow-Yun Fat, and many others.
WINCHESTER, the film he co-wrote starring Helen Mirren and Jason Clarke, about the infamous Winchester Mystery House, opened nationwide in 2018. Tom just finished work on QUEEN MARY, about the famously haunted cruise liner in Long Beach, California which just wrapped production. His next film is DADDY'S GIRL for XYZ Films with Derrick Borte (UNHINGED) directing, which is slated to start filming later this year.
Recently, Tom set up MOST WANTED at Miramax with director Ruben Fleischer (ZOMBIELAND, VENOM) attached.
His feature film debut was the action film UNSTOPPABLE, starring Wesley Snipes. In 2011, he completed his directorial debut, PLAYING HOUSE, based on a script written with Kristy Dobkin. His past productions include BLACKOUT with Jane Seymour for CBS, and CRITICAL ASSEMBLY with Katherine Heigl for NBC. He served as writer as well as Co-Producer on ATOMIC TWISTER with Sharon Lawrence and DEAD IN A HEARTBEAT with Penelope Anne Miller and Judge Reinhold, both for TBS.
Even while living in Los Angeles, Tom kept his UH season tickets for football and basketball and would come home for as many games as he could. After moving back to Texas in 2019, he fulfilled a long-held ambition and now teaches screenwriting at his beloved alma mater.
