---
name: "Don Payne"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/don-payne"
fi1m_id: "don-payne"
imdb_id: "nm0668309"
tmdb_id: 20401
wikidata_id: "Q2502683"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "5 May 1964"
died: "26 March 2013"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 66
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-10-07T12:10:15.530279+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Don Payne

## Identity

Don Payne

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/don-payne
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** don-payne
- **IMDb ID:** nm0668309
- **TMDB ID:** 20401
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2502683
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Payne_(writer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2502683, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668309/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/20401

Writer. Born 5 May 1964 in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. Died 26 March 2013.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 5 May 1964, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
- **Died:** 26 March 2013
- **Active:** 1989–2013
- **Frequently works with:** [Bill Freiberger](https://film.one/person/bill-freiberger.md), [Brian K. Roberts](https://film.one/person/brian-k-roberts.md), [John Frink](https://film.one/person/john-frink.md), [Reid Harrison](https://film.one/person/reid-harrison.md), [Sam Simon](https://film.one/person/sam-simon.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 66, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 88 (1), 2000s 52 (1), 2010s 62 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 59 to 59 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Genres:** Action 3, Adventure 3, Fantasy 2, Animation 1, Comedy 1, Science Fiction 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,396m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Payne_(writer), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2502683, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0668309/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/20401

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*The Simpsons*](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md) (88), [*Thor*](https://film.one/film/thor.md) (66), [*Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer*](https://film.one/film/fantastic-four-rise-of-the-silver-surfer.md) (52)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Don Payne was an American writer and producer. He was born William Donald Payne on 5 May 1964 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and died on 26 March 2013 in Los Angeles.

Payne studied at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career writing for sitcoms including *Hope and Gloria* with collaborator John Frink. The pair joined the writing staff of *The Simpsons* in 1998; Payne wrote or co-wrote 16 episodes and served as a producer on over 100. He later wrote the screenplays for *My Super Ex-Girlfriend* (2006) and *Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer* (2007), and co-wrote *Thor* (2011) and *Thor: The Dark World* (2013). Payne shared four Primetime Emmy Awards for *The Simpsons* and received the Writers Guild of America Paul Selvin Award for the 2005 episode "Fraudcast News".

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, latimes.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *Thor: The Dark World* (2013), Fi1m 58, Story — [page](https://film.one/film/thor-the-dark-world.md)
- *Thor* (2011), Fi1m 66, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/thor.md)
- *Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer* (2007), Fi1m 52, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/fantastic-four-rise-of-the-silver-surfer.md)
- *The Simpsons* (1989), Fi1m 88, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)

## Complete filmography (9)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Thor: The Dark World* (2013), Story, In Memory Of — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/thor-the-dark-world.md)
- *Thor* (2011), Screenplay — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/thor.md)
- *Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer* (2007), Screenplay — Fi1m 52, [page](https://film.one/film/fantastic-four-rise-of-the-silver-surfer.md)
- *My Super Ex-Girlfriend* (2006), Screenplay
- *The Brian Benben Show* (1998), series, Writer
- *Men Behaving Badly* (1996), series, Writer
- *Pride & Joy* (1995), series, Writer
- *Hope and Gloria* (1995), series, Writer
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, Writer, Producer — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/don-payne