---
name: "W.D. Richter"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/w-d-richter"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "7 December 1945"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-21T03:28:59.148181+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."
---

# W.D. Richter

Writer. Born 7 December 1945 in New Britain, Connecticut, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 7 December 1945, New Britain, Connecticut, USA
- **Active:** 1978–1986
- **Also known as:** Walter Duch Richter
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as writer, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 86 (1), 1980s 78 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._D._Richter, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1300032, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0725379/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/18179

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Invasion of the Body Snatchers*](https://film.one/film/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers.md) (86)

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

## Biography

W.D. Richter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer, also credited as Walter Duch Richter. Born on 7 December 1945 in New Britain, Connecticut, he graduated from Dartmouth College and attended USC Film School before beginning screenwriting work in Hollywood in the 1970s.

His early credits include the comedies *Slither* (1973) and *Nickelodeon* (1976). He wrote the screenplay for *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1978) and later co-wrote *Big Trouble in Little China* (1986). Richter directed *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension* (1984), having formed the production company Canton/Richter with Neil Canton. His screenplay for *Brubaker* (1980) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Other writing credits include *Dracula* (1979), *Needful Things* (1993), *Home for the Holidays* (1995) and *Stealth* (2005).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, starburstmagazine.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Big Trouble in Little China* (1986), Fi1m 78, Adaptation — [page](https://film.one/film/big-trouble-in-little-china.md)
- *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1978), Fi1m 86, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers.md)

## Complete filmography (16)

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

- *Stealth* (2005), Writer
- *Home for the Holidays* (1995), Screenplay
- *Needful Things* (1993), Screenplay
- *Late for Dinner* (1991), Director, Producer
- *Big Trouble in Little China* (1986), Adaptation — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/big-trouble-in-little-china.md)
- *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension* (1984), Director, Producer
- *Hard Feelings* (1982), Screenplay
- *The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper* (1981), as Additional Writing
- *All Night Long* (1981), Writer
- *Brubaker* (1980), Screenplay, Story
- *Dracula* (1979), Screenplay
- *Invasion of the Body Snatchers* (1978), Screenplay — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers.md)
- *Nickelodeon* (1976), Writer
- *Peeper* (1975), Writer
- *Slither* (1974), Writer
- *Slither* (1973), Associate Producer, Writer

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1981: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *Brubaker*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/w-d-richter