Roberto “Bob” Gaston Orci, best known for writing the “Transformers” and “Star Trek” movies, died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday after a battle with kidney disease. He was 51.
A prolific writer, Orci was also known for his work on “Hawaii Five-0.”
“He was a visionary storyteller with a boundless heart and a beautiful soul,” Orci’s brother, J.R. Orci said. “But beyond his creative talents, he was a compassionate friend who would put his life on hold to help a stranger and find room in his home for the most overlooked pup at the shelter.”
Orci was known for his long collaboration with Alex Kurtzman, whom he met when they were in their teens at Crossroads, a private school in Santa Monica.
They began their their writing collaboration with the 1995 series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.” In 2008, they teamed up with J.J. Abrams for the Fox sci-fi series “Fringe,” continuing to collaborate on Abrams’ “Star Trek” feature films. They also created “Sleepy Hollow’ with Phillip Iscove in 2013. It ran for four seasons. Along with Peter Lenkov, they also rebooted the 1960s classic “Hawaii Five-0,” in 2010 which had a 10-season run on CBS.
Orci and Kurtzman’s first film project was Michael Bay’s 2005 thriller “The Island,” which led to them becoming involved in the “Transformers” film franchise.
They teamed up again on the 2008 thriller “Eagle Eye,” with Orci receiving his first producer credit.
Without Kurtzman, Orci created the 2014 television series “Matador” for the El Rey Network, but it was cancelled at the end of the first season. He and Kurtzman were both EPs on CBS’ “Scorpion” and “Limitless.”
In 2017, Orci was given the “Visionary Impact Award” by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for “making outstanding contributions to the positive portrayals of Latinos in film and TV.”
With Kurtzman and Abrams, Orci received Hugo Award and WGA nominations for “Fringe.” He also shared a Daytime Emmy Award with Kurtzman and other writers in 2012 for the animated series “Transformers Prime.” His screenplay with Kurtzman for Abrams’ first “Star Trek” feature also received a WGA nomination in 2010.
