Overview
John D. Payne () and Patrick McKay () are an American screenwriting duo. They are best known for developing the Amazon Prime Video fantasy drama series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, based on the history of Middle-earth by English author J. R. R. Tolkien.
Early life
Payne and McKay are originally from McLean, Virginia. The two met in 1997 on their high school debate team, and directed a short play that Payne wrote for their school's festival. Payne attended Yale University and studied English Literature, graduating with honors. McKay attended Stonehill College and studied Theater Arts, and American University, where he received an MFA in Creative Writing.
Career
Their script Midas helped them get agency representation and management. In August 2010, they sold their first ever script Goliath to Relativity Media. In 2011, they were hired to write Deadliest Warrior for Paramount based on the Deadliest Warrior Spike television series. After writing Deadliest Warrior, Payne and McKay went to work for Bad Robot. There, they wrote Boilerplate, which is based on the novel of the same name, and Micronauts. Their script was later rewritten by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung. In April 2014, the two were hired to write a new reboot of Flash Gordon (in development) for 20th Century Fox. Four months later, they were announced to have written the most recent draft of Disney's Jungle Cruise. In August, they were set to write A People's History Of The Vampire Uprising for Fox and 21 Laps. The two were hired to write Amazon's Lord of the Rings series in July 2018.
They were confirmed as showrunners in July 2019. To develop the series, Payne and McKay believed J. R. R. Tolkien's lesser-known Second Age was the key. They worked together to map out five seasons of television that told the first five minutes of the prologue in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. After their first pitch to Amazon, they got a call to return, but they had to pitch all five seasons of the series. The two mapped out the series at Payne's assistant's apartment, and successfully pitched the show. Afterwards, they were called back for seven more pitches. In initial meetings with the Tolkien Estate, Payne quoted Tolkien and greeted Simon Tolkien in Elvish. Their idea for the series lined up with Simon Tolkien's vision, and their former boss J. J. Abrams recommended them to Amazon.
In February 2022, they set up their 2017 Black List script Escape with The Hideaway Entertainment, with James Watkins to direct the film.
Personal life
McKay is married with two children. Payne is married to actress and opera singer Rachel Payne, and has two children, Adam and Ethan. Payne is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.