Ken Daurio: Mormon Screenwriter

Ken Daurio is a screenwriter known best for his work with writing partner Cinco Paul on such box office hits as Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, Despicable Me 3, and The Secret Life of Pets. Daurio also worked with Paul on Horton Hears a Who! and The Lorax.

Daurio began making films with his Super 8 camera when he was nine-years-old and directing music videos after he graduated from high school. He met Paul when he had a lead in a musical Paul wrote for his Latter-day Saint stake’s sesquicentennial celebration (1997) of the Mormon pioneers’ arrival in Utah. They found they had the same sense of humor and decided to form a band, which they called Otter Pops. They also began to collaborate on scripts and within a year had sold their first script (which has not been produced). Their second script was made into a movie the following year (Bubble Boy).

One of their tactics early in their careers was to sing their story pitches to movie producers, which opened some doors for them. When Chris Meledandri left Fox Animation and started Illumination Entertainment in 2007, they followed him and were in position to develop Meledandri’s idea of a villain who adopts three little girls. Their first draft of Despicable Me was created in three months, and then rewritten over the course of the next three years. Both Daurio and Paul have three children each that served as inspiration for the three distinct personalities for the girls in the film.

Daurio and Paul work independently, dividing up scenes and then reading pages to each other. Wikipedia reported that “Cinco, having an education in screenwriting, generally works on scenes that contain emotion and require the three-act structure, while Daurio, being a more visually oriented person, usually does scenes with action, sight gags, and physical comedy.”[1] Both Daurio and Paul are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have said that their beliefs have had significant impact on their careers, “most obviously in the types of projects we’ve chosen to work on. . . . We want to write movies that are uplifting, optimistic, and for everybody.”[2]

In 2019, Paul and Daurio sold their TV pitch for Schmigadoon! to Apple TV+, but before the writers room started, Daurio decided he didn't want to continue with the show, uncomfortable with the more adult PG-rated content of the series and the responsibilities of showrunning. Paul continued as showrunner on his own as he finished writing and producing season one of the series, then was also the sole composer and showrunner for season two. The two haven't worked together professionally since, although the split was amicable, and they remain good friends. They host a podcast together called "Make Him Watch It," in which they make each other watch films they haven't seen.[3]

Daurio and his wife, Michelle, live in California.