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Hulk smash!

Zak Penn sold his first screenplay to Columbia Pictures when he was 23 years old. Since then he's gone on write for movies like "X-Men: The Last Stand," "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Avengers."

Penn has become one of Hollywood's go-to writers for superhero movies, but his films take on a decidedly non-superhero tone; his characters are less concerned by villains than by the struggles of everyday life.

At KPCC's Crawford Family Forum, KPCC's Mike Roe spoke with Penn about his career, his writing style, and about his relationship with German filmmaker Werner Herzog.