Danny Cannon | |
|---|---|
 Cannon at the 2017WonderCon. | |
| Born | Daniel John Cannon (1968-10-05)5 October 1968 (age 56) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
| Known for | |
Daniel John Cannon (born 5 October 1968) is a Britishfilm andtelevisionproducer,director andwriter, known for executive producing the 15-season[1][2]CSI: Crime Scene Investigation series franchise (and directed multiple episodes including the series pilot), and simultaneously executive producing theCSI: Miami andCSI: NY spin-offs.
From 2014 to 2019, for the show's duration, Cannon executive produced, wrote and directedFOX'sGotham, which won the 2014Critics Choice Award forMost Exciting New Series and received 11Emmy nominations (one win).[3] In July 2019, his newest television production,Pennyworth, which Cannon co-created and executive produced withBruno Heller, premiered onEpix, concluding in November 2022 onHBO Max.
As a TV entertainment figure[4] and a rareTV pilot director who also works as a key writer, Cannon has directed 15 television pilots, 12 of which have been ordered to series, including:Training Day (2017),Gotham (2014),The Tomorrow People (2013),Nikita (2010),Dark Blue (2009),The Forgotten (2009), andEleventh Hour (2008). At one time, Cannon had five television series on-air, while acting as executive producer.
Feature film directorial credits includeGeostorm (2017),[5]I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998),Judge Dredd (1995), andThe Young Americans (1993).
Cannon began making films at the age of 16 in 1984, and started a youth experimental theatre group at 33 Arts Centre making video dramas with a number of other directors in different roles, including cameraman. A major influence was the centre's video maker, Dermot Byrne, with whom Cannon worked on a number of projects. Aged 23, he met musicianDavid Arnold who played in a band that rehearsed there. Cannon convinced Arnold to compose soundtracks for his and other people's videos. Arnold's first professional score was for Cannon's debut feature 'The Young Americans'.
In 1987, he won theBBCYoung Filmmaker of the Year Award, by Alan Parker, with a 40-minute short calledSometimes. 1988-1990 he attended theNational Film and Television School. His intermediate film, 'Play Dead' was screened on Channel 4 while his graduation filmStrangers (1990) appeared at theEdinburgh International Film Festival.
Cannon worked on commercials for James Garrett and later RSA, and made his debut featureThe Young Americans in 1993. His second film, the big-budgetSylvester Stallone featureJudge Dredd, released in 1995, was a commercial disappointment and was not well received critically. In 1998 he directed two features, the teen slasher filmI Still Know What You Did Last Summer and he directedRay Liotta,Anjelica Huston andJeremy Piven inPhoenix.
Cannon's immersion into primetime television began when he was hired byJerry Bruckheimer to produce and direct the pilot episode ofCSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2000. Cannon is credited with creating the look and visual style of theCSI,[6] which ran for 15 seasons, earning a total of 39Emmy nominations and spawning three spinoff shows. He went on to write and direct many episodes of the flagship series, while overseeing the production as executive producer. Simultaneously, he also executive produced bothCSI: Miami, which premiered in 2002 (and directed the pilot of), andCSI: NY (2004).[7]
Stemming from his personal passion and experience with the sport of football, in 2005, Cannon directed the filmGoal!.
In 2006, he returned to television with theCBStelevision pilot,Capital Law, about a group of legal associates trying to make partner at a powerfulWashington, D.C.–based law firm.
In 2007, Cannon co-createdTNT'scrime drama series starringDylan McDermott calledDark Blue and directed the pilot episode. The following year he produced and directed 'The Eleventh Hour' for CBS, which ran for one season.
In 2010, Cannon joinedThe CWaction seriesNikita, as director and executive producer. It successfully ran for four seasons on the network.
In 2011, he executive produced and directed the pilotFOXcrime/mystery seriesAlcatraz along withJ. J. Abrams forWBTV.
In 2016, Cannon was brought on to direct reshoots for the feature filmGeostorm, in an attempt to help save the studios over budget production.[8]
In 2017, Cannon replaced feature film directorAntoine Fuqua for a TV version of Fuqua's filmTraining Day,[9] starringBill Paxton, based on the 2001Denzel Washington feature film. He stayed on as the show's executive producer.
From 2014 to 2018, Cannon executive produced the television seriesGotham, for which he directed the pilot of,[10] along with writing and directing several episodes during the series' five-year run. Under Cannon's creative guidance, the show has been nominated for 11Primetime Emmy Awards,[11] and in 2017 won its first Emmy for Outstanding Special and Visual Effects in a Supporting Role.[12]
In 2018, it was announced thatGotham would produce its fifth and final season, which premiered in 2019.[13]
Partnering with hisGotham writer-producer partnerBruno Heller,[14][15] Cannon is currently producingPennyworth, a Batman-esque prequel set in 1960s London,[16] which documents the early years of Batman's butlerAlfred Pennyworth. Cannon executive produces and writes along with Heller, and has directed multiple episodes, including the series premiere, which have aired onEpix.
| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writer | Director | Executive Producer | Composer | |||
| 2000–2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (90 episodes), director (25 episodes), writer (11 episodes), producer (42 episodes) | |
| 2002–2005 | CSI: Miami | Yes | Yes | executive producer (72 episodes), director (2 episodes) | ||
| 2004–2011 | CSI: NY | Yes | executive producer (64 episodes) | |||
| 2006 | Justice | Yes | director (1 episode) | |||
| 2006 | Capitol Law | Yes | TV movie: director | |||
| 2007 | The Cure | Yes | TV movie: director | |||
| 2008–2009 | Eleventh Hour | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (18 episodes), director (3 episodes) | ||
| 2009–2010 | The Forgotten | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (17 episodes), director (1 episodes) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Dark Blue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Creator; executive producer (19 episodes), director (5 episodes), writer (20 episodes) | |
| 2010 | Miami Medical | Yes | director (1 episodes) | |||
| 2010–2013 | Nikita | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (73 episodes), director (6 episodes) | ||
| 2012 | Alcatraz | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (1 episodes), director (1 episodes) | ||
| 2013 | Shameless | Yes | director (1 episodes) | |||
| 2013–2014 | The Tomorrow People | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (17 episodes), director (3 episodes) | ||
| 2014 | The Lottery | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (10 episodes), director (1 episodes) | ||
| 2014–2019 | Gotham | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (81 episodes), director (11 episodes), writer (11 episodes) composer (33 episodes) |
| 2017 | Training Day | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (1 episodes), director (1 episodes), consulting producer (5 episodes) | ||
| 2019–2022 | Pennyworth | Yes | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (10 episodes), director (3 episodes) | |
| 2023 | Gotham Knights | Yes | Yes | Yes | Directed series pilot; executive producer (1 episode) | |
| Year | Film | Writer | Director | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Strangers | Yes | Yes | Graduation Film | |
| 1993 | The Young Americans | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1995 | Judge Dredd | Yes | |||
| 1998 | Phoenix | Yes | |||
| 1998 | I Still Know What You Did Last Summer | Yes | |||
| 2005 | Goal! The Dream Begins | Yes | |||
| 2017 | Geostorm | Yes | Executive | Directed reshoots |
Cannon has two daughters. He plays football regularly withHollywood United F.C., a local Los Angeles club team consisting of mostly celebrities and former professional footballers, who play socially against other local teams for friendly matches and charity events.
