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John Sayles | |
|---|---|
 Sayles in March 2008 | |
| Born | John Thomas Sayles (1950-09-28)September 28, 1950 (age 75) |
| Education | Williams College |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1971–present |
John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an Americanindependent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the filmsThe Brother from Another Planet (1984),Matewan (1987),Eight Men Out (1988),Passion Fish (1992),The Secret of Roan Inish (1994),Lone Star (1996),Men with Guns, (1997),Sunshine State (2002), andSilver City (2004).
ForEight Men Out, Sayles was nominated for theUSC Scripter Award. He has twice been nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay, forPassion Fish andLone Star. At the56th Golden Globe Awards,Men with Guns was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His directorial debut,Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980) as well asMatewan were added to the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress in 1997 and 2023, respectively.
Sayles was born on September 28, 1950, inSchenectady, New York, the son of Mary (née Rausch), a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator.[1] Both of Sayles's parents were Catholic and of half-Irish descent. Sayles has referred to himself as a "Catholic atheist".[2] He attendedWilliams College with frequent collaboratorsGordon Clapp andDavid Strathairn, as well as his longtime partner,Maggie Renzi. Sayles earned a B.A. in psychology in 1972.[3]
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After college, Sayles moved to Boston where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs while writing short stories forThe Atlantic.[3] These writings culminated in his first novel,The Pride of the Bimbos, published in 1975.
Sayles began his film career working withRoger Corman, along withMartin Scorsese,Francis Ford Coppola,Ron Howard andJames Cameron who also had stints with Corman early in their careers. Sayles was discovered byFrances Doel, who worked in the script department for Corman'sNew World Pictures. Sayles has been called "the greatest screenwriter to ever work at New World."[4]
In 1979, Sayles used $30,000 he earned writing scripts for Corman to fund his first film,Return of the Secaucus 7.[5] To make the film on a limited budget, he set the film in a large house so that he did not have to travel to or get permits for different locations, set the story over a three-day weekend to limit costume changes, and wrote about people his age so he could cast his friends in it. The film received near-unanimous critical acclaim at the time and has held its reputation. In November 1997, theNational Film Preservation Board announced thatReturn of the Secaucus 7 would be one of the 25 films selected that year for preservation in theNational Film Registry at theLibrary of Congress.
In 1983, after the filmsBaby It's You (starringRosanna Arquette) andLianna (a story in which a married woman becomes discontented with her marriage and falls in love with another woman), Sayles received aMacArthur Fellowship. He put the money into the science fiction featureThe Brother from Another Planet,[6] a film about a three-toed humanoid who escapes bondage on another world and crash-lands in New York harbor; because he is Africanoid in appearance, he finds himself at home among the people ofHarlem, being pursued by European-looking alien enslavermen in black.
In 1989, Sayles created and wrote the pilot episode for the short-lived television showShannon's Deal about a down-and-outPhiladelphia lawyer played byJamey Sheridan. Sayles received a 1990Edgar Award for histeleplay for the pilot. The show ran for 16 episodes before being cancelled in 1991.
Sayles has funded most of his films by writing genre scripts, such asPiranha,Alligator,The Howling, andThe Challenge.[7] Having collaborated withJoe Dante onPiranha andThe Howling, Sayles acted in Dante's movie,Matinee. Sayles has earned much of his funding by working as a script doctor; he did rewrites forApollo 13[8] andMimic.
Sayles' genre script, calledNight Skies, inspired what would eventually become the filmE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[9] That film's director,Steven Spielberg, later commissioned Sayles to write a script (unused) for thefourthJurassic Park film.
He has written and directed his own films, includingLone Star,Passion Fish,Eight Men Out,The Secret of Roan Inish, andMatewan. He serves on the advisory board for theAustin Film Society.[10]Maggie Renzi has been John Sayles's long-time companion (andcollaborator), but they have not married. Renzi has produced most of his films sinceLianna. They met as students at Williams College.
Sayles works with a regular repertory of actors, most notablyChris Cooper,David Strathairn, andGordon Clapp, each of whom has appeared in at least four of his films.
In early 2003, Sayles signed the Not In Our Name "Statement of Conscience" (along withNoam Chomsky,Steve Earle,Brian Eno,Jesse Jackson,Viggo Mortensen,Bonnie Raitt,Oliver Stone,Marisa Tomei,Susan Sarandon and others) which opposed the invasion ofIraq.[11]
In February 2009, Sayles was reported to be writing anHBO series based on the early life ofAnthony Kiedis of theRed Hot Chili Peppers. The drama, tentatively titledScar Tissue,[needs update] would center on Kiedis's early years living inWest Hollywood with his father. At that time, Kiedis's father, known as Spider, sold drugs (according to legend, his clients includedThe Who andLed Zeppelin) and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into show business.[12]
In February 2010, Sayles began shooting his 17th feature film, the historical war dramaAmigo, in the Philippines. The film is a fictional account of events during thePhilippine–American War, with a cast that includes Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, andGarret Dillahunt.[13]
His novelA Moment in the Sun, set during the same period asAmigo, in the Philippines, Cuba, and the U.S., was released in 2011 byMcSweeney's. It includes an account of theWilmington Insurrection of 1898 in North Carolina, the onlycoup d'état in United States history in which a duly elected government was overthrown.[14]
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Piranha | No | Yes | No |
| 1979 | The Lady in Red | No | Yes | No |
| 1980 | Return of the Secaucus 7 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battle Beyond the Stars | No | Yes | No | |
| Alligator | No | Yes | No | |
| 1981 | The Howling | No | Yes | No |
| 1982 | The Challenge | No | Yes | No |
| 1983 | Lianna | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Baby It's You | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Enormous Changes at the Last Minute | No | Yes | No | |
| 1984 | The Brother from Another Planet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1986 | The Clan of the Cave Bear | No | Yes | No |
| 1987 | Wild Thing | No | Yes | No |
| Matewan | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1988 | Eight Men Out | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1989 | Breaking In | No | Yes | No |
| 1991 | City of Hope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1992 | Passion Fish | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1994 | The Secret of Roan Inish | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Men of War | No | Yes | No | |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | No | Uncredited | No |
| 1996 | Lone Star | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1997 | Men with Guns | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1999 | Limbo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | Sunshine State | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2003 | Casa de los babys | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2004 | Silver City | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2007 | Honeydripper | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | No | Yes | No |
| 2010 | Amigo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | Go for Sisters | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2018 | The Devil's Highway | No | Yes | No |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | A Perfect Match | Television film; writer |
| 1986 | Unnatural Causes | Television film; writer |
| 1989–1991 | Shannon's Deal | Television series; creator, writer, and producer |
| 2018 | The Alienist | Television series; writer and consulting producer |
| TBA | The Gray House | Television series; writer |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Piranha | Soldier | Uncredited |
| 1980 | Return of the Secaucus 7 | Howie | |
| 1981 | The Howling | Morgue Attendant | Uncredited |
| 1983 | Lianna | Jerry | |
| 1984 | The Brother from Another Planet | Man in Black #2 | |
| 1984 | Hard Choices | Don | |
| 1986 | Something Wild | Motorcycle Cop | |
| 1986 | Unnatural Causes | Lloyd | Television film |
| 1987 | Matewan | Hardshell Preacher | |
| 1988 | Eight Men Out | Ring Lardner | |
| 1989 | Untamagiru | US High Commmisioner | |
| 1989 | The End of the Night | Wayne | |
| 1990 | Shannon's Deal | Ronny Nash | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Little Vegas | Mike | |
| 1991 | City of Hope | Carl | |
| 1991 | Square One Television | Roy "Lefty" Combs | 4 episodes |
| 1992 | Straight Talk | Guy Girardi | |
| 1992 | Passion Fish | Soap Doctor | Uncredited |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | FBI Agent | |
| 1993 | Matinee | Bob | |
| 1997 | Gridlock'd | Cop | |
| 2000 | Girlfight | Science Teacher | |
| 2002 | Sunshine State | Man who almost got hit by a golf ball | Uncredited |
| 2007 | Honeydripper | Zeke | |
| 2009 | In the Electric Mist | Michael Goldman | |
| 2012 | The Normals | Dr. Marx | |
| 2025 | Poker Face | Chief Hal | Episode: "The Taste of Human Blood" |
| This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "John Sayles" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Awards forReturn of the Secaucus 7:
Awards forMatewan:
Awards forShannon's Deal:
Awards forCity of Hope:
Awards forPassion Fish:
Awards forThe Secret of Roan Inish:
Awards forLone Star:
Awards forMen with Guns/Hombres armados:
Awards forLimbo:
Awards forSunshine State:
Award forSilver City:
Awards forHoneydripper:
Sayles's first published story, "I-80 Nebraska", won anO. Henry Award; his novel,Union Dues, was nominated for aNational Book Award as well as theNational Book Critics Circle Award.
In 1983,[33] Sayles received theJohn D. MacArthur Award, given to 20 Americans in diverse fields each year for their innovative work. He has also been the recipient of theEugene V. Debs Award, theJohn Steinbeck Award and theJohn Cassavetes Award. He was honored with theIan McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement by theWriters Guild of America (1999).
In June 2014, Sayles donated his non-film archive to theUniversity of Michigan. It will be accessible at theHarlan Hatcher Graduate Library. Sayles's film archive is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[34]
Actors who have regularly worked with Sayles includeMaggie Renzi,David Strathairn,Joe Morton,Chris Cooper,Mary McDonnell,Vincent Spano,Kevin Tighe,Josh Mostel,Tom Wright,Gordon Clapp andAngela Bassett.[35]
Work Actor | 1980 | 1983 | 1984 | 1987 | 1988 | 1991 | 1992 | 1994 | 1996 | 1997 | 1999 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2007 | 2010 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Alexander |  N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Eliot Asinof | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Angela Bassett | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Jesse Borrego | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Leo Burmester | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Gordon Clapp | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||||||
| Bill Cobbs | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Chris Cooper | N | N | N | N | N | |||||||||||||
| Liane Alexandra Curtis | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Vondie Curtis-Hall | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Richard Edson | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Miguel Ferrer | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Kathryn Grody | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Lisa Gay Hamilton | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Daryl Hannah | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Clifton James | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Kris Kristofferson | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Perry Lang | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Susan Lynch | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Vanessa Martinez | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||||||
| Mary McDonnell | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Sam McMurray | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Joe Morton | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Josh Mostel | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Bill Raymond | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Maggie Renzi | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | |||||||||||
| John Sayles | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||
| Vincent Spano | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Mary Steenburgen | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Fisher Stevens | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| David Strathairn | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | |||||||||||
| Kevin Tighe | N | N | N | |||||||||||||||
| Ralph Waite | N | N | ||||||||||||||||
| Tom Wright | N | N | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||||
