Craig Michael Saavedra (born November 2, 1963, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

) is an American film producer,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, and two time Tony Award-winning

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

producer. He is married to cinematographer/director Joaquin Sedillo.

Early life

Saavedra was raised in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

, along with his six siblings, among them cartoonist/illustrator Scott Saavedra (“Dr. Radium”) and KFI AM 640 radio personality Neil Saavedra (''

The Jesus Christ Show ''The Jesus Christ Show'' is a syndicated radio program that airs every Sunday from 6 to 9 a.m. Pacific Time. It is carried on the Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, Inc. AM 640 KFI in Los Angeles serves as the flagship sta ...

''). Shortly after graduating high school, Saavedra found employment at

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

as a tour guide. In the evenings, he attended film courses at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

’s Extension program. It was through this program that he met a film executive who eventually hired him as a story analyst at producer

Jerry Weintraub Jerome Charles Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys. He began his career as a talent agent, having managed known singer John Denver in ...

’s Weintraub Entertainment Group. Shortly thereafter, Saavedra left to become Director of Operations at Big Time Picture Company, a post-production and film editing facility on Los Angeles’ west side.

Producer/Director

Pro FilmWorks / Becker FilmWorks Entertainment

At Big Time Picture Company, Saavedra met Gregg Hoffman from nearby PRO FilmWorks, and was recruited to join PRO as a development executive. At PRO FilmWorks, Saavedra was promoted to Vice President of Production and soon was producing and/or supervising the production/development of numerous projects, including the films '' Scorchers'' (1991), '' Only You'' (1992). In 1993, PRO FilmWorks changed its name to Becker FilmWorks Entertainment, reflecting its ties with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n parent company Becker Group aka Becker Entertainment. Saavedra was promoted to President of the Los Angeles operations, and was instrumental in the production and development of such films as ''

Gross Misconduct ''Gross Misconduct'' is the second album from crossover thrash metal band, M.O.D. It was released in 1989 on Megaforce Records and Noise International and follows 1988's extended play '' Surfin' M.O.D.'' It was three years until the band rel ...

'' (1993), and '' Closer and Closer'' (1996),'' The Real Macaw'' (1998), '' At First Sight'' (1999), and the television series '' The Man from Snowy River'' (1993–96). In 1997, Saavedra took on the director's role for the Becker FilmWorks Entertainment comedy-drama '' Rhapsody in Bloom'', written by

Eric Tuchman Eric Tuchman is an American producer and screenwriter. He is known for writing the Animation Adaptation for the 20th Century Fox animated movie ''Anastasia'' as well as his work on the television series ''The Handmaid's Tale'' as a writer and Exe ...

and released in early 1998. The film stars

Penelope Ann Miller Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the original run of '' Biloxi Blues'' (1985–1986), later appearing in the ...

Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor, director, producer, radio host, and activist. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best ...

, Craig Sheffer, and

Caroline Goodall Caroline Goodall Pecorini (born 13 November 1959) is an English–Australian actress, screenwriter and producer. Awards and nominations include Best Actress nominations AFI Awards for her roles in the 1989 miniseries '' Cassidy'' and the 199 ...

. Shortly after the release of ''Rhapsody in Bloom'', Saavedra left Becker FilmWorks to focus on writing both motion picture and theatrical works.

Starry Night Entertainment

In 2004, Saavedra teamed with Michael Shulman, a recent

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

graduate and former child actor, including a role as a teenager in ''Rhapsody in Bloom'', to form Starry Night Entertainment. Saavedra produced and directed the comedy/drama '' Sherman's Way'' (2008), which won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the Cinequest Film Festival 2008, the Audience Award at the

Newport International Film Festival Newport International Film Festival was an annual film festival in Newport, Rhode Island, established in 1998. The Newport Film Festival was generally held the first week in June and featured various international films at several local cinemas. ...

and a Special Jury Award at the

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...

Film Festival. In 2009, Starry Night Entertainment moved into producing live theater, mounting the New York premiere of JT Rogers's ''White People'',

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the

Atlantic Theater Company The Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater company based in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1985 by playwright David Mamet, actor William H. Macy, and a group of acting students, the compan ...

's Stage 2. Starry Night followed up White People the following year with

Craig Wright (playwright) Craig Wright (born April 25, 1965, in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican–American playwright, screenwriter and television producer. He is known for writing for shows including '' Six Feet Under'' and '' Lost'' and creating the televisio ...

's Mistakes Were Made featuring a tour-de-force performance by

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor. Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for '' Revolutionary Road'' (2008), and '' Nocturnal Animals'' (2016). He received Screen Actors Guil ...

Barrow Street Theatre Barrow Street Theatre is the name of both a 199-seat Off-Broadway theatre located in New York City's historic Greenwich house, Greenwich House at 27 Barrow Street and a production company of the same name. From 2003 to 2018, the venue was leased ...

. Starry Night Entertainment was part of the production group for the musical '' After Midnight'', which opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theater on November 3, 2013. The

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

, centered on the music of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

, marked the first above-the-title producing credit on Broadway for Saavedra and Shulman. The play was a popular and critical success, earning numerous awards and nominations for cast and crew, including a Tony Award Best Musical nomination and a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

win for Outstanding Musical Revue for Starry Night Entertainment and the other producers. Starry Night Entertainment also produced the play '' The Cripple of Inishmaan'', starring

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...

, which opened on Broadway on April 20, 2014, at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 48th Street (Manhattan), West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater ...

. The play was a popular and critical success, earning six Tony Award nominations for cast and crew, including a nomination for the producers for

Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

. In 2016, Saavedra and Shulman produced the Broadway revival of

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton (born 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play Les Liaisons Dangereuses (play), ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the Les Liaisons da ...

's ''

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu on March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise Isabelle de Merteu ...

'' starring

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber ( ; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor. He has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award as well as nominations for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. Schreiber's early film roles incl ...

, which opened at the

Booth Theatre The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theater at 222 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, the theater was designed by Henry Beaumont Herts in the It ...

on October 30 and ran through January 8, 2017. October 21, 2018, saw the opening of

Jez Butterworth Jeremy Butterworth (born March 4, 1969) is a British playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has gained recognition for his unique voice in contemporary theater, often blending themes of myth, folklore, and realism. He has received a T ...

's '' The Ferryman'' directed by

Sam Mendes Sir Samuel Alexander Mendes (born 1 August 1965) is a British film and stage director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2000, Mendes was appointed a CBE for his services to drama, and he was Knight Bachelor, knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours ...

at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Saavedra was part of the producing team that brought the acclaimed UK National Theatre production set in rural Northern Ireland to Broadway. The production was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning four including Best Direction of a Play for Mendes, and earning Saavedra his first Tony win for Best Play. The Ferryman also won

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Featured Actor and Outstanding Director. It ran for 296 performances, and ended its limited-run engagement on July 7, 2019. In 2020, Saavedra was among a group of producers who transferred the acclaimed London production of Ben Power's adaptation of Stefano Massini's '' The Lehman Trilogy'' to Broadway's

Nederlander Theatre The Nederlander Theatre (formerly the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre) is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhatt ...

. Once again directed by

, the production began previews on March 7 but was shut down just prior to its scheduled March 26 opening due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The play reopened on October 15, 2021 with

Ben Miles Benjamin Charles Miles (born 29 September 1966) is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the television comedy '' Coupling'', from 2000 to 2004, as Montague Dartie in '' The Forsyte Saga'', from 2002 to 2003, ...

joining original cast-members

Simon Russell Beale Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by ''The Independent'' as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awar ...

and

Adam Godley Adam N. Godley (born 22 July 1964) is an English actor. He has been nominated for two Tony Awards and four Laurence Olivier Awards for his performances on the New York and London stages, including ''Private Lives'' in 2001, '' The Pillowman'' i ...

. The Broadway production's final performance was on January 2, 2022, after extending its limited run two weeks. The play was nominated for seven Tony Awards, winning among others Best Play (Saavedra's second win), Best Actor (Beale), and Best Director (Mendes). The production also won Best Play awards from

The Drama League The Drama League is an American theatrical association based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1910, in Chicago, as the Drama League of America, and chapters were established throughout the United States. In 1911, the organization b ...

and

Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

. After 15 years, Saavedra and Shulman dissolved Starry Night Entertainment, and Saavedra now produces under Saavedillo, Inc.

Awards

*Tony Award for '' The Lehman Trilogy'' - Best Play 2021-2022 Broadway Season *Tony Award for '' The Ferryman'' - Best Play 2018-2019 Broadway Season *'' The Ferryman'' earned 11 major awards on 20 nominations, including 4 wins for production partners *Tony Award Nomination for '' After Midnight'' *Tony Award Nomination for '' The Cripple of Inishmaan'' *Audience Award for Best Feature '' Sherman's Way'' - Cinequest Film Festival 2008 *Audience Award for Best Feature '' Sherman's Way'' -

2008 *Audience Award for Best Feature '' Sherman's Way'' - Gaia Film Festival 2008 *Special Jury Award for Sherman's Way -

Film Festival 2008 *

Addy Award Addy may refer to: *Addy (surname) *Addy, Washington, US, an unincorporated community *Addy Awards, advertising competition *Zack Addy, fictional character in the television series ''Bones'' *Addy Walker, a doll from the American Girl series *Adde ...

for Heinz Commercial ''Midnight Snack'' - 2008 *Audience Award for Best Feature '' Rhapsody in Bloom'' -

Sedona International Film Festival The Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF) is an annual, eight-day film festival in Sedona, Arizona. The festival was founded in 1994. History In 2023, the festival was listed on ''MovieMakers "20 Great Film Festivals in Vacation Destinat ...

1999 *'' Rhapsody in Bloom'' - Hollywood Film Festival 1999 Best Actress

Early life

Producer/Director

Pro FilmWorks / Becker FilmWorks Entertainment

Starry Night Entertainment

Awards

References

External links