Christopher McKay, also known as Chris Taylor (born November 11, 1973), is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing and editing three seasons of ''
Robot Chicken'' and two seasons of ''
Moral Orel''. He made his feature directorial debut with ''
The Lego Batman Movie
''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Dan Lin's Lin Pictures, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Lord Miller Pro ...
'' (2017). He directed the film ''
The Tomorrow War
''The Tomorrow War'' is a 2021 American military science fiction action film directed by Chris McKay, written by Zach Dean, and starring Chris Pratt. It was produced by David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, David S. Goyer, Jules Daly, and ...
'' (2021), and is attached to direct
''Renfield''.
Early life and education
McKay was born in
Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Winter Park was f ...
, but spent most of his childhood in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, Illinois.
Growing up, McKay was inspired by
Alfred Hitchcock films and decided to pursue film. He shot his earliest work on his parents'
Super 8 film camera. McKay attended
Southern Illinois University
Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois.
Board of trustees
The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...
for two years as a film student, and completed his degree at
Columbia College Chicago. While studying in Chicago, McKay attended his first film shoot for the 1989 comedy ''
Uncle Buck
''Uncle Buck'' is a 1989 American comedy film written and directed by John Hughes, and starring John Candy and Amy Madigan with supporting roles by Jean Louisa Kelly (in her film debut), Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffmann, Garrett M. Brown and E ...
''.
Career
In his early career McKay worked at several video and equipment rental companies. After purchasing production equipment of his own, he worked for three years shooting and editing music videos, industrial videos and local films. Then he started an editing job at a production company where he completed his first film ''2wks, 1yr''.
McKay started his career as an editor, after leaving that company he first edited a film of his friend, titled ''Kwik Stop.''
Television
In 2004, McKay moved to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and landed an editing job at the animation studio
ShadowMachine
ShadowMachine is an American animation studio and production company for film, television, commercials and music videos.
Since its early days producing the stop-motion animation show ''Robot Chicken'', the company has been producing such shows ...
.
He started work on the first episode of ''
Robot Chicken'', a stop motion adult animated sketch comedy TV series created by
Seth Green and
Matthew Senreich. McKay created and voiced the series' first end title sequence.
In 2006, McKay started work on animated series ''
Moral Orel'' for
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
, whose creator
Dino Stamatopoulos
Konstantinos Pollux Alexandros "Dino" Stamatopoulos (born December 14, 1964) is an American writer, producer, and actor. He has worked on TV programs such as ''Mr. Show'', '' TV Funhouse'', '' Mad TV'', '' The Dana Carvey Show'', ''Late Show wi ...
said "really deserve
a producer credit" on the series, to which McKay replied that he would "really like to do is direct." He went on to direct episodes for the second and third seasons.
His work on ''Moral Orel'' impressed Matt and Seth, who offered him to direct ''Robot Chicken'' and in 2007, McKay directed the
third,
fourth, and the
fifth seasons of the series, aired on Adult Swim.
In 2007, McKay worked as editor and visual effect artist on the special episode ''
Robot Chicken: Star Wars'' with Seth, which aired on June 17, 2007. Then in 2008, he also worked on the ''
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II'' as co-producer and animation editor. In 2010, McKay directed and co-produced the final installment of the special episodes, ''
Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III''.
In 2009, McKay co-produced and directed the complete first season of the animated sci-fi adventure series ''
Titan Maximum
''Titan Maximum'' is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, from September 27 to November 22, 2009. A teaser ...
'' on
Cartoon Network.
Film
In 2011,
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
hired McKay to join directors
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller on the live-action animated ''
The Lego Movie
''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 computer-animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, its story focu ...
'' to co-direct the film's animation, the film was released domestically on February 7, 2014, and grossed over $468 million against a reported budget of $60 million. While Lord and Miller were working on ''
22 Jump Street
''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum ...
'', they sent McKay to Australia to supervise all animation, editing, effects, lighting and rendering of ''The'' ''Lego Movie''.
In March 2014, Warner Bros. set McKay to direct the sequel to the 2014 hit ''The'' ''Lego Movie,'' which Lord and Miller would produce, and Michelle Morgan and
Jared Stern would write.
On October 10, WB announced the spin-off film ''
The Lego Batman Movie
''The Lego Batman Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Dan Lin's Lin Pictures, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's Lord Miller Pro ...
,'' pushing back ''
The Lego Movie
''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 computer-animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, its story focu ...
''
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
and fast-tracking development. McKay directed ''The Lego Batman Movie'', which was released on February 10, 2017.
Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith (born Seth Jared Greenberg; January 4, 1976) is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novels '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' and '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire ...
co-wrote the screenplay, while
Will Arnett
William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
reprised the voice of Batman.
In February 2015, Warner Bros. announced the development of a theatrical ''
Adventure Time'' animated film adaptation, which would be produced and written by creator
Pendleton Ward and produced by
Roy Lee
Roy Lee (born March 23, 1969) is an American film producer. Lee's production company, Vertigo Entertainment, has a first-look deal with Warner Bros.
Early life
Lee was born in 1969 at Wyckoff Heights Hospital, in Brooklyn, New York, to Korean ...
and McKay. In March 2015, McKay signed a
first-look deal
A first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a pre-emption right, right of first refusal, or right of first offer (also called a right of first neg ...
for being a producer with Warner Bros.
McKay is currently developing and is attached to direct ''Nightwing'', as a part of the
DC Extended Universe
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films and television series produced by DC Studios and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that ...
,
and is also set to direct an adaptation of ''
Jonny Quest
''Jonny Quest'' is a science fiction-adventure media franchise that revolves around the titular boy named Jonny Quest, who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–1965 television serie ...
''
as well as a sequel to ''The Lego Batman Movie'' titled ''Lego Superfriends''.
However, ''Lego Superfriends'' was canceled following Universal's acquisition of the Lego film rights. He, alongside Jon and Josh Silberman, was set to produce the live-action/animation film ''Coyote vs. Acme'', based on ''
Looney Tunes'' character
Wile E. Coyote and directed by
Dave Green.
However, he departed the project by December 2020. In 2021, it was announced that McKay would replace
Dexter Fletcher as director of the film ''Renfield,'' from a screenplay by Ryan Ridley from a pitch by
Robert Kirkman.
Filmography
Film
Director
Writer
Producer
* ''
The Lego Ninjago Movie
''The Lego Ninjago Movie'' is a 2017 computer-animated martial arts comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Lin Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Vertigo Entertainment, and distributed by Warn ...
'' (2017)
* ''
Renfield
R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''.[ ...](_blank)
'' (2023)
Executive producer
* ''
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'' (2019)
Editor
Television
Technical credits
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Chris
Living people
American animated film directors
American animated film producers
American television directors
Television producers from Illinois
American film editors
Visual effects artists
People from Chicago
Artists from Chicago
Screenwriters from Illinois
American television writers
American male television writers
People from Winter Park, Florida
Artists from Florida
Southern Illinois University alumni
Columbia College Chicago alumni
Primetime Emmy Award winners
Screenwriters from Florida
Animators from Florida
1973 births
Television producers from Florida
Warner Bros. Cartoons people
Warner Bros. Animation people