John Curran (born September 11, 1960) is an American film director and screenwriter.

Life and career

Born in

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the fo ...

, Curran studied illustration and design at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, then worked as an illustrator, graphic designer, and production designer in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

before moving to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in 1986. There he worked on television commercials before writing and directing the short film ''Down Rusty Down''. For his debut feature film, the 1998 drama ''Praise'', he was nominated for the

Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction The AACTA Award for Best Direction is an award presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), a non-profit organisation whose aim is to "identify, award, promote and celebrate Australia's greatest achievements in film a ...

and won the

Film Critics Circle of Australia The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

Award for Best Director and the International Critics' Award at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

. Six years passed before Curran tackled his next project, the independent film '' We Don't Live Here Anymore'', for which he was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

. He followed this two years later with '' The Painted Veil'', the third screen adaptation of the 1925 novel by

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

. He wrote the screenplay for '' The Killer Inside Me'', the second film adaptation of the 1952 novel by Jim Thompson. Directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

, Kate Hudson,

Casey Affleck Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt (born August 12, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award. He ...

, and Bill Pullman, it was filmed in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He also is set to direct ''The Beautiful and Damned'', a Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald biopic starring

Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...

. In October 2012, he began filming an adaptation of Robyn Davidson's ''Tracks'', starring Mia Wasikowska, in Australia. He lives in Pittsford, New York.

Filmography

Feature films

* '' Praise'' (1998) - Director * '' We Don't Live Here Anymore'' (2004) - Director * '' The Painted Veil'' (2006) - Director/Executive producer * '' The Killer Inside Me'' (2010) - Writer * ''

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

'' (2010) - Director * '' Tracks'' (2013) - Director * '' Chappaquiddick'' (2017) - Director * ''The Beautiful and the Damned'' (TBA) - Director

Short films

* ''Down Rusty Down'' (1996) - Director

References

External links

*
''Real Time/On Screen'' interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, John American male screenwriters Writers from Utica, New York Syracuse University alumni 1960 births Living people People from Pittsford, New York Film directors from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state)