Mark Christopher (born July 8, 1963, in
Fort Dodge, Iowa
Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Cen ...
) is a
screenwriter, and
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 ...
most known for directing ''
54'' (1998), starring
Ryan Phillippe
Matthew Ryan Phillippe (; born September 10, 1974) is an American actor. After appearing as Billy Douglas on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'', he came to fame in the late 1990s with starring roles in films including ''I Know What You Did Las ...
,
Mike Meyers,
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek Pinault ( , ; born Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez; September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well as the ...
, and
Neve Campbell
Neve Adrianne Campbell (born October 3, 1973; ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the drama and horror genres. She has appeared on ''People'' magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People" twice.
Following a series of minor ...
.
Within the film community, he is better known for the success of the director's cut of the film that premiered at the 2015
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
. With over 30 minutes of re-shoots cut out of the 1998 version, and over 40 minutes re-instated, the film was universally lauded by critics and hailed as a "jubilant resurrection" and "a lost gay classic." The story of the films destruction and resurrection was featured on
''New York'' magazine's
Vulture.com website. and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell (born December 6, 1958) is an American film critic, host of the public radio show ''The Treatment'', and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', the ''LA Weekly ...
's interview with Mark Christopher on KCRW's ''The Treatment''.
Christopher also directed three short films, all of them theatrically distributed: ''The Dead Boys Club'' (1992), an influential short of the
New Queer Cinema
"New Queer Cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in ''Sight & Sound'' magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s.
It is also referred to as the "Queer New W ...
wave as cited by B. Ruby Rich in her ''Sight & Sound'' article that defined the genre; ''Alkali, Iowa'' (1995), winner of the Teddy at the Berlin International Film Festival (1996); and ''Heartland,'' Strand Releasing (2007). He is also known for his television writing and creation of musical programming, including ''Real Life: The Musical'' that premiered on OWN in 2012.
Filmography
*''Mid-Century Moderns'' live stage juke box musical (2022, Desert Rose Playhouse, Palm Springs) (Writer/Director)
* ''Berlin'' TV series (2022, Stampede Ventures and Leonine Studios, American/German co-production)(Writer/Creator)
*''Mark Christopher Shorts Retrospective'' collection of short films (2021, Here TV) (Writer/Director)
* ''Sara'' feature (2018, Bionaut) (Writer)
* ''Berlin'' pilot (2016, Warner Bros) (Writer)
* ''Cleopatra VII'' series (2015) (Writer/Creator)
* ''8.3'' short (2014) (Executive Producer)
* ''Real Life: The Musical'' series (2013, OWN/ITV)(Creator, Executive Producer)
* ''Heartland'' pilot (2007, Strand Releasing) (Writer/Director)
* ''
Pizza'' feature (2005, IFC) (Writer/Director)
* '
54'' feature (1998, Miramax) (Writer/Director)
* ''Boys Life 6'' featured short ''Heartland'' (2007, Strand Releasing/2021 Frameline)
* ''
Boys Life 2' featured short film ''Alkali Iowa'' (1997, Strand Releasing/2021 Frameline) (writer, director)
* ''Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema'' featured short film ''The Dead Boys' Club'' (1993, Frameline/2021 Frameline) (Writer/Director)
* ''The Dead Boys' Club'' (1992, Frameline) (Writer/Director)
References
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher, Mark
American film directors
1963 births
American male screenwriters
Living people
LGBT film directors