Jeff Nichols (born December 7, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter from

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. He studied filmmaking at the

University of North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

. Nichols is most known for his films '' Take Shelter'' (2011), '' Mud'' (2012), and ''

Loving Loving may refer to: * Love, a range of human emotions * Loving (surname) * ''Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case Film and television * ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American film * ''Loving'' (1 ...

'' (2016), which have been critically acclaimed.

Career

Nichols studied filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He wrote his first screenplay, '' Shotgun Stories'', with actor

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

in mind to play the lead, and contacted the actor through a former teacher. The film was shot on a budget of only $250,000, and released in 2007. Later, Nichols moved into larger independent productions with 2011's '' Take Shelter'', also starring Shannon, and 2012's '' Mud'', starring

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

, which competed for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival was held from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian film director Nanni Moretti was the President of the Jury for the main competition and British actor Tim Roth was the President of the Jury for the Un Certain Regard sectio ...

. In 2012, Nichols acted as President of the Jury of the 7th

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'O ...

. His 2016 sci-fi drama film '' Midnight Special'' competed for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

66th Berlin International Film Festival The 66th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2016, with American actress Meryl Streep as the President of the Jury. The Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement was presented to German cinematographer Michael ...

. The same year, he directed the drama ''

'', a film about the landmark U.S. civil rights court case '' Loving v. Virginia'', which was nominated for numerous awards, including a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

nomination for lead actor

Joel Edgerton Joel Edgerton (born 23 June 1974) is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his appearance in the '' Star Wars'' films ''Attack of the Clones'' (2002) and '' Revenge of the Sith'' (2005) as a young Owen Lars, a role he reprise ...

and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

and Golden Globe nominations for lead actress

Ruth Negga Ruth Negga ( ; born 7 January 1981) is an Ethiopian-Irish actress known for the AMC television series ''Preacher'' and the film ''Loving''. For her portrayal of Mildred Loving in the latter, Negga received several major nominations from the Ac ...

. So far, all films directed by Nichols have featured Michael Shannon either in a leading (''Shotgun Stories'', ''Take Shelter'', ''Midnight Special'') or supporting capacity (''Mud'', ''Loving''). In 2018 he directed the short film, “''Long Way Back Home''", inspired by a song of the same name that was written by his brother Ben and released by the country punk band, Lucero. It stars Michael Shannon, who searches the streets and backroads of Memphis for his two younger brothers, played by Garrett Hedlund and Scoot McNairy. Nichols is currently writing and directing ''Yankee Comandante'', adapted from

David Grann David Elliot Grann (born March 10, 1967) is an American journalist, a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, and a best-selling author. His first book, '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,'' was published by D ...

's New Yorker article about

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quot ...

and William Alexander Morgan.

Adam Driver Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award; making him one of few performers nominated ...

will star in the film. Production is scheduled to start in 2021. In November 2020, it was announced he would be directing and writing the screenplay for '' A Quiet Place: Day One'', which is set to release in 2023. In May 2021, it was announced he finished the script for the film. However, he departed the project in October 2021, to focus on a new science fiction project also in development at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. In August 2022, it was announced that Nichols would be directing ''The Bikeriders'', a film inspired by the

Danny Lyon Danny Lyon (born March 16, 1942) is an American photographer and filmmaker. All of Lyon's publications work in the style of photographic New Journalism, meaning that the photographer has become immersed in with, and is a participant of, the do ...

book of the same name. It is to be produced by Sarah Green and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, through Tri-State, their company shared with Nichols. Fred Berger will be executive producer. The ensemble cast will feature Tom Hardy,

, Austin Butler,

Jodie Comer Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress who rose to global prominence for her role as Oksana Astankova / Villanelle in the BBC America spy thriller ''Killing Eve'' (2018–2022). She has received various accolades inc ...

, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman and Happy Anderson.

Personal life

Nichols was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended Little Rock Central High School. He is the brother of

Lucero Lucero may refer to: * Lucero (given name) a Spanish given name * Lucero (surname) a Spanish surname * Lucero (entertainer) (born 1969), Mexican singer and actress ** ''Lucero'' (album), eponymous album released in 1993 * Lucero (band), an America ...

guitarist and singer

Ben Nichols Benjamin Nichols (1920 – November 24, 2007) was a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Cornell University and mayor of Ithaca, New York. He was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and as such was one of few Soci ...

. He is influenced by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

Directing credits

Film

Feature films Short films Producer * '' In the Radiant City'' (2016) Executive producer * '' Hellion'' (2014)

Podcast

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Jeff 1978 births Living people American people of English descent American film producers American male screenwriters Film directors from Arkansas University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni Writers from Little Rock, Arkansas Screenwriters from Arkansas