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Jeff Nichols (born December 7, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are characterized by their
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
backdrop and ambience. He is also known for his longstanding collaboration with actor
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 ...
, who has appeared in all of his feature films to date. After studying filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Nichols moved into the independent filmmaking scene with '' Shotgun Stories'' (2007). He went on to direct the critically acclaimed films '' Take Shelter'' (2011), ''
Mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
'' (2012), '' Midnight Special'' (2016), '' Loving'' (2016), and '' The Bikeriders'' (2023).


Early life

Nichols was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended Little Rock Central High School. He is the brother of Lucero guitarist and singer Ben Nichols. He is influenced by
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...
.


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. Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for '' Revolutionary Road'' (2008), and '' Nocturnal Animals'' (2016). He received Screen Actors Guil ...
in mind to play the lead, and contacted the actor through a former teacher. The film was shot on a budget of $250,000, and released in 2007. Nichols moved into independent productions with 2011's '' Take Shelter'', also starring Shannon, and 2012's ''
Mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
'', starring
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...
, which competed for the
Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...
at the
2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Austrian filmma ...
. 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. From 2022, the festival was officially recognized as a competitive festival by the Internation ...
. His 2016 sci-fi drama film '' Midnight Special'' competed for the
Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. The same year, he directed the drama '' Loving'', 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 awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
nomination for lead actor Joel Edgerton and
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
and Golden Globe nominations for lead actress Ruth Negga. Six of Nichols' films have featured Shannon: ''Shotgun Stories'', ''Take Shelter'', ''Mud'', ''Midnight Special'', ''Loving'' and ''The Bikeriders''. Speaking of his frequent collaboration with Shannon, Nichols stated: "(Shannon) is not just a collaborator; he has become family to me. I owe my career to Michael Shannon. I learned how to direct from directing Michael Shannon. So, from the outside, it can feel kind of cute, but it’s not. I love that guy, and I want him in movies because he’s the greatest actor in the world. And if you’re a director and you have access to the greatest actor in the world, it makes sense that you would call him all the time." In 2016, Nichols was hired to direct a remake of '' Alien Nation'', but the project never came to fruition. "That’s one of the reasons it’s taken me so long to make another film," Nichols said in a 2023 interview. "I spent like four years on that. And we were at the 1-yard line. I had a cast, we were ready to go, but the universe didn’t want me to make that right then." Later, it was revealed that the script Nichols wrote for ''Alien Nation'' would be retooled into an original film and produced by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
. 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. In 2020, it was reported that Nichols would be 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'', and author. His first book, '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,'' was published by Doubleday in February 200 ...
's article in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' about
Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
and William Alexander Morgan. Adam Driver was announced as starring in the film. In November 2020, it was announced that Nichols would be directing and writing the screenplay for '' A Quiet Place: Day One''. 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, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
. In August 2022, it was announced that Nichols would be directing '' The Bikeriders'', a film inspired by the Danny Lyon book of the same name. It is 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 features Tom Hardy,
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 ...
,
Austin Butler Austin Robert Butler (born August 17, 1991) is an American actor, singer, and model. Butler began his career on television, first in roles on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, most notably on ''Zoey 101'' (2007–2008), and later on teen dramas, ...
, Jodie Comer, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Toby Wallace, Emory Cohen, Beau Knapp, Karl Glusman, Happy Anderson, and Mike Faist. In May 2024, it was announced that Nichols would direct adaptations of the Cormac McCarthy novels ''The Passenger'' and ''Stella Maris'' with New Regency, which also backed Nichols' most recent directorial effort ''The Bikeriders'', producing.


Filmography

Short films Writing/producing Executive producer only Podcast


See also

* James Marsh


References


External links

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