Jeremiah S. Chechik
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jeremiah S. Chechik (born
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada) is a Canadian film and television director and photographer. His feature work includes ''
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American Christmas slapstick comedy film and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, wr ...
'' (1989), ''
Benny & Joon ''Benny & Joon'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-Drama (film and television), drama film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about how two eccentric individuals, Sam (Johnny Depp) and Juniper ("Joon") (Mary Stuart Masterson), find each other and f ...
'' (1993), '' Diabolique'' (1996) and ''
The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
'' (1998). He is also notable for his work in television, directing episodes for such shows as ''
The Bronx Is Burning ''The Bronx Is Burning'' (stylized as ''The Bronx is Burning'') is an American drama television series that debuted on ESPN on July 10, 2007, after the 2007 MLB Home Run Derby. It is an eight-episode mini-series adapted from Jonathan Mahler's ...
'' (2007), ''
Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...
'' (2007–2013), ''
Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
'' (2007–2012), and ''
Reginald the Vampire ''Reginald the Vampire'' (simply known as ''Reginald'' in its premiere episode) is an American comedy horror television series which premiered on Syfy on October 5, 2022. The series stars Jacob Batalon as overweight vampire Reginald Andres. In ...
'' (2022–2024).


Biography

While at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
, Chechik studied the theatrical arts. After graduating, he became a fashion photographer for ''
Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...
''. Since he also had a background in both music and design, Chechik decided to pursue filmmaking. He landed early gigs directing television commercials, which impressed
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
who mentioned them in a ''
NY Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' article. Subsequently, he was invited to develop a film for
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
's
Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...
that took place in and around the
Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It was planned as a "very small movie" starring unknown actors. Though that film was never made, Chechik began receiving scripts while at
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
, eventually landing on ''
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American Christmas slapstick comedy film and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, wr ...
'' which would become his feature directorial debut. The following year, Chechik began production on ''
Arrive Alive ''Arrive Alive'' is an unfinished comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and starring Willem Dafoe and Joan Cusack. It was produced by Art Linson. Premise Mickey Crews is a house detective in a seedy Florida hotel who gets involved in in ...
'' which was shut down after eighteen days of shooting. The producers felt that star
Willem Dafoe William James "Willem" Dafoe ( ; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades including a Volpi Cup Award for ...
's performance was not funny enough and disrupted the comedic tone of the script. The footage has not been released in any form. After directing several other films throughout the 1990s, Chechik was nominated for Worst Director at the
1998 Golden Raspberry Awards The 19th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 20, 1999, at the Huntley Hotel Garden Room in Santa Monica, California, to recognize the worst movie industry had to offer in 1998. Awards and nominations File:Gus Van Sant-1345.jpg, Gus Van ...
for ''The Avengers'' but lost to
Gus Van Sant Gus Green Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952) is an American filmmaker, photographer, painter, and musician. He has earned acclaim as an independent film, independent auteur. His films typically deal with themes of marginalized subcultures. His ...
for his remake of '' Psycho''. After the failure of that film, Chechik took a break from directing and decided to travel. "I had an extreme kind of experiences all over the world, warzones and the like," he later reflected. Out of that, Chechik, who had never directed something he had written, began to write screenplays. While some of them were either commissioned or optioned by various studios, he decided that the development process had become too slow to pursue the projects. Instead, Chechik began directing for television. In 2007, he helmed eight episodes of ''
The Bronx is Burning ''The Bronx Is Burning'' (stylized as ''The Bronx is Burning'') is an American drama television series that debuted on ESPN on July 10, 2007, after the 2007 MLB Home Run Derby. It is an eight-episode mini-series adapted from Jonathan Mahler's ...
''. The following year, he and producer Michael Birnbaum purchased the screen rights to ''
House of Night ''House of Night'' is a series of young adult fiction, young adult vampire novel, vampire-themed fantasy novels by American author P. C. Cast and her daughter Kristin Cast. It follows the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a 16-year-old girl who is "ma ...
'', a juvenile vampire book series from authors
P. C. Cast Phyllis Christine Cast (born April 30, 1960) is an American romance/fantasy author, known for the '' House of Night'' series she writes and her daughter Kristin Cast edits, as well as her own ''Goddess Summoning'' and ''Partholon'' book serie ...
and her daughter
Kristin Cast Kristin F. Cast (born November 4, 1986, in Japan) is an American author of young adult books and graphic novels, best known for the ''House of Night'' series and Sisters of Salem series, written with her mother, P. C. Cast. Early life Cast wa ...
. He returned to the theatrical venue in 2013 with the film '' The Right Kind of Wrong'', which was screened in the Gala Presentation section at that year's Toronto Film Festival. In 2025, an exhibition of his artwork, titled ''Jeremiah Chechik: Explorer'', was held at the
Stamford Museum & Nature Center The Stamford Museum & Nature Center, located in Stamford, Connecticut, is an art, history, nature, and agricultural sciences museum. The property covers 118 acres (c. 48 hectares) beginning about half a mile north of the Merritt Parkway. It was ...
.


Filmography


Directed works

Film Television


Unmade projects


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chechik, Jeremiah S. 1950s births Date of birth missing (living people) Film directors from Montreal Canadian television directors Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Anglophone Quebec people McGill University alumni