John SaylesBirth Place: Schenectady, New York, USA Date of Birth: September 28, 1950 Heritage: American Famous for: Writer of 'Lone Star' (1996) Contact John Sayles | 
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Lone Star Background: “I want to direct films that no one else is going to make. I know if I don't make them, I'm never going to see them. Of course, I hope some people will want to see my movies as well, but I won't pander to the public. I won't try to second guess what a Hollywood studio would like to see in a low-budget film so that they will hire me the next time around. I know I will always do better work if I do projects in which I really believe. And if I never get to direct again, I will have made some movies I can feel proud of.” John Sayles American independent film director and writer John Sayles has built a reputation for himself for the commercial and critical hit “Lone Star” (1996), from which he picked up an Academy Award nomination for his writing, a Golden Satellite award, a Southeastern Film Critics Association Award and two Lone Star Film & Television Awards. He received his first Oscar nomination for his work in “Passion Fish” (1992). Sayles, who frequently cast Chris Cooper, Joe Morton, Vincent Spano, David Strathairn and Maggie Renzi in his films, also enjoyed critical accolades for films like “Return of the Secaucus 7” (1980), his feature directorial debut, “Lianna” (1983), “The Brother From Another Planet” (1984), “Matewan” (1987), “Eight Men Out” (1988), “City of Hope” (1991), “The Secret of Roan Inish” (1994), “Men With Guns” (1997), “Limbo” (1999) and “Sunshine State” (2002). The fluent Spanish speaking Sayles also acted in “Honeydripper” (2007), his most recent directorial effort, and continues to script for such upcoming movies as “Jurassic Park IV” (2008) and “A Cold Case” (2008). On the small screen, he netted an Edgar Allan Poe Award for his writing contribution to the made-for-TV film “Shannon's Deal” (1989) and a Writers Guild of America Award for “Unnatural Causes” (1987). As for his personal life, Sayles is romantically involved with Maggie Renzi. She has appeared in and produced some of Sayles' films.
Childhood and Family: John Thomas Sayles was born on September 28, 1950, in Schenectady, New York. His father, Donald John Sayles, was a school administrator and his mother, Mary (Rausch), was a teacher. Both of them were part Irish. John grew up in a Catholic family and has referred to himself as “a Catholic atheist.” He attended Mount Pleasant High School in Schenectady, New York, and in 1972, earned a degree in psychology from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. While in college, John appeared in school plays and summer stock, through which he encountered many of the people who would later become his future partners, such as actor David Strathairn and Maggie Renzi.
Career: After graduating from college, John Sayles decided to pursue a career as a fiction writer. His first novel, “Pride of the Bimbos,” was published in 1975 and was followed by “Union Dues” in 1977. Both of his books earned rave reviews, but failed to garner much of an audience. His short story anthology, “The Anarchist’ Convention” (1979), was similarly received. During these rocky years, he supported himself by taking on jobs as a day laborer and a meat packer. The New York native eventually relocated to Hollywood and found additional work as one of Roger Corman's stable of B-movie writers. Under Corman's endorsement, he wrote Joe Dante's “Piranha” (1978), Lewis Teague's “The Lady in Red” (1979) and Jimmy Murakami's “Battle Beyond the Stars” (1980). He also scripted “Alligator” (1980), which reunited him with Dante, and “The Howling” (1981) for Teague. With money saved from his screen writing, Sayles made his debut as a film director with “Return of the Secaucus 7” (shot 1978, released 1980), a touching take on a reunion of 1960s activists on the brink of adulthood. Shot in 25 days on a budget of $60,000 and featuring future Sayles’ regulars like Strathairn, Renzi, and Gordon Clapp, the drama gained critical praise and won Sayles a Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Screenplay and a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen. In addition to directing and writing, Sayles then directed “Lianna” (1983), a lesbian coming-of-age tale starring Linda Griffiths in the title role. Alternately complimented for sensitivity but mocked as exploitative, the low-budget movie offered a role to the director, as a film professor, and helped him acquire support from Paramount for his next project, “Baby, It's You” (1983), based on an autobiography supplied by producer Amy Robinson. However, unhappy experiences while working on the film caused Sayles to decide that he would never again work under the control of a studio. On the making of the film, he said, “I got the cut I wanted, but I was thrown out of the editing room.” Fortunately, later that same year, he was handed a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, which supplied him with at least $32,000 per year, tax-free, for five years. One of the results, “The Brother From Another Planet” (1984), nabbed a Caixa de Catalunya for Best Screenplay at the Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival and a Grand Jury Prize nomination at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. The writer/director also appeared in the film. In 1986, Sayles, who debuted as TV screenwriter on CBS' “A Perfect Match” (1980), co-wrote (with Martin M. Goldstein, Stephen Doran and Robert Jacobs) the made-for-TV “Unnatural Causes,” which starred John Ritter as a Vietnam vet who was dying from cancer brought on by exposure to the compound chemical Agent Orange. The writers won a Writers Guild of America for Original Long Form for their work on the drama. The project also marked Sayles' TV acting debut. After scripting Max Reid's “Wild Things” (1987), he returned to the director's chair for “Matewan” (1987), featuring work from the Oscar-nominated cinematographer Haskell Wexler. A complex look at the union politics in a 1920s West Virginia coal-mining town, the movie brought Sayles two Independent Spirit nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay and a Deauville Film Festival nomination. He next directed, scripted and acted (as sportswriter Ring Lardner) in “Eight Men Out” (1988), which was adapted from a novel by Eliot Asinof. 1990 saw Sayles create the TV series “Shannon's Deal,” which he also scripted, directed episodes and wrote lyrics for. The same year, he won an Edgar Allan Poe for Best Television Feature or Miniseries for his writing effort in the 1989 TV film of the same name. Back to directing film, he went on to advance his own distinctive path during the 1990s. “City of Hope,” a melancholy study of life in a mid-sized contemporary American town, was released in 1991 to good reviews and won the Tokyo International Film Festival Tokyo Grand Prix and a Kansas City Film Critics Circle for Best Screenplay. The follow-up, “Passion Fish” (1992), the story of a flourishing soap opera star (played by Mary McDonnell) and her live-in nurse (played by Alfre Woodard), brought Sayles his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. He then changed pace with “The Secret of Roan Inish” (1994), a mystical story about a small girl living in Ireland, which he adapted from a Rosalie Frye's novella, “The Secret of Ron More Skerry.” The movie won a Gérardmer Film Festival for International Critics Award in 1996. However, Sayles did not receive a huge commercial breakthrough and critical success until he directed and wrote 1996's “Lone Star,” which explored the personal and public politics in a small Texas border town. Featuring a strong ensemble cast, including Kris Kristofferson, Elizabeth Pena, Frances McDormand, Chris Cooper, Joe Morton and rising star Matthew McConaughey, the engrossing drama earned Sayles another Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination, in addition to several other awards, such as a Golden Satellite for Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Original, a Southeastern Film Critics Association for Best Director and two Lone Star Film & Television awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay. The 1997 “Men With Guns,” which he wrote and directed, was released to a cold reception from moviegoers, probably due to the lack of big names in the principle roles and Spanish dialog. The movie scored better with critics and earned Sayles three San Sebastián International Film Festival awards. He closed out the decade with the Cannes-screened “Limbo” (1999), starring Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Lone Star's Vanessa Martinez, and won a Golden Space Needle for Best Director at the Seattle International Film Festival for his work in the drama. The critically hailed director went on to direct and write the Florida-set drama “Sunshine State” (2002), featuring an exceptional assembled cast that included Edie Falco, Angela Bassett, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen, Gordon Clapp, Mary Alice, Ralph Waite and Alan King. He next worked on the independent films “Casa de los babys” (2003), about six American women who travel to South America to adopt babies, and the political satire “Silver City” (2004), which starred Chris Cooper as Dickie Pilager, an aspiring, not-so-bright politician. His latest directorial effort is “Honeydripper” (2007), starring Danny Glover as Tyrone Purvis and Lisa Gay Hamilton as Delilah. He also wrote the material and acted in the film as Zeke. 57-year-old Sayles will lend his talents to the upcoming films “The Spiderwick Chronicles” (2008), directed by Mark Waters,“ the dinosaur horror installment “Jurassic Park IV” (2008), Mark Romanek's “A Cold Case” (2008), starring Tom Hanks, and “I Kill” (2008) for director Jon Avnet. He will also appear in front of the camera as an actor in “The Toe Tactic” (2008) and “In the Electric Mist “(2008).
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