Craig William Macneill is an American film director, writer, and editor. His feature film ''Lizzie'', starring

Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny (, born November 18, 1974) is an American actress, model, filmmaker and fashion designer. Known for her work in independent films, often appearing in controversial or experimental features, Sevigny is the recipient of se ...

and Kristen Stewart, premiered in the U.S Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film was acquired by Roadside Attractions and Saban Films and released theatrically in the fall of 2018. Macneill's first feature film, '' The Boy'', premiered in the narrative competition at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival and which was also based on a previous short film he co-wrote, directed, and edited titled ''Henley'', which screened in competition at the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

and won the grand jury prize for "Best Short Film" at the

Gen Art Film Festival Gen Art is an arts and entertainment organization that showcases emerging fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians and visual artists. It has produced over 100 events annually, which included fashion shows, film premieres and screenings, live music ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

’s Carmel Film and Arts Film Festival. In 2016. On the Television side, Macneill directed two episodes for HBO’s Emmy winning series, ''Westworld'', along with Amazon Prime Series ''Them'' which was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Macneill is currently developing an original series, titled UNKNOWN, for Amazon Prime with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Kilter Films producing. Macneill's other TV directorial work include episodes for Jordan Peele's ''Twilight Zone'', ''Castle Rock'', ''NOS4A2'', ''

Monsterland Monsterland and Monster Island are fictional locations in Toho Studios' ''Godzilla'' film franchise, both serving as nature reserves or homes for several giant monsters. Monsterland Monsterland was introduced in the 1968 film ''Destroy All Mon ...

,'' and the first season of the limited anthology television series ''Channel Zero'''':

Candle Cove ''Candle Cove'' is an online creepypasta horror story written by web cartoonist and author Kris Straub in 2009. The story centers on a fictional television series titled ''Candle Cove'', that could only be viewed by a small group of people, pre ...

''. The show was created by

Nick Antosca Nicholas J. Antosca (born January 23, 1983) is an American film and television writer, producer, and novelist. He is the creator and showrunner of the horror anthology television series '' Channel Zero'' (2016–2018). He also co-created and sh ...

and starred Paul Schneider and

Fiona Shaw Fiona Shaw (born Fiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish film and theatre actress. She is known for her roles as Petunia Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2001–2010), Marnie Stonebrook in the fourth season of the HBO serie ...

Early life and education

Macneill was born in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, and moved to Northern Virginia where he attended high school. He graduated from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

with a Bachelor of Fine Arts after having studied under filmmakers including Stan Brakhage.

Career

Feature films

Macneill directed ''

Lizzie Lizzie or Lizzy is a nickname for Elizabeth or Elisabet, often given as an independent name in the United States, especially in the late 19th century. Lizzie can also be the shortened version of Lizeth, Lissette or Lizette. People * Elizabeth I ...

'', a psychological thriller starring

Chloe Sevigny Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root ', which relates to the colors yellow and green. T ...

and Kristen Stewart. Lizzie is premiering in the U.S Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Macneill directed and co-wrote the 2015 feature film '' The Boy'', starring

David Morse David Bowditch Morse (born October 11, 1953) is an American actor, singer, television director, and writer. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack "Boomer" Morrison in the medical drama series ''St. Elsewhere'' (1982–88). His film ca ...

, Rainn Wilson, Jared Breeze,

Mike Vogel Michael James Vogel (born July 17, 1979) is an American actor and former model. Vogel began acting in 2001 and has appeared in several films and series, including ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'', ''Grind' ...

Bill Sage William Sage III (born April 3, 1962) is an American actor and alumnus of State University of New York at Purchase. He is known for his collaborations with director Hal Hartley. Sage has appeared in more than 80 movies, most notable ''American Ps ...

, Zuleikha Robinson, and Aiden Lovecamp. The film was produced by Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, and Josh C. Waller and the company

SpectreVision SpectreVision (formerly The Woodshed) is an American film production company founded in 2010 by actor Elijah Wood and directors Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller. SpectreVision is a genre driven company with a focus on psychological thriller and horr ...

Television

Macneill directed 2 episodes for HBO's Westworld. Macneill directed 2 episodes for the first season of Amazon Prime's Them. Macneill directed an episode for Jordan Peele's

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

anthology reboot television series, titled The Blue Scorpion, starring Chris O'Dowd. Macneill directed the first season of the limited anthology television series '' Channel Zero: Candle Cove''. The show was created by

and stars Paul Schneider and

. Macneill directed an episode of the horror drama series, '' Castle Rock''. Macneill directed 2 episodes of the horror drama series, ''

NOS4A2 ''NOS4A2'' (pronounced ''Nosferatu'') is the third novel by American author Joe Hill, son of authors Stephen and Tabitha King. The book was published on April 30, 2013 through William Morrow and Company, and has since been adapted to a televis ...

''. Macneill directed 1 episode of the horror drama series, ''

''. Macneill directed 2 episodes for the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Short films

Macneill has written, produced, edited, and directed a number of short films before
The Boy
'. Among them is a 2011 short ''Henley'', which won a "Best Short Film" award at the 2011 Gen Art Film Festival Film Festival and the 2012 Carmel Film and Arts Film Festival. ''Henley'' was one of 64 short films selected from 7,675 submissions to screen in competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Among the short films that Macneill has both directed, produced, co-wrote, and edited include the award winning short film ''Late Bloomer'', which screened as an official selection at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It won the audience award at the 2004

Lake Placid Film Festival The Lake Placid Film Festival is an annual Film Festival held in Lake Placid, New York. The Festival, previously known as the Lake Placid Film Forum, has played host to famous film personalities such as directors Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese ...

, and was screened at film festivals worldwide

Experimental film

In 2009, Macneill, along with co-director Alexei Kaleina, completed an experimental film titled '' The Afterlight'', which had its world premiere at the International Rome Film Festival and was acquired for limited theatrical distribution through Cinema Purgatorio. The film stars Michael Kelly,

Ana Asensio Ana Asensio is an actress and filmmaker born in Madrid and currently living in New York City. Career Asensio got her professional start acting in children's plays while she was studying Acting and Philosophy at Complutense University in Madrid. ...

, Jicky Schnee, and

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...

Personal life

Macneill lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with his wife, director/actress

. He was the recipient of a 2009 Jerome Foundation Grant.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macneill, Craig William American film directors People from Virginia University of Colorado alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)