Jeffrey McDonald Chandor (born November 24, 1973), better known as J. C. Chandor (), is an American filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the films ''

Margin Call ''Margin Call'' is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor in his feature directorial debut. The principal story takes place over a 24-hour period at a large Wall Street investment bank during the initial stages of the ...

'' (2011), '' All Is Lost'' (2013), '' A Most Violent Year'' (2014), ''

Triple Frontier The Triple Frontier ( es, Triple Frontera, pt, Tríplice Fronteira) is a tri-border area along the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. Near the confluence are the cities of Puerto Igua ...

'' (2019) and ''

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary ...

'' (2023).

Early life and education

Chandor grew up in the

Basking Ridge Basking Ridge is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community located within Bernards Township, New Jersey, Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset Count ...

section of Bernards Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He is the son of Mary (McDonald) and Jeff Chandor, an investment banker. After graduating in 1992 from

Ridge High School Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the ...

in Bernards Township, he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1996 from

The College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Churc ...

. During the 15 years leading up to ''Margin Call'', Chandor directed

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

Film career

''Margin Call'' was Chandor's first feature-length film. The film premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...

; it also played In Competition at the

61st Berlin International Film Festival The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film ''True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...

and was nominated 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 ...

. ''Margin Call'' was nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards and won two of them: for Best First Feature and the Robert Altman Award for Best Cast. Chandor was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. His second feature film '' All Is Lost'' was screened Out of Competition at the

2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and ...

. It received critical acclaim, especially for Robert Redford's solo performance which featured almost no dialogue, for which Redford won the

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle to honor the finest achievements in film-making. Winners * † = Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor * ‡ = Nominate ...

, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award and Critics' Choice Award. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. In 2014, Chandor directed

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...

and Jessica Chastain in '' A Most Violent Year'' which was nominated for a Golden Globe and

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

and which won three

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...

awards: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Picture for Chandor and his producing partners

Neal Dodson Neal Dodson (born May 17, 1978 in York, Pennsylvania, United States) is an Independent Spirit Award-winning film producer. His producer credits include the Academy Award-nominated ''Margin Call'', the Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Awards ...

and Anna Gerb. In 2015, it was announced that Chandor had replaced

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...

as director for the crime film ''

''. The film released on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

in March 2019 to generally favorable reviews. In 2017, he inked a first look deal with Gaumont. In 2020, it was announced that Chandor would direct a film ''Kraven the Hunter'' for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Chandor runs the production company CounterNarrative Films with producers

and Anna Gerb in New York City. They have dozens of projects in various stages of development for film and television.

Filmography

Producer * ''

The Con Is On ''The Con Is On'' (previously titled ''The Brits Are Coming'') is a 2018 heist comedy film directed by James Oakley and co-written by Alex Michaelides and Oakley. The film stars Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Alice Eve, Sofía Vergara and Maggie Q. ...

'' (2018) * '' Viper Club'' (2018) Executive producer * ''

Monos Monos is an island in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of the "Bocas Islands", which lie in the '' Bocas del Dragón'' (''Dragons' Mouth'') between Trinidad and Venezuela. It is so named as the island was once home to noisy red h ...

'' (2019) * ''

Run This Town "Run This Town" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z. The song also features Rihanna and Kanye West. It was released on July 24, 2009. It was written by the performing trio, with assistance from Ernest Wilson and Jeff Bhasker. Production of the ...

'' (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chandor, J. C. Living people American male screenwriters College of Wooster alumni Ridge High School alumni People from Bernards Township, New Jersey 1973 births Film directors from New Jersey Advertising directors Best Screenplay AACTA International Award winners Film producers from New Jersey Screenwriters from New Jersey