John C. Walsh
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John C. Walsh is an American independent film director and screenwriter who initially gained recognition with the debut of his film ''
Ed's Next Move ''Ed's Next Move'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Walsh. It stars Matt Ross, Callie Thorne, and Kevin Carroll. A micro-budget film about a transplanted Midwesterner adapting to life in New York's East Vill ...
'' at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. He has also directed the film ''
Pipe Dream Pipe dream may refer to: Music * ''Pipe Dream'' (John Williamson album), 1997, or the titular song * ''Pipedream'' (Alan Hull album), 1973 * ''Pipe Dreams'' (Murray Head album), 1995 * "Pipe Dreams" (Nelly Furtado song), 2016 * ''Pipe Dream ...
'' (2002) and most recently wrote the screenplay for '' Dalíland'' (2022).


Film career

John C. Walsh was born and raised in Irvington, New York and studied film as an undergraduate at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
. In 1996, Walsh premiered his first feature, ''
Ed's Next Move ''Ed's Next Move'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Walsh. It stars Matt Ross, Callie Thorne, and Kevin Carroll. A micro-budget film about a transplanted Midwesterner adapting to life in New York's East Vill ...
,'' to critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival. A comedy about a Midwesterner adapting to life in New York, it was quickly picked up by
Orion Classics Orion Classics started in 1982 as the distribution label for the then independent film production company Orion Pictures, now owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was relaunched in 2018. The original focus of 1980-era Orion Classics was on acquirin ...
for theatrical release. The film garnered critical praise as a well-formed, low-budget romantic comedy. It was noted for its witty dialogue and fresh approach to romance by ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...
, film critic Roger Ebert and ''
Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' magazine. The ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' highlighted the film as an example of the
indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...
movement in New York City, and architect James Sanders highlighted the film in his book ''Celluloid Skyline'', which detailed the relationship between film and New York City. Walsh's second feature, ''
Pipe Dream Pipe dream may refer to: Music * ''Pipe Dream'' (John Williamson album), 1997, or the titular song * ''Pipedream'' (Alan Hull album), 1973 * ''Pipe Dreams'' (Murray Head album), 1995 * "Pipe Dreams" (Nelly Furtado song), 2016 * ''Pipe Dream ...
'' (2002), is a romantic comedy starring
Mary-Louise Parker Mary-Louise Parker (born August 2, 1964) is an American actress. After making her Broadway debut as Rita in Craig Lucas' '' Prelude to a Kiss'' in 1990 (for which she received a Tony Award nomination), Parker came to prominence for film roles i ...
about a plumber who poses as a film director to meet women. Dubbed "a screwball satire" by ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'', ''Pipe Dream'' follows a romance between the plumber and a would-be screenwriter as it skewers its characters' misguided scheming. According to the ''New York Times'', the film grounded Walsh in the genre of neo-
screwball comedies Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characterist ...
that tap into the "secret charm" of New York City. In 2011, Walsh directed ''Don't Ask Don't Tell'' for
Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...
's
Vuguru Vuguru is an American independent multi-platform studio founded by Michael Eisner's The Tornante Company in March 2006. The company has produced content including the web series ''Prom Queen'', '' The Booth at the End'', ''Little Women Big Cars'', ...
, a minimalist adaptation of writer/actor Marc Wolf's Obie award-winning one-man play that examines the US military's gay ban through verbatim, edited interviews with straight and gay service members and their families. In 2022, Walsh wrote the screenplay for the film '' Dalíland'', about the late years of
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...
, directed by Walsh's wife Mary. The film stars
Sir Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...
as Dalí and
Barbara Sukowa Barbara Sukowa (; born 2 February 1950) is a German actress of screen and stage and singer. She has received three German Film Awards for Best Actress, three Bavarian Film Awards, Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, Venice Film Festival ...
as his wife and
muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
, Gala Dalí.


Personal life

Walsh is married to filmmaker
Mary Harron Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter, and former entertainment critic. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including '' I Shot Andy Warhol'' (1996), ''Am ...
, with whom he has collaborated on a number of original and adapted screenplays, TV pilots, and short documentaries. He also serves as an adjunct assistant professor in the graduate film division of
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.


Filmography


Awards

1985: "
CINE Ciné film or cine film is the term commonly used in the UK and historically in the US to refer to the 8 mm, Super 8, 9.5 mm, and 16 mm motion picture film formats used for home movies. It is not normally used to refer ...
Eagle Award" for ''Adventure Enough''. 1986: "The Golden CINEMAN trophy" (First Prize) for ''Adventure Enough'' at Melbourne International Amateur Film Festival. 1987: "Grand Prize of the Festival" for ''Adventure Enough'' at Mons International Film Festival. 1996: "Best Comedy" for ''Ed's Next Move'' at
St. Louis International Film Festival The St. Louis International Film Festival (also known as SLIFF or Cinema St. Louis) is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 200 ...
. 1996: "Audience Award" for ''Ed's Next Move'' at Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival. 2015: "Audience Award for Documentary Feature" runner-up for ''Don't Ask Don't Tell'' at
Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Irela ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, John C. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Irvington, New York Tisch School of the Arts alumni People from Brooklyn Writers from New York (state) American male screenwriters Columbia University faculty Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state)