John McNaughton (born January 13, 1950) is an American film and television director, originally from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, whose works encompass the horror, thriller,

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

genres. His films include '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), ''

The Borrower ''The Borrower'' is a 1991 American science fiction horror film directed by John McNaughton and starring Rae Dawn Chong, Tom Towles and Antonio Fargas. The story revolves around an alien serial killer, who is sent to Earth to live among humans a ...

'' (1991), ''

Mad Dog and Glory ''Mad Dog and Glory'' is a 1993 American crime comedy-drama film directed by John McNaughton and starring Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, and Bill Murray, and supporting roles from well known actors Richard Belzer and David Caruso as De Niro's par ...

'' (1993), ''

Normal Life ''Normal Life'' is a 1996 American crime drama film based on the real lives of husband-and-wife bank robbers, Jeffrey and Jill Erickson. The film stars Ashley Judd and Luke Perry and was directed by John McNaughton. The original screenplay was w ...

'' (1996), '' Wild Things'' (1998), '' Speaking of Sex'' (2001) and '' The Harvest'' (2013).

Career

His first feature film,John McNaughton Biography
from the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

website made in 1986, was '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'', a film McNaughton directed, co-wrote, and co-produced. Numerous complications plagued the controversial film, delaying its theatrical release until 1989. The film made ''Time'' magazine's and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

's ten best lists and won best picture honors at

Fantasporto Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...

, Sitges Film Festival and the

Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (french: Festival international du film fantastique de Bruxelles, nl, Internationaal Festival van de Fantastische Fil ...

. His other works include the films ''

'' and '' Wild Things'', the documentary ''Condo Painting'' as well as episodes of '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''

John From Cincinnati ''John from Cincinnati'' is an American drama television series, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California. It aired on HBO from June 10 to August 12, 2007. Overview ''John from Cincinnati'' is the result of a collaborativ ...

'', ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, C ...

'' and the pilot episode for ''

Push, Nevada ''Push, Nevada'' is an American mystery television series set in the fictional town of Push, Nevada. It premiered on September 17, 2002 on ABC, and ran for 7 episodes before it became one of the first shows to be canceled during the Fall 2002 s ...

''.

Personal life

McNaughton studied

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, and graduated from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

with a degree in television production and a minor in photography.

Filmography

* '' Dealers in Death (1984)'' * '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986) (also co-writer, with Richard Fire) * '' Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll'' (1991) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1993) * '' Girls in Prison'' (1994) (TV movie) * '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1994–1996) (TV series) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

Firehouse __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

'' (1997) (TV movie) (as

Alan Smithee Alan Smithee (also Allen Smithee) is an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project. Coined in 1968 and used until it was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild o ...

) * '' Wild Things'' (1998) * '' Lansky'' (1999) (TV movie) * '' Condo Painting'' (2000) * '' Speaking of Sex'' (2001) * ''

'' (2002) (TV series) * ''

Expert Witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

'' (2003) (TV series) * ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'' (2003) (TV series) * '' Haeckel's Tale'' (2006) (TV movie in the ''

'' anthology series) * ''

John from Cincinnati ''John from Cincinnati'' is an American drama television series, set against the surfing community of Imperial Beach, California. It aired on HBO from June 10 to August 12, 2007. Overview ''John from Cincinnati'' is the result of a collaborativ ...

'' (2007) (TV series) * '' The Harvest'' (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, John 1950 births American documentary filmmakers American film directors Film producers from Illinois American male screenwriters American television directors Horror film directors Columbia College Chicago alumni Living people Writers from Chicago Artists from Chicago Screenwriters from Illinois