Jonathan Mostow (born November 28, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed films such as ''

Breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

'', '' U-571'', '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', and ''

Surrogates ''Surrogates'' is a 2009 American science fiction action film based on the 2005–2006 comic book series '' The Surrogates''. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Bruce Willis as Tom Greer, an FBI agent who ventures out into the real world to ...

''.

Early life

Mostow was born in

Woodbridge, Connecticut Woodbridge is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,087 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town center is listed on the National Register of H ...

. His father George Daniel Mostow was a mathematician, and his mother is a social worker. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He also trained at the

American Repertory Company The American Repertory Company was a repertory company from the 1980s until 2004, when founder Manu Tupou died on June 5. Manu Tupou not only was the founder but remained artistic director until his death in 2004. History The American Repertory ...

and the

Lee Strasberg Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

. He grew up in a

Conservative Jewish Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

household.

Career

In 1989, Mostow directed a direct-to-video horror comedy, ''

Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers ''Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers'' is a 1989 comedy film directed by Jonathan Mostow. Plot A doctor and a mortician team up to do re-animation experiments on corpses using money borrowed from the mafia. When they can't pay it back, the mafia boss ...

''. He was originally attached to direct '' The Game'' (1997), with

Kyle MacLachlan Kyle Merritt MacLachlan (; ' McLachlan, February 22, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dale Cooper in ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me'' (1992), as well as roles ...

and

Bridget Fonda Bridget Jane Fonda (born January 27, 1964) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), ''Single White Female'' (1992), ''Singles'' (1992), ''Point of No Return'' (1993), '' It Could Happen to You'' ( ...

for the lead roles. However, he ended up being an executive producer of the

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

-directed film. In 1997, he directed ''

'', a thriller film starring

Kurt Russell Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the Westerns on television, western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (TV series), The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (19 ...

. Around the same time, he signed a deal with Universal Pictures. Both Mostow and Lieberman received a TV deal, via his Mostow/Lieberman Productions company to Studios USA. In 2000, Mostow directed a World War II-era submarine film, '' U-571''. He assembled a cast including

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), ''Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 13 ...

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

TC Carson Terrence C. Carson (born November 19, 1958) is an American actor best known for portraying Kyle Barker on the FOX sitcom ''Living Single'' and voicing Mace Windu in various '' Star Wars'' media. He is also known for his long-running voice role a ...

, and

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

. The film topped the U.S. box office chart. In 2003, he directed the third installment of ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...

'' film series, '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', which starred

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

. Mostow co-wrote a comic book series, ''

The Megas ''The Megas'' is a five-issue mini-series from Virgin Comics and film director Jonathan Mostow. Credits ''The Megas'' was created by Jonathan Mostow, and is written by John Harrison, with art by Peter Rubin and color by S. Periaswamy. The ...

'', with John Harrison. Illustrated by Peter Rubin, it was published on

Virgin Comics Liquid Comics is an India, Indian comic book Publishers company, founded in 2006 as Virgin Comics LLC, which produced stories (many of which are Indian-culture related) for an international audience. The company was founded by Sir Richard Branson a ...

in 2008. He returned to direct another film, ''

'', in 2009. Based on the comic book series, it starred

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

. In 2017, he directed ''

The Hunter's Prayer ''The Hunter's Prayer'' is a 2017 action crime film directed by Jonathan Mostow, based on the 2004 novel ''For the Dogs'' by Kevin Wignall. The film tells about a conflicted hitman helping a young woman to avenge the death of her family. The film ...

'', an action thriller film starring

Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...

Personal life

On October 7, 2018, Mostow married writer Laurie Sandell. The two met through

JDate Jdate is an online dating service aimed at Jewish singles. The service is one of a number of demographically focused online match-making websites operated by Spark Networks, Inc. Because of the focus on relationships between Jewish singles, Jda ...

in 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

TV movies

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mostow, Jonathan Living people 1961 births 20th-century American Jews Harvard University alumni People from Woodbridge, Connecticut Film directors from Connecticut Science fiction film directors 21st-century American Jews