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 Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

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 b ...

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 o ...

genres. His films include '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'' (1986), '' The Borrower'' (1991), '' Mad Dog and Glory'' (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 ...

'' (1996), '' Wild Things'' (1998), ''

Speaking of Sex ''Speaking of Sex'' is a 2001 Canadian/American/French comedy film directed by John McNaughton and starring Bill Murray, James Spader, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Jay Mohr. Premise When a couple having marital problems see a female marriage counselo ...

'' (2001) and '' The Harvest'' (2013).

Career

His first feature film,John McNaughton Biography
from the HBO 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,

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

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 '' Mad Dog and Glory'' and '' Wild Things'', the documentary ''Condo Painting'' as well as episodes of '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', '' John From Cincinnati'', '' Masters of Horror'' and the pilot episode for '' Push, Nevada''.

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 metalwor ...

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 Un ...

, and graduated from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a 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 undergraduate and gradua ...

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) * '' The Borrower'' (1991) * '' Mad Dog and Glory'' (1993) * '' Girls in Prison'' (1994) (TV movie) * '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1994–1996) (TV series) * ''

'' (1996) * '' Firehouse'' (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 ...

) * '' Wild Things'' (1998) * '' Lansky'' (1999) (TV movie) * '' Condo Painting'' (2000) * ''

'' (2001) * '' Push, Nevada'' (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 '' Masters of Horror'' anthology series) * '' John from Cincinnati'' (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