Adam Wingard | |
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Born | Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S. | December 3, 1982
Alma mater | Full Sail University (BS) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2004–present |
Adam Wingard ( /ˈwɪŋɡɑːrd/ WING-gard; [1] [2] born December 3, 1982) is an American filmmaker. He has served as a film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, cinematographer, actor, and composer on numerous American films. [3] [4]
Following an early career as a member of the mumblecore movement, he became notable for his works in the horror and action genres, especially the films You're Next (2011), and The Guest (2014), and the bigger budget franchise films Blair Witch (2016), Death Note (2017), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and its sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024).
Wingard was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and graduated from Full Sail University in 2002.
His first feature, the horror comedy Home Sick , starring Bill Moseley and Tiffany Shepis, was a stepping stone to his second feature, the psychotropic ghost story horror film Pop Skull . Made on a total budget of $2,000, Pop Skull had its international premiere at the Rome Film Festival and its domestic premiere at the AFI Film Festival in 2007. A Horrible Way to Die (2010) and What Fun We Were Having (2011) that followed.
The romantic horror film A Horrible Way to Die premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival in the Vanguard section and was acquired by Starz/Anchor Bay at the festival for a North American theatrical and home media release. What Fun We Were Having: 4 Stories About Date Rape is a 4-part anthology that had its premiere at the 2011 Fantastia Film Festival in Montreal, Canada where Wingard was honored by the festival with his own sidebar section: “Medicated Monsters – A Spotlight on Filmmaker Adam Wingard”.
In 2011, Wingard co-directed Autoerotic with the actor and filmmaker Joe Swanberg. He was selected to direct one chapter of The ABCs of Death , a 26-chapter horror comedy anthology for Drafthouse Films and Magnet. A solo directorial effort, You're Next , a home invasion slasher, premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the ‘Midnight Madness’ section. [5] The film was acquired by Lionsgate and received a wide release in August 2013 to favorable reviews.
In 2013, Wingard offered the project Peter Jackson, director of the 2005 remake of King Kong and he had been interested in producing a sequel to the film, titled Skull Island, with Wingard as director and Simon Barrett writing it. Jackson had been impressed with Wingard's work in You're Next , and investigated a potential sequel. However, Universal Pictures rights abandoned due to acquired film rights to Warner Bros, which complicated a sequel to a unproduced movie. [6] Wingard pivoted to offering a modern-day sequel, but ultimately nothing came of the proposal. [7]
In 2014, Wingard directed The Guest starring Dan Stevens, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, receiving wide critical acclaim upon its wider theatrical release in mid-September. [8] Wingard directed the found-footage horror film Blair Witch , based on a script by Simon Barrett. The film is a sequel to the 1999 The Blair Witch Project and received mixed reviews. [9]
In 2015, Wingard signed on to direct a live action American film adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's popular horror crime-thriller manga series Death Note . [10] The neo-noir dark fantasy horror-thriller was released on Netflix on August 25, 2017, to a mixed reception, with criticism aimed at the number of changes from the source material, rushed plot, shallow execution, writing and the pacing while praise was aimed at the visual style, direction, performances of the cast, soundtrack and the dark, macabre sense of humour, along with the attempted unique and distinctive take on the Death Note mythos. Despite the mixed response, the film was considered a sizable enough success for Netflix to develop a sequel in 2018 with Greg Russo writing the script. [11] No word has been made on whether Wingard is set to return as director.
In May 2017, Wingard was announced as the director for Godzilla vs. Kong , which was released in March 2021. [12] In February 2021, it was announced that Wingard would direct and co-write, with Simon Barrett, a sequel to Face/Off . [13] In March 2021, Wingard was announced as the director of ThunderCats , also co-writing it with Barrett. [14] In May 2021, it was announced that Wingard would direct an adaptation of the comic Hardcore by Robert Kirkman. Wingard will also write the screenplay with Will Simmons from a story by Kirkman. [15]
In April 2021, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Legendary was "quietly taking steps" to stretch the MonsterVerse into "one or more installments," while negotiating with Wingard to potentially return to direct. Various ideas were being considered, with Son of Kong being one potential title. [16] In May 2022, it was reported that Wingard would return to direct a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong, entitled Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire . [17] Wingard is set to direct an action thriller film entitled Onslaught, which will begin filming in autumn 2024. [18]
Wingard's film Pop Skull [19] [20] [21] won the Best Feature Film award at the Indianapolis International Film Festival [22] and the Jury award at the Boston Underground Film Festival. [23] Wingard's A Horrible Way to Die won Best Screenplay (Simon Barrett), Best Actor (A.J. Bowen) and Best Actress (Amy Seimetz) at the 2010 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. [24] Wingard's You're Next won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (Simon Barrett), and Best Actress (Sharni Vinson) at the 2011 Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. [25]
Director
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | DoP | Editor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Home Sick | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
Pop Skull | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2010 | A Horrible Way to Die | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Also camera operator and music supervisor |
2011 | Autoerotic | Yes [a] | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Also camera operator |
What Fun We Were Having: 4 Stories About Date Rape | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ||
You're Next | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Also composer | |
2014 | The Guest | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | |
2016 | Blair Witch | Yes | No | Co-producer | No | No | Also composer |
2017 | Death Note | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
2021 | Godzilla vs. Kong | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
2024 | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | Yes | Story | Executive | No | No | |
TBA | Onslaught | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Filming |
Director of photography
Editor
Acting roles
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2007 | Pop Skull | Raymond |
2010 | Autoerotic | |
2011 | Art History | Bill |
2013 | 24 Exposures | Billy |
2014 | The Last Survivors | Compound Soldier |
2020 | She Dies Tomorrow | Dune Buggy Man |
2024 | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | M.U.L.E Pilot (uncredited)[ citation needed ] |
Year | Title | Director | Editor | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | An Evening with P. Oswalt | No | Yes | Live comedy show |
2016 | Outcast | Yes | No | 1 episode; Also executive consultant |
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | DoP | Editor | Actor | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | The Little One | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2005 | The Girlfriend | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2007 | 1000 Year Sleep | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2008 | Laura Panic | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
Paradox Mary | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | |||
Little Sister Gone | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | |||
2009 | Her Name is Laura Panic | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | ||
2011 | Ultra Modern | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Segment from 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero | |
2012 | Tape 56 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Brad | Segment from V/H/S ; Also camera operator and sound designer |
Q is for Quack | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Adam | Segment from The ABCs of Death | |
2013 | Phase I Clinical Trials | Yes | No | Executive | No | Yes | Yes | Herman | Segment from V/H/S/2 ; Also set photographer |
Year | Title |
---|---|
2013 | Cheap Thrills |
2017 | XX |
King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster, or kaiju, resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. Kong has been dubbed the King of the Beasts, and over time, it would also be bestowed the title of the Eighth Wonder of the World, a widely recognized expression within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelization of the 1933 film King Kong from RKO Pictures, with the film premiering a little over two months later.
A monster movie, monster film, creature feature or giant monster film is a film that focuses on one or more characters struggling to survive attacks by one or more antagonistic monsters, often abnormally large ones. The film may also fall under the horror, comedy, fantasy, or science fiction genres. Monster movies originated with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.
You're Next is a 2011 American slasher film directed and edited by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett and starring Sharni Vinson, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, A. J. Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton and Rob Moran. The plot concerns an estranged family under attack by a group of masked assailants during a family reunion.
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse.
Brad Miska is an American film producer and founder of Bloody Disgusting, a horror genre website known for covering horror films, video games, comics, and music. His films include the V/H/S franchise, Under the Bed, A Horrible Way to Die and Southbound.
A Horrible Way to Die is a 2010 American horror film directed and edited by Adam Wingard, written by co-producer Simon Barrett, and starring A. J. Bowen, Amy Seimetz, Joe Swanberg, Brandon Carroll, and Lane Hughes. The story follows an escaped serial killer as he chases down his recovering alcoholic ex-girlfriend who is responsible for his incarceration. The film had its world premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival Vanguard program where it was picked up for distribution by Anchor Bay Entertainment. It also played at Fantastic Fest where it received three major awards: Best Screenplay for Simon Barrett, Best Actor for A. J. Bowen and Best Actress for Amy Seimetz.
Pop Skull is a 2007 American horror film directed by Adam Wingard.
Founded in 2010 by Travis Stevens, Snowfort Pictures is a boutique film production company specializing in the development, financing and production of commercial genre films.
The ABCs of Death is a 2012 American comedy horror anthology film produced by international producers and directed by filmmakers from around the world. The film contains 26 shorts, each by different directors spanning fifteen countries, including Nacho Vigalondo, Kaare Andrews, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Ben Wheatley, Lee Hardcastle, Noboru Iguchi, Ti West, and Angela Bettis.
The Guest is a 2014 American thriller film directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett. The film stars Dan Stevens and Maika Monroe, with a supporting cast that includes Leland Orser, Sheila Kelley, Brendan Meyer, and Lance Reddick. It tells the story of a U.S. soldier (Stevens) called David who unexpectedly visits the Peterson family, introducing himself as a friend of their son who died in combat in Afghanistan. After he has been staying in their home for a couple of days, a series of deaths occur, and the daughter Anna (Monroe) suspects David is connected to them.
Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 American monster film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of the King Kong franchise and the second film in the Monsterverse, serving as the 11th film in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, and John C. Reilly. Set in 1973, the film follows a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers travelling to the uncharted Skull Island and meeting Kong, a gigantic ape who is the last of his species, closely followed by other terrifying creatures.
Simon Barrett is an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director known for his collaborations with Adam Wingard, including A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S, V/H/S/2, You're Next, and The Guest. His feature directorial debut, Seance, was released in 2021.
Jeremy Slater is an American writer and producer of film and television, known for his work on films such as Fantastic Four, Death Note and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and on television series such as The Umbrella Academy and The Exorcist, which Slater created, and on which he served as executive producer. He is the head writer and executive producer for the Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight.
Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and is the fourth film in the Monsterverse. It is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by an American film studio. The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kyle Chandler, and Demián Bichir. Brown and Chandler reprise their roles from the previous Godzilla film. In the film, Kong clashes with Godzilla after humans move the ape from Skull Island to the Hollow Earth, homeworld of the monsters known as "Titans", to retrieve a power source for a secret weapon intended to stop Godzilla's mysterious attacks.
The Monsterverse is an American multimedia franchise and shared universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd. The franchise consists of five films and two television series that have been produced by Legendary Pictures, with Warner Bros. Pictures distributing the films and the series being released for streaming on Netflix and Apple TV+.
Blair Witch is a 2016 found footage supernatural horror film directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett. It is the third film in the Blair Witch series and a direct sequel to the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, while ignoring the events of its 2000 follow-up film Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, given the events of that film being a film within a film. It stars James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Corbin Reid, Valorie Curry and Wes Robinson. The film follows a group of college students and their local guides who venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the prior disappearance of Heather Donahue, the sister of one of the characters.
King Kong is an American monster media franchise that consists of thirteen films, as well as television, novels, comic books, video games, attractions, and other merchandise. The franchise is centered on King Kong, a giant ape living on a primordial island inhabited by prehistoric creatures. The original film King Kong was co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack and was released on March 2, 1933; it was a box office success, despite opening during the Great Depression. The film's stop motion effects by Willis H. O'Brien revolutionized special effects, leaving a lasting impact on the film industry worldwide.
Godzilla is a giant monster, or kaiju, based on Toho Co., Ltd.'s character of the same name, and one of the protagonists in Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse franchise.
Godzilla vs. Kong is the soundtrack to the 2021 American monster film Godzilla vs. Kong. A sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), it is the fourth film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. Directed by Adam Wingard, the film features musical score written and composed by Tom Holkenborg, the fourth film composer to work on the MonsterVerse franchise. He was announced as a part of the film in June 2020, before a planned meeting with Wingard, two years, expressing his interest on working on the score due to his personal love for the Godzilla film series during his teen years. The recording of the score took place for nearly two years, and was bundled into a soundtrack album, released by WaterTower Music in digital and physical formats on March 31, 2021, coinciding with the film's United States theatrical release.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and the fifth film in the Monsterverse franchise, also serving as the 38th film of the Godzilla franchise and 14th in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen. Hall, Henry, and Hottle reprise their roles from the previous film. In the film, Kong encounters more of his species in the Hollow Earth and must unite again with Godzilla to stop the tyrannical Skar King and the powerful, frost-breathing Shimo from invading the Earth's surface.