Christian Taylor (filmmaker)

Last updated
Christian Taylor Writer Director ChristianTaylorscreenwriter-director.jpg
Christian Taylor Writer Director

Christian Taylor directs the Teen Wolf episode "Motel California" TeenwolfMotelCaliforniaDirecting.jpg
Christian Taylor directs the Teen Wolf episode "Motel California"

Christian Taylor is a British-Argentine-American screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work on the American television series Lost , Six Feet Under , Teen Wolf, Clone Wars, Resident Alien, Eye Candy and the award-winning independent film Showboy , which he codirected and starred in. Christian is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community and actively works to encourage representation across Film and TV storytelling.

Contents

Early life

Taylor was born in London, England to an Argentine father and British mother. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Mexico City for three years. On their return to London, they lived in the culturally diverse and artistic community of Notting Hill. As a teenager, he went to Bedales School in Hampshire where both Daniel Day-Lewis and Minnie Driver attended. He did his art foundation course at the Central School of Art and Design and then moved to the United States after being accepted by New York University TIsch School of the Arts.

Career

As a student at New York University, Taylor wrote and directed his thesis film, The Lady in Waiting in 1992, which won the gold medal for Best Dramatic Film at the Student Academy Awards and went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film.

Taylor was integral to the development and filming of the pilot of the HBO drama Six Feet Under in 2001, and went on to be a writer-producer on the show and received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Drama Series in 2002. Taylor's script for the season 2 episode, “In Place of Anger,” was nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award in 2003.

He co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the 2002 independent Mockumentary film, Showboy , which won the Douglas Hickox Award for best directorial debut at the British Independent Film Awards and was named Best Picture at the Milan International Film Festival.

In 2003, Taylor became a writer and producer on ABC's dramatic series Miracles , before beginning work on the first season of the network's breakout hit, Lost .

As there was no pilot shot, Taylor was one of only four writers brought on to brainstorm and develop what the show would eventually be. As a writer and supervising producer on Lost , Taylor won the 2006 Writers Guild of America Award for Best Dramatic Series. [1]

In 2008, he co-created Fox's sci-fi crime drama New Amsterdam .

He went on to become the head writer on Lucasfilm’s animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars writing episodes for the show’s third, fourth, and fifth seasons and received a 2015 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.

Taylor’s relationship with MTV began with the 2009 release of the horror miniseries, Valemont , which he wrote and co-directed.

He returned to MTV as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on Teen Wolf during the show’s second, third, and fourth seasons directing the fan-favorite episode called Motel California.

Eye Candy Press Junket Panel EyeCandypressjunket.jpg
Eye Candy Press Junket Panel

In 2014, Taylor developed and was showrunner and Executive producer of the MTV drama-thriller series Eye Candy , starring Victoria Justice. Production began in New York City in September 2014, with Jax Media and the ten-episode first season was released in January 2015. The hugely popular show was canceled after MTV decided to stop producing or programing live action TV.

He was co-executive producer and writer on the Marvel series Luke Cage , which was released in 2018.

He was asked to return to Lucasfilm and wrote two episodes of The Bad Batch in its first season.

Christian Taylor on Teen Wolf set with Tyler Posey and Dylan O'Brien Tyler,Dylan,Christian.jpg
Christian Taylor on Teen Wolf set with Tyler Posey and Dylan O'Brien

He has been working on the critically acclaimed and hugely popular Resident Alien for SYFY and Amblin TV. Resident Alien received the honor of Best Cable Series, Comedy from the Hollywood Critics Association for its first season.

Filmography

Films

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1990If Only ForeverYesYesNoShort films / Also editor
1992 The Lady in Waiting YesYesNo
2002 Showboy YesYesCo-Producer Mockumentary, co-directed with Lindy Heymann / Role: Himself
2013 The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box NoYesNo
TBAMariah Mundi and the Tablets of DestinyNoYesNo
Christian Taylor Directs Tyler Posey on Teen Wolf Episode 306, "Motel California" MotelCaliforniaTeenwolf.jpg
Christian Taylor Directs Tyler Posey on Teen Wolf Episode 306, "Motel California"

Television

YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
2001-2002 Six Feet Under NoYesYesWriter (3 episodes) / Producer (10 episodes)
2003 Miracles NoYesYesWriter (2 episodes) / Producer (12 episodes)
2004-2005 Lost NoYesSupervisingWriter (episode "White Rabbit") / Producer (11 episodes)
2008 New Amsterdam NoYesNoCreator (8 episodes)/ Writer (episode: "Pilot')
2009 Valemont NoYesNo4 episodes
2011-2014 Star Wars: The Clone Wars NoYesNo15 episodes
2012Teen Wolf RevelationsNoNoConsultingEpisode: "Origins"
2012-2014 Teen Wolf YesYesConsulting &
Co-Executive
Director (3 episodes) / Writer (3 episodes) / Producer (25 episodes) / Role: Thomas (2 episodes)
2015 Eye Candy NoYesExecutiveDeveloper & producer (10 episodes) / Writer (3 episodes)
2016 Luke Cage NoYesCo-ExecutiveWriter ( 2 episodes) / Producer (13 episodes)
2019 Treadstone NoNoCo-Executive3 episodes
2021 Resident Alien NoYesCo-ExecutiveWriter (episode: "End of the World As We Know It") / Producer (10 episodes)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch NoYesNo2 episodes
Christian Taylor and Dave Filoni at the Emmys for Clone Wars CLoneWarsEmmys.jpg
Christian Taylor and Dave Filoni at the Emmys for Clone Wars

Awards

YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
1993 Academy Awards Best Short Film, Live Action The Lady in WaitingNominee
2002
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Six Feet UnderNominee
Online Film & Television AssociationBest Writing in a Drama SeriesSix Feet UnderNominee
British Independent Film Awards The Douglas Hickox Award ShowboyWinner
Milano International Film Festival AwardsBest FilmShowboyWinner
2003 Writers Guild of America Awards Episodic Drama Six Feet Under: "In Place of Anger"Nominee
2006 Writers Guild of America Awards Dramatic Series LostWinner
2010
Streamy Awards Best Interactive Experience in a Web SeriesValemontWinner
Best Writing for a Drama Web SeriesValemontNominee
2015 Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Writing in an Animated ProgramStar Wars: The Clone WarsNominee
Eye Candy Table Read EyeCandyTableread.jpg
Eye Candy Table Read

References

  1. "Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2007.