Christopher McQuarrie | |
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Born | [1] Princeton, New Jersey, U.S. | October 25, 1968
Occupations |
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Years active | 1993–present |
Spouse | Heather McQuarrie |
Christopher McQuarrie (born October 25, 1968) is an American screenwriter, film producer, and director. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film The Usual Suspects (1995). He made his directorial debut with the crime thriller film The Way of the Gun (2000).
McQuarrie is a frequent collaborator with Tom Cruise, having written and directed the action films Jack Reacher (2012), as well as four installments of the Mission: Impossible film series: Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), and The Final Reckoning (2025). He was also a part of the writing and/or producing team on the Cruise films Valkyrie (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), The Mummy (2017), and Top Gun: Maverick (2022), the last of which received Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.
McQuarrie was born in Princeton, New Jersey. [2] After graduating from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South in 1986, [3] he worked as an assistant at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth, Western Australia, recalling in 2013, “I was offered an Interim program ... I picked a place out of a hat and ended up at Christ Church Grammar School. I lived at the school and worked at the boarding school, though I did very little work". [4] Fired after nine months, "I hitchhiked for three months, came home, knocked around for about a month and then immediately started working for this detective agency.... [It] was actually a glorified security-guard position. I think in the four years I worked there I did about six investigations." [5]
McQuarrie's first feature film was the 1993 thriller Public Access , directed by Bryan Singer. It won the Critics Award at the Deauville American Film Festival and shared the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize. It was not released theatrically in the United States. [6] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it received an approval rating of 58%. [7]
McQuarrie wrote The Usual Suspects (1995), for which he received Best Screenplay awards from the British and American Academy Awards, as well as from Premiere Magazine , the Texas Board of Review, and the Chicago Critics, as well as the Edgar Award and Independent Spirit Award. It was later included on the New York Times list of the 1000 greatest films ever made, and the character Verbal Kint was included on AFI's list of the 100 greatest Heroes and Villains of all time. In 2006, the Writers Guild of America voted The Usual Suspects #35 on their list of 101 Greatest Screenplays. In his third collaboration with Singer, McQuarrie did an extensive rewrite on X-Men , but ultimately removed his name from the project. [8]
In 2000, McQuarrie made his directorial debut with The Way of the Gun , a modern-day Western for which he also wrote the script. It starred Benicio del Toro, Ryan Phillippe, Taye Diggs, and James Caan. The film, budgeted at US$8.5 million, [9] received mixed reviews [10] and grossed US$13 million worldwide. [9]
Eight years later, McQuarrie co-wrote (with Nathan Alexander) and co-produced Valkyrie , which opened on December 25, 2008, and is based on the real-life July 20, 1944, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. While researching the screenplay, the writers had access to members of the Stauffenberg family; consulted a book written by Fabian von Schlabrendorff, a conspirator who survived; [11] and spoke with Hitler's surviving bodyguard.[ citation needed ] The film, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Bryan Singer, received the BMI Film Music Award and the Bambi Award for Courage. [12] In 2009, McQuarrie was hired to pen the script for the then-untitled The Wolverine . [13]
McQuarrie co-wrote the 2010 film The Tourist with Julian Fellowes, Jeffrey Nachmanoff and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. It starred Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie and grossed US$278 million worldwide. [14] It received three Golden Globe Award nominations and several other awards, among them the Redbox Movie Award for the most rented drama of 2011. [15] McQuarrie then provided uncredited rewrites on the 2011 action spy film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol during the film's production. [16]
In 2011, McQuarrie directed his second feature, Jack Reacher , an adaptation of One Shot , the ninth in the series of 21 Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child. Filming began in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area on October 3, 2011, and continued through the end of January 2012. The movie was released in December 2012 by Paramount Pictures. [17] In 2012, McQuarrie stepped in to rewrite the script for World War Z after Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof left the film. [18] [19]
2013 saw the release of McQuarrie's fourth collaboration with Singer, Jack the Giant Slayer , co-written by McQuarrie. Critical reviews were mixed, and it was a box office failure, grossing only US$198 million against an estimated US$240 million budget (excluding promotion). [20] [21] McQuarrie co-wrote the 2014 science fiction action thriller Edge of Tomorrow with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, based on the Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill . While the film underperformed at the box office on its opening weekend, earning only US$28.8 million, it received strong reviews and became a word-of-mouth hit, grossing just over US$100 million at the domestic box office.
McQuarrie completed his third feature as director in 2015. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation , the fifth entry in the Mission: Impossible film series, which he co-wrote with Drew Pearce. It received strong reviews, grossed over US$195 million at the North American box office, and won a Golden Tomato for Best Action-Adventure Movie of 2015.
By October 2015, McQuarrie completed a rewrite of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and spent two weeks "tightening up the story". [22] McQuarrie and screenwriter Dylan Kussman were commissioned by Tom Cruise to write a new script for The Mummy . [23]
In November 2015, McQuarrie confirmed he would return to write and direct the sixth Mission: Impossible film, his third directing collaboration with Tom Cruise. [24] The film, titled Mission: Impossible – Fallout , was released in the United States on July 27, 2018. It received strong reviews from critics, and grossed over $791 million worldwide, becoming the franchise's highest-grossing title. [25]
McQuarrie and Cruise collaborated again on Top Gun: Maverick , for which McQuarrie co-wrote the screenplay and produced the film. [26]
Initially hesitant to return to the franchise, [27] McQuarrie finalized a deal to write and direct Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in January 2019. Dead Reckoning Part One was released on July 12, 2023, while The Final Reckoning is scheduled to be released on May 23, 2025. [28] [29] [30]
In February 2011, McQuarrie was hired by Skydance Media to write and produce a feature film adaptation of the 1970s animated television series Star Blazers (itself an adaptation of anime Space Battleship Yamato ). [31] In 2013, he was selected to direct the project, with Zach Dean being hired to write a new draft of the script in 2017. [32] [33] McQuarrie has also signed on to direct thrillers Ice Station Zebra, based on the 1963 novel and its 1968 film adaptation, Three to Kill, based on the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette, and The Chameleon, based on a New Yorker article by David Grann about Frédéric Bourdin. [34] [35] [36]
In August 2022, McQuarrie announced on the Light the Fuse podcast that he was developing a new project with Tom Cruise, to be co-written by Erik Jendresen, which he claimed would be "gnarlier" than the Mission: Impossible films and described as being "something we've talked about for a really long time. It's way outside of what you're used to seeing Tom do." [37] A few days later, it was announced he and Cruise were also developing an original musical as a star vehicle for Cruise, as well as eyeing a potential project for Cruise to reprise the role of Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder , though it was unknown if Grossman would receive his own film or be included in the other films. [38]
Although the Reacher franchise has migrated to television, McQuarrie and Cruise are continuing to develop a Reacher-like thriller film. [39]
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | Public Access | No | Yes | No |
1995 | The Usual Suspects | No | Yes | No |
2000 | The Way of the Gun | Yes | Yes | No |
2008 | Valkyrie | No | Yes | Yes |
2010 | The Tourist | No | Yes | No |
2012 | Jack Reacher | Yes | Yes | No |
2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | No | Yes | No |
2014 | Edge of Tomorrow | No | Yes | No |
2015 | Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | Yes | Yes | No |
2016 | Jack Reacher: Never Go Back | No | No | Yes |
2017 | The Mummy | No | Yes | No |
2018 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2022 | Top Gun: Maverick | No | Yes | Yes |
2023 | Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | Yes | Yes | Yes |
2025 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Uncredited writing work
Year | Title | Writer | Executive Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | NYPD Blue | Story | No | Episode: "The Final Adjustment" |
2010 | Persons Unknown | Yes | Yes | Creator and executive producer (13 episodes) / Writer (Episode: "Pilot") |
2022 | Reacher | No | Yes | 8 episodes |
Award | Year | Category | Title | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sundance Film Festival | 1993 | Grand Jury Prize | Public Access | Won |
Academy Awards | 1995 | Best Original Screenplay | The Usual Suspects | Won |
BAFTA Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Won | ||
Independent Spirit Awards | Best Screenplay | Won | ||
Edgar Awards | Best Motion Picture | Won | ||
Hugo Award | 2014 | Best Dramatic Presentation | Edge of Tomorrow | Nominated |
Saturn Awards | Best Writing | Nominated | ||
Golden Raspberry Awards | 2017 | Worst Screenplay | The Mummy | Nominated |
Saturn Awards | 2018 | Best Writing | Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Nominated |
Writers Guild of America Awards | 2022 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Top Gun: Maverick | Nominated |
Academy Awards | Best Picture | Nominated | ||
Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Satellite Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | ||
Saturn Awards | 2024 | Best Writing | Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | Nominated |
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer. Regarded as a Hollywood icon, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. His films have grossed over $12 billion worldwide, placing him among the highest-grossing actors of all time. One of Hollywood's most bankable stars, he is consistently one of the world's highest-paid actors.
Erik Jendresen is an American author, playwright, screenwriter and producer of plays, television, and film. Previous projects include the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, Killing Lincoln, co-produced with Tony and Ridley Scott for the National Geographic Channel; a series based on the Francis Ford Coppola film, The Conversation ; The Pony Express ; an eight-hour adaptation of Gregory Maguire's novel, Wicked (ABC); an eight-hour miniseries Majestic-12; and The Command - a series set in the world of the Joint Special Operations Command (FIC).
Rolf Saxon is an American actor. He is well known for his voice-over work in video games, movies and TV shows.
David Ellison is an American film producer, former actor, and the founder and CEO of Skydance Media. He is the son of multibillionaire and Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison.
Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer who made his film debut with a minor role in the 1981 romantic drama Endless Love. Two years later, he made his breakthrough by starring in the romantic comedy Risky Business (1983), which garnered his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In 1986, Cruise played a naval aviator in the Tony Scott-directed action drama Top Gun which was the highest-grossing film of the year, and also appeared with Paul Newman in the Martin Scorsese-directed drama The Color of Money. Two years later, he starred with Dustin Hoffman in the drama Rain Man (1988). His next role was as anti-war activist Ron Kovic in the film adaptation of Kovic's memoir of the same name, Born on the Fourth of July (1989), for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.
Mission: Impossible is a series of American action spy films, based on the 1966 TV series created by Bruce Geller. The series is mainly produced by Tom Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). The films have been directed, written, and scored by various filmmakers and crew, while incorporating musical themes from the original series by Lalo Schifrin.
Shea Whigham is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series Boardwalk Empire. He also appeared in the first season of True Detective and the third season of Fargo and in numerous films, including Wristcutters: A Love Story, Take Shelter, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street, Kong: Skull Island, First Man, Vice, Joker, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. He has appeared as Agent Michael Stasiak in Fast & Furious, Fast & Furious 6, and F9.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 American action spy film directed by Brad Bird from a screenplay by the writing team of Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, who also serve as co-producers. Produced by Tom Cruise, J. J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, it is the sequel to Mission: Impossible III (2006) and is the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The film stars Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton, with Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, and Léa Seydoux in supporting roles. In the film, the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) is shut down after being publicly implicated in a bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team to go without resources or backup in a life-threatening effort to clear their names.
Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström is a Swedish actress. She began her acting career with the Swedish soap opera Nya tider (1999–2000) and went on to star in the slasher film Drowning Ghost (2004). She came to international prominence with her portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in the British drama The White Queen (2013), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.
Jack Reacher is a 2012 American action thriller film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, starring Tom Cruise and based on Lee Child's 2005 novel One Shot. Cruise portrays the title character and the supporting cast features Rosamund Pike, Werner Herzog, Robert Duvall, David Oyelowo, Richard Jenkins, and Jai Courtney. The film focuses on a normally non-contactable former US Army Major MP investigator Jack Reacher, who is called upon to aid in a homicide investigation involving a trained military sniper believed to be responsible for a mass shooting.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is a 2015 American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a story by McQuarrie and Drew Pearce. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) and the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin. It follows Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team, who, subsequent to their disbandment and Hunt's pursuit by the Central Intelligence Agency, must fight The Syndicate, an international group of rogue government agents.
Joe Kraemer is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has worked with director Christopher McQuarrie several times -- The Way of the Gun (2000), Jack Reacher (2012), and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015).
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a 2018 American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and the sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The ensemble cast includes Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, and Alec Baldwin. Set two years after the events of Rogue Nation, Fallout follows Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team in their efforts to prevent a nuclear attack by terrorist Solomon Lane and the mysterious extremist John Lark.
Don Granger is an American film producer, best known for producing numerous Skydance Media films, including Jack Reacher and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a 2023 American action spy film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) and the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, alongside an ensemble cast including Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga and Henry Czerny. In the film, Hunt and his IMF team face off against the Entity, a powerful rogue AI.
Frederick Schmidt is a British actor who has appeared in such films as Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) and Angel Has Fallen (2019).
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is an upcoming American action spy film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. The direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), it is the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and Rolf Saxon reprise their roles from the previous films.
Apple Studios LLC is an American film, television and in-house production company that is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It specializes in developing and producing original television series and films for Apple's digital video streaming service Apple TV+ as well as films that are intended for theatrical releases.
Eddie Hamilton is a British film editor. He is a member of the American Cinema Editors. He is a frequent collaborator with directors Matthew Vaughn and Christopher McQuarrie.
The following is a list of unproduced Christopher McQuarrie projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell into development hell, were officially cancelled, or would eventually be completed by a different production team.
Birth Place: Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Two West Windsor-Plainsboro High School graduates are following in the footsteps of two other filmmakers from West Windsor, Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. Singer, Class of 1984, and McQuarrie, Class of 1986, have recently joined together for the filming of 'Valkyrie'...Archived from the original on January 8, 2008. Note: Name was simply West Windsor-Plainsboro High School until being renamed West Windosor-Plainsboro High School South in 1997.