Colleen McGuinness

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Colleen McGuinness is an American director, screenwriter, and producer who has worked as a writer and producer on shows including 30 Rock , Life & Beth , and Ramy . After joining 30 Rock in 2011, she shared in its 2013 Emmy nomination for best series as well as in its 2013 and 2014 WGA nominations and 2014 PGA nomination. [1] McGuinness directed the 2024 short film Loser [2] which is being adapted into a feature film with the same name [3] and will be produced by Radio Silence. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

McGuinness, who is half-Korean and half-Irish, [5] was born in Killeen, Texas, and was raised on Long Island in Islip, New York. [6] McGuinness was a tennis champion in high school. [7]

At Harvard University, McGuinness studied directing with Professor Marcus Stern [8] and directed productions of A Doll's House and Guys and Dolls while also producing a version of Hamlet . [8] The production of Guys and Dolls that McGuinness directed was the first undergraduate co-ed production at the Hasty Pudding Theater in over 10 years. [9] Upon graduating, McGuinness was awarded the Louise Donovan award for directing. [10]

Career

McGuinness began her career at Castle Rock Entertainment and later became a development assistant at New Line Cinema. [5] While at New Line, McGuinness wrote and directed her first short film, For Mature Audiences Only. [11]

After Darren Starr saw her short film, he hired McGuinness for her first series writing job on Miss Match , starring Alicia Silverstone. [5] Since then, McGuinness has written on shows including Mercy , 30 Rock, About a Boy , Friends From College , Forever (2018 TV series) , Ramy , Stargirl , and Life & Beth , where she was also an executive producer. [12] She joined the staff of 30 Rock in 2011, which ultimately led her to share in the series' Emmy, WGA, and PGA nominations. [1]

In 2013, when Tina Fey started her new production company Little Stranger productions, her company's first sale was an untitled comedy to be written by McGuinness and executive-produced by Fey and by former 30 Rock showrunner Robert Carlock. [13] In 2014, McGuinness developed a script with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for Fox. [14] [15]

In 2016, together with Game of Thrones executive producer Carolyn Strauss, McGuinness worked with HBO to develop a comedy series based on the novel Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. [16]

McGuinness later wrote, produced, and directed the 2024 short film Loser which has played in over 25 film festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying Hamptons International Film Festival [4] and the Palm Springs International ShortFest. [4] Loser won multiple awards, including "Best International Short", "Best Director" (Colleen McGuinness), and "Best Performance in a Lead Role" (Angourie Rice) at the Oxford International Film Festival, [17] "Best Short" and "Best Screenplay" (Colleen McGuinness) at the LA Indie Film Festival, [18] "Best Film" and "Best Actress" (Angourie Rice) at DOC LA, [19] "International: Best Film" at the Canberra Short Film Festival, [20] "Best Short Film" at the Byron Bay International Film Festival, [21] "Best Short Drama" at the New Hampshire Film Festival, [22] and the "Audience Award" at the Charlotte Film Festival. [23]

McGuinness is currently developing Loser into a feature film, which is to be produced by Radio Silence. [3] [4]

Filmography

YearsTitleWriterDirectorProducerNotes
2002For Mature Audiences OnlyYesYesYesShort Film
2003 Miss Match YesNoNo
2004 North Shore (TV series) YesNoNo
2009-2010 Mercy (TV series) YesNoNo
2011 Love Bites (TV series) YesNoCo-Producer
2011-2013 30 Rock (TV series) YesNoProducer, Co-Producer
2014 About a Boy (TV series) YesNoSupervising Producer
2017 Friends From College YesNoCo-Executive
2018 Forever YesNoConsulting Producer
2020 Ramy (TV series) YesNoCo-Executive
2020-2022 Stargirl (TV series) YesNoCo-Executive,

Consulting Producer

2022 Life & Beth YesNoExecutive
2024 Loser (short film) YesYesYesShort film

Awards and nominations

YearAwardsCategoryProjectResultRef.
2013 Producers Guild of America Best Writing in a Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated [24]
Writers Guild of America Best Writing in a Comedy SeriesNominated
2014 Emmy Awards Outstanding Comedy Series 30 Rock Nominated [24]
Producers Guild of America Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, ComedyNominated
Writers Guild of America Comedy SeriesNominated
2024Arizona Underground Film FestivalBest Narrative Short Loser (short film) Won [25]
Byron Bay International Film FestivalBest Short FilmWon [26]
Canberra Short Film FestivalBest FilmWon [27]
Charlotte Film FestivalAudience AwardWon [28]
DOC LABest FilmWon [29]
New Hampshire Film FestivalBest Short DramaWon [30]
LA Indie Film FestivalBest ShortWon [18]
Best ScreenplayWon
Oxford International Film FestivalBest DirectorWon [31]
Best International ShortWon

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References

  1. 1 2 30 Rock (TV Series 2006–2013) - Awards - IMDb . Retrieved 2025-01-31– via www.imdb.com.
  2. ↑ McGuinness, Colleen (2024-06-19), Loser (Short, Drama), Ada Bland, Andrew Block, Vera Briseño, retrieved 2025-01-31
  3. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (2024-12-13). "Angourie Rice, Finn Bennett, Ella Purnell & Lukas Gage In Talks For Radio Silence Thriller Production 'Loser'". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  4. 1 2 3 4 D'Alessandro, Anthony (2024-09-12). "Radio Silence To Produce Feature Take Of Colleen McGuinness Oscar-Qualified Short 'Loser'". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  5. 1 2 3 Sara Lynne Wright. "Colleen McGuinness '99 (Comedy Writer-Producer, About a Boy, 30 Rock)". HARVARDWOOD.
  6. ↑ Libby Coleman (11 December 2015). "Taking on TV Comedy from the Outside In". OZY Media . Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Harris, Dana (30 June 2004). "New Line serves laffer". Variety . Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  8. 1 2 "The College Try". Harvard.edu. Harvard Alumni.
  9. ↑ "Bringing Broadway to the Pudding | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  10. ↑ "Office of the Arts Awards Performers | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  11. ↑ "For Mature Audiences Only". imdb.com.
  12. ↑ "Colleen McGuinness IMDB". imdb.com.
  13. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2013-08-14). "NBC Nabs Comedy Produced By '30 Rock's Tina Fey & Robert Carlock". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  14. ↑ Weinstein, Shelli (2014-10-28). "Fox Orders Comedy Script Produced by Matt Damon, Ben Affleck". Variety. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  15. ↑ Kenneally, Tim (2014-10-28). "Fox Orders Comedy Script From Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and '30 Rock' Alum Colleen McGuinness". TheWrap. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  16. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2016-06-22). "HBO Developing Curtis Sittenfeld's Novel 'Prep' As Comedy Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  17. ↑ "Official Selection Award Winners 2024". Oxford International Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  18. 1 2 "AWARDS". LA Film Festivals. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  19. ↑ "DOC LA Awards 2024". imdb.com.
  20. ↑ "2024 WINNERS". CBR Short Film Fest. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  21. ↑ Rick (2024-10-30). "Byron Bay International Film Festival announces award winners". The Official ByronBay.com Guide. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  22. ↑ Klink, Ryan (2024-10-22). "The 22nd Annual New Hampshire Film Festival Announces Award Recipients". New Hampshire Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  23. ↑ "Charlotte Film Festival".
  24. 1 2 30 Rock (TV Series 2006–2013) - Awards - IMDb . Retrieved 2025-01-31– via www.imdb.com.
  25. ↑ "Arizona Underground Film Festival".
  26. ↑ "Byron Bay International Film Festival Winners".
  27. ↑ "Canberra Short Film Festival".
  28. ↑ "Charlotte Film Festival".
  29. ↑ "DOC LA Awards 2024". imdb.com.
  30. ↑ "New Hampshire Film Festival".
  31. ↑ "Official Selection Award Winners 2024". Oxford International Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
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