Jeff Nichols (born December 7, 1978) is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are characterized by their Southern United States backdrop and ambience. He is also known for his longstanding collaboration with actor Michael Shannon, who has appeared in all of his feature films to date.
Nichols was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and attended Little Rock Central High School. He is the brother of Lucero guitarist and singer Ben Nichols.[1] He is influenced by Mark Twain.[2]
Six of Nichols' films have featured Shannon: Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special, Loving and The Bikeriders. Speaking of his frequent collaboration with Shannon, Nichols stated: "(Shannon) is not just a collaborator; he has become family to me. I owe my career to Michael Shannon. I learned how to direct from directing Michael Shannon. So, from the outside, it can feel kind of cute, but it’s not. I love that guy, and I want him in movies because he’s the greatest actor in the world. And if you’re a director and you have access to the greatest actor in the world, it makes sense that you would call him all the time."[6]
In 2016, Nichols was hired to direct a remake of Alien Nation,[7] but the project never came to fruition. "That’s one of the reasons it’s taken me so long to make another film," Nichols said in a 2023 interview. "I spent like four years on that. And we were at the 1-yard line. I had a cast, we were ready to go, but the universe didn’t want me to make that right then."[8] Later, it was revealed that the script Nichols wrote for Alien Nation would be retooled into an original film and produced by Paramount Pictures.[6]
In 2018 he directed the short film, Long Way Back Home, inspired by a song of the same name that was written by his brother Ben and released by the country punk band, Lucero. It stars Michael Shannon, who searches the streets and backroads of Memphis for his two younger brothers, played by Garrett Hedlund and Scoot McNairy.[9]
In November 2020, it was announced that Nichols would be directing and writing the screenplay for A Quiet Place: Day One.[11] In May 2021, it was announced he finished the script for the film.[12] However, he departed the project in October 2021,[13] to focus on a new science fiction project also in development at Paramount Pictures.[14]
In May 2024, it was announced that Nichols would direct adaptations of the Cormac McCarthy novels The Passenger and Stella Maris with New Regency, which also backed Nichol's most recent directorial effort The Bikeriders, producing.[17]
Marton Paul Csokas is a New Zealand actor of film, stage, and television. A graduate of the Toi Whakaari drama school, he has worked extensively in Australia and Hollywood, along with his native country, and often portrays villainous roles.
Lucero is an American country-punk/alternative country/alternative rock band based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Lucero's sound has been described as a "synthesis of soul, rock, and country [that] is distinctly Memphisian." They have released 11 albums and one live DVD, mostly through their own label. The band mainly tours around North America.
Regency Enterprises is an American-British-Luxembourgish entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was founded in 1982 as the successor to Regency International Pictures.
Michael Corbett Shannon is an American actor. Shannon received two Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations, for Revolutionary Road (2008), and Nocturnal Animals (2016). He received Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his role in 99 Homes (2014).
Joseph Kosinski is an American film director, best known for his computer graphics and computer-generated imagery (CGI) work, and for his work in action films. He has directed the films Tron: Legacy (2010), Oblivion (2013), Only the Brave (2017), Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and Spiderhead (2022). His previous work has primarily been with CGI-related television commercials including the "Starry Night" commercial for Halo 3 and the award-winning "Mad World" commercial for Gears of War.
Sarah Green is an American film producer. She currently sits on the National Board of Directors for the Producers Guild of America. On January 24, 2012, she was nominated for an Academy Award for the film The Tree of Life.
Ian Fried is an American screenwriter. He studied filmmaking at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
Mud is a 2012 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Jeff Nichols. In the film, Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland portray a pair of teenagers who encounter the titular Mud, a fugitive hiding on a small island, and agree to help him evade his pursuers. Sam Shepard and Reese Witherspoon also star.
Tye Kayle Sheridan is an American actor. He is known for playing the young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the X-Men film series (2016–2019) and for his starring role in the science fiction film Ready Player One (2018).
Loving is a 2016 American biographical romantic drama film which tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the plaintiffs in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. The film was produced by Big Beach and Raindog Films, and distributed by Focus Features. The film takes inspiration from The Loving Story (2011) by Nancy Buirski, a documentary which follows the Lovings and their landmark case. The film was directed by Jeff Nichols, who also wrote the screenplay. Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton co-star as Mildred and Richard Loving. Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, and Michael Shannon are all featured in supporting roles.
Kurt Johnstad is an American screenwriter. He has worked on several films including 300, for which he was nominated for a Saturn Award, along with Michael Gordon and Zack Snyder. He also wrote the screenplays for Act of Valor, 300: Rise of an Empire and Atomic Blonde, and was tapped to write one of two competing screenplays for Aquaman; Will Beall's script was eventually chosen for the film.
Sunday Night Productions is an American film and television production company founded by John Krasinski and Allyson Seeger in 2013. It has produced the television series Lip Sync Battle, Dream Corp LLC, and Jack Ryan, the YouTube streaming news show Some Good News (2020), and the films Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009), Promised Land (2012), The Hollars (2016), and A Quiet Place Part II (2020).
A Quiet Place is an American apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic horror media franchise centered on a series of films set in a world inhabited by blind extraterrestrial creatures with a heightened sense of hearing. A Quiet Place (2018) is the first film in the series, which was followed by the sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2020), both directed by John Krasinski. The spin-off prequel, A Quiet Place: Day One, is directed by Michael Sarnoski and was released on June 28, 2024.
A Quiet Place: Day One is a 2024 American apocalyptic horror film written and directed by Michael Sarnoski, based on a story he conceived with John Krasinski. It is the third installment in the A Quiet Place film series, serving as a spin-off and prequel. The film stars Lupita Nyong'o as a terminally ill woman during the early stages of an invasion in New York City by blind, extraterrestrial creatures with an acute sense of hearing. The supporting cast includes Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, and Djimon Hounsou, who reprises his role from A Quiet Place Part II.
Michael Sarnoski is an American filmmaker, who wrote and directed the films Pig (2021) and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024).
The Bikeriders is a 2023 American period crime drama film written and directed by Jeff Nichols, and starring Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook, Damon Herriman, Beau Knapp, Emory Cohen, Karl Glusman, Toby Wallace, and Norman Reedus. Its plot, inspired by the photo-book of the same title by Danny Lyon, depicts the lives of the Vandals Motorcycle Club, a fictional version of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
Eric Larue is a 2023 American drama film directed by Michael Shannon in his directorial debut. It was written by Brett Neveu and based on his 2002 play of the same name.
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