Miguel Sapochnik

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Miguel Sapochnik
Miguel Sapochnik by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Miguel Sapochnik at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016.
Born
Miguel Vicente Rosenberg-Sapochnik

(1974-07-01) 1 July 1974 (age 50)
Hammersmith, London, England
Other namesMiguel Rosenberg
Occupations
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Alexis Raben
​
(m. 2006)​

Miguel Sapochnik (born 1 July 1974) is an English film and television director of Argentine origin, and former storyboard artist. For his work as a director on the HBO epic fantasy series Game of Thrones , he won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards and Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series at the 69th Directors Guild of America Awards. [1] Sapochnik also directed the science fiction films Repo Men (2010) and Finch (2021).

Contents

Career

Born as Miguel Vicente Rosenberg-Sapochnik in London, England, Sapochnik began his career as a storyboard artist; some of his credits include Trainspotting (1996, directed by Danny Boyle) and The Winter Guest (1997, actor Alan Rickman's directorial debut). [2] [3]

In 2000, Sapochnik directed a 2000 short film titled The Dreamer, which he also wrote. He also directed the "Beautiful Inside" music video for singer Louise. [4]

Between 2001 and 2005, he was a director of Snowflake in Hell Films Limited, a film and video production company in London. [5]

Sapochnik's feature film directorial debut was Repo Men (2010), starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker. [1]

Sapochnik has since then worked mainly on American television and streaming series, directing episodes of Awake (2012), Fringe (2011–12), House (2011–12) and Mind Games (2014). [6]

In 2015, Sapochnik directed two episodes of Game of Thrones for the show's fifth season, "The Gift" and "Hardhome." In 2016, he returned to direct the final two episodes of Game of Thrones' sixth season, "Battle of the Bastards" and "The Winds of Winter". [7] All of these episodes received acclaim from both critics and viewers. Sapochnik won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, for directing "Battle of the Bastards".

In 2016, Sapochnik directed the series premiere of the show Altered Carbon for Netflix. [8]

In 2017, he directed an episode of Iron Fist. [9]

In April 2019, he directed the third ("The Long Night") and fifth ("The Bells") episodes of the final season of Game of Thrones. [10] For the former, he was nominated once again for the “Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series”.

In 2022, he was co-showrunner of House of the Dragon , a prequel to Game of Thrones. The first season premiered on August 21, 2022. In August 2022, it was announced that he would be stepping down as showrunner after the first season, though he will remain as an executive producer for future seasons. [11] [12]

Personal life

Sapochnik is of Argentine origin, and has been married to actress Alexis Raben since 2006. [13]

He is Jewish. [14]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorExecutive
Producer
2010 Repo Men YesYes
2021 Finch YesYes

Television

YearShowSeasonEpisodeEpisode titleNotes
2011 House 7 9"Larger Than Life"
11"Family Practice"
22"After Hours"
Fringe 4 3"Alone in the World"
House 8 7"Dead & Buried"
201216"Gut Check"
21"Holding On"
Awake 113"Turtles All the Way Down"
Falling Skies 2 4"Young Bloods"
Fringe 5 1"Transilience Thought Unifier Model-11"co-directed with Jeannot Szwarc
2013 Under the Dome 1 7"Imperfect Circles"
Revolution 112"Ghosts"
Banshee 19"Always the Cowboy"
10"A Mixture of Madness"
2014 Mind Games 11"Pilot"
Extant 113"Ascension"
2015 Game of Thrones 5 7"The Gift"
8"Hardhome"
Masters of Sex 33"The Excitement of Release"
True Detective 2 6"Church in Ruins"
2016Game of Thrones 6 9"Battle of the Bastards"
10"The Winds of Winter"
2017 Iron Fist 14"Eight Diagram Dragon Palm"
2018 Altered Carbon 11"Out of the Past"
2019Game of Thrones 8 3"The Long Night"
5"The Bells"
2022 House of the Dragon 11"The Heirs of the Dragon"Also showrunner and executive producer
6"The Princess and the Queen"
7"Driftmark"

Awards and nominations

YearTitleEpisodeAward/Nomination
2016Game of Thrones"Battle of the Bastards" Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series
Nominated—Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
2019"The Long Night"Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Nominated—Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series

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References

  1. 1 2 Rich, Katey (19 March 2010). "Exclusive Interview: Repo Men Director Miguel Sapochnik". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Miguel Sapochnik Filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Exclusive: Repo Men director Miguel Sapochnik". Shock Till You Drop. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  4. ↑ Dawtrey, Adam (15 January 2006). "Sapochnik finally in view". Variety . Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Snowflake in Hell Films Limited". CompaniesLondon.com. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Miguel Sapochnik Credits". TV Guide . Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Lincoln, Ross A. (28 June 2016). "'Game Of Thrones': Season 6 Finale Director Miguel Sapochnik On Military Aesthetic, That Score, And Putting His Stamp on the Long-Running Series". Deadline . Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (12 May 2016). "Joel Kinnaman to Star in Netflix Sci-Fi Series 'Altered Carbon'". Variety . Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  9. ↑ Robinson, Joanna (29 June 2016). "The Best Director on Game of Thrones Won't Be Coming Back Next Year". Vanity Fair . Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (15 December 2017). "'Justice League' DP Fabian Wagner on Zack Snyder's Cut, Superman's Black Suit & 'Game of Thrones'". Collider. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  11. ↑ White, Peter (31 August 2022). "'House Of The Dragon' Co-Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik Steps Down Ahead Of Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ↑ Murray, Tom (1 September 2022). "Game of Thrones alum Miguel Sapochnik steps down as House of the Dragon showrunner". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. ↑ "Miguel Sapochnik". IMDb. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "Jews in the News: Chuck Lorre, Dave Franco and Billy Crystal". Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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