John McKay (director)

Last updated

John McKay is a Scottish film and television director. [1] His initial career was as a playwright, [2] before he began his film career by directing the short films Doom and Gloom (1996) and Wet and Dry (1997). [2]

Contents

Career

McKay's short films brought him some notable early acclaim: Wet and Dry was nominated in the "Best Short Fiction" category at the Molodist International Film Festival in Kyiv in 1997, [3] Doom and Gloom won a "Special Mention" in the "Youth on Youth Award" category at the 1998 Locarno International Film Festival, and the "Best European Short Film" prize at the 1999 Brussels International Film Festival. [3]

After working on the television series Psychos for Kudos and Channel 4 in 1999, he directed his first full-length feature film, Crush , starring Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, and Kenny Doughty for which he also wrote the screenplay. Released in 2001, the film was originally to have been titled The Sad Fuckers Club, [4] but this was changed after resistance from the producers and distributors and uneasiness on the part of test audiences. [4] Crush met with a generally negative critical reaction, [2] [5] and a second feature that McKay had written and was planning to direct, the World War II-set Knickers, [1] never saw production.

Following Crush McKay returned to television, in 2003 directing "The Miller's Tale" and "The Sea Captain's Tale" for BBC One's updated versions of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales , where the events of the stories were transposed to contemporary settings. [6] "The Miller's Tale", which opened the series, proved to be a particular success, with an audience of 7.6 million viewers [7] and a mixed but generally favourable critical reaction. [8] In 2004 McKay returned to the cinema with his second full-length feature, directing Academy Award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes's adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's novel Piccadilly Jim . [9]

He continued to direct for television, in 2006 helming the third and fourth instalments of the time travel/police drama series Life on Mars . [10] . Life on Mars gained particular critical and popular acclaim, with reviewer Nancy Banks-Smith of The Guardian describing McKay's second episode, the series' fourth, as "an inspired take on the usual formula of Gruff Copper of the old school." [11] Later that same year he directed the opening two episodes of the channel's new Robin Hood series. [12]

In 2007 McKay directed Reichenbach Falls , a 75-minute one-off drama for digital television channel BBC Four, adapted by James Mavor from a short story by Ian Rankin. [13] Another one-off drama for BBC Four, We'll Take Manhattan , about the relationship between model Jean Shrimpton and photographer David Bailey, was broadcast in January 2012. [14] McKay both wrote and directed We'll Take Manhattan. His third full-length feature film, Not Another Happy Ending , from a script by David Solomons, was released in 2013.

Personal life

McKay is married, with children. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvine Welsh</span> Scottish novelist

Irvine Welsh is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel Trainspotting was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short films.

<i>Jackanory</i> British TV series or program

Jackanory is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fairy-tale "Cap-o'-Rushes" read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 1996, with around 3,500 episodes in its 30-year run. The final story, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, was read by Alan Bennett and broadcast on 24 March 1996. The show was briefly revived on 27 November 2006 for two one-off stories, and the format was revived as Jackanory Junior on CBeebies between 2007 and 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kay</span> English actor and stand-up comedian

Peter John Kay is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Gatiss</span> British actor, screenwriter and novelist

Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. His work includes writing for and acting in the television series Doctor Who, Sherlock, Game of Thrones and Dracula. Together with Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson, he is a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen.

Kay Mellor was an English actress, scriptwriter, producer and director. She was known for creating television shows such as ITV drama Fat Friends (2000–05), as well as co-creating CITV's children's drama Children's Ward (1989–2000).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam McKay</span> American filmmaker and comedian (born 1968)

Adam McKay is an American comedy film director, producer, screenwriter, and comedian. McKay began his career in the 1990s as a head writer for the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) for two seasons. He rose to fame in the 2000s for his collaborations with comedian Will Ferrell and co-wrote his comedy films Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and The Other Guys. Ferrell and McKay later co-wrote and co-produced numerous television series and films, with McKay himself co-producing their website Funny or Die through their company Gary Sanchez Productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Purefoy</span> British actor

James Brian Mark Purefoy is an English actor. He played Mark Antony in the HBO series Rome, Nick Jenkins in A Dance to the Music of Time, college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series The Following, Solomon Kane in the film of the same name, and Hap Collins in the Sundance series Hap and Leonard. In 2018, he starred as Laurens Bancroft in Altered Carbon, a Netflix original series. Following an uncredited role as V in the 2006 film V for Vendetta, he was cast as Captain Gulliver "Gully" Troy / Captain Blighty in the 2020–2021 second and 2022 third season of the V for Vendetta and Gotham prequel television series, Pennyworth, in a main role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine Tate</span> English actress, comedian and writer (born 1969)

Catherine Jane Ford, known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007), as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven BAFTAs. Tate played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of Doctor Who, and later reprised her role, becoming the Tenth Doctor's regular companion for the fourth series in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Harris</span> British actor

Sean Harris is an English actor and writer. He played Ian Curtis in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Micheletto Corella in The Borgias (2011–2013), Fifield in Prometheus (2012), Solomon Lane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Philip in Possum (2018) and William Gascoigne in The King (2019).

<i>Life on Mars</i> (British TV series) British television series

Life on Mars is a British television series broadcast on BBC One between 9 January 2006 and 10 April 2007. It tells the story of a Manchester police officer from 2006 who mysteriously finds himself working as a police officer in 1970s Manchester. Life on Mars, and its sequel, Ashes to Ashes, are notable for combining the mystery, supernatural, science fiction, time travel, period, and police procedural drama genres. It twice won the International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series and has inspired international remakes.

Jesse David Armstrong is a British author, screenwriter, and producer. He is a co-creator of the Channel 4 comedy series Peep Show (2003–2015) and Fresh Meat (2011–2016), and the creator of the HBO satirical comedy-drama series Succession (2018–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne-Marie Duff</span> English actress

Anne-Marie Duff is a British actress and narrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Logan</span> Scottish actress

Phyllis Logan is a Scottish actress, known for playing Lady Jane Felsham in Lovejoy (1986–1993) and Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey (2010–2015). She won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for the 1983 film Another Time, Another Place. Her other film appearances include Secrets & Lies (1996), Shooting Fish (1997), Downton Abbey (2019) and Misbehaviour (2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Burke (actor)</span> English actor

Tom Burke is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Athos in the 2014–2016 BBC series The Musketeers, Dolokhov in the 2016 BBC literary-adaptation miniseries War & Peace, the eponymous character Cormoran Strike in the 2017–2022 BBC series Strike and Orson Welles in the 2020 film Mank.

Kevin Sargent is a British composer for film and television who began his career as a drummer, percussionist and keyboardist with cult dance/rock pioneers Thrashing Doves. Signed to A&M and Elektra Records, he learnt his craft at the elbow of legendary producers Chris Thomas, Jimmy Iovine and jazz luminary Tommy Lipuma, recording three critically acclaimed albums in Los Angeles, London and New York and touring the US and Europe. Their funky and controversial "Jesus on the Payroll" (1988) reached the Billboard Top Twenty dance chart.

Jonathan Myerson is a British dramatist and novelist, writing principally for television and radio. His partner is novelist Julie Myerson.

<i>A Ghost Story for Christmas</i> British television series

A Ghost Story for Christmas is a strand of annual British short television films originally broadcast on BBC One between 1971 and 1978, and revived sporadically by the BBC since 2005. With one exception, the original instalments were directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark and the films were all shot on 16 mm colour film. The remit behind the series was to provide a television adaptation of a classic ghost story, in line with the oral tradition of telling supernatural tales at Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Gillan</span> Scottish actress (born 1987)

Karen Sheila Gillan is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2010–2013), for which she received several awards and nominations. Her early film roles include Ally in the thriller film Outcast (2010) and Jane Lockhart in the romantic comedy film Not Another Happy Ending (2013). She also worked on the stage while in Britain, appearing in John Osborne's play Inadmissible Evidence (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media in Manchester</span>

Media in Manchester has been an integral part of Manchester's culture and economy for many generations and has been described as the only other British city to rival to London in terms of television broadcasting. Today, Manchester is the second largest centre of the creative and digital industries in Europe.

<i>Well Take Manhattan</i> (2012 film) 2012 British TV series or program

We'll Take Manhattan is a British television film that tells the story of the extramarital affair between photographer David Bailey and model Jean Shrimpton, and their one-week photographic assignment in New York City for Vogue in 1962. Directed by John McKay, it stars Aneurin Barnard as David Bailey, and Karen Gillan as Jean Shrimpton.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ast All, Elisa (August 2002). "Dad of the Month: John McKay". iParenting.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Chaw, Walter (17 April 2002). "McKay While the Sun Shines". Film Freak Central. Archived from the original on 14 January 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Awards for John McKay (IV)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  4. 1 2 McKay, John (24 May 2002). "Filming and f***ing". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  5. ↑ "Crush". Guardian Unlimited . Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  6. ↑ "BBC – Press Office – The Canterbury Tales". bbc.co.uk. 6 August 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  7. ↑ Cozens, Claire (12 September 2003). "Miller's Tale is a success story for BBC1" (Requires free registration). Guardian Unlimited . Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "The Canterbury Tales" (Requires free registration). Guardian Unlimited. 12 September 2003. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  9. ↑ "Piccadilly Jim (2004)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  10. ↑ "BBC – Press Office – Life on Mars press pack". bbc.co.uk. 8 December 2005. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  11. ↑ Banks-Smith, Nancy (31 January 2006). "Last night's TV". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  12. ↑ "Robin Hood (2006)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  13. ↑ "BBC – Press Office – The Acid Test". bbc.co.uk. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
  14. ↑ "BBC Four – We'll Take Manhattan". BBC.co.uk . Retrieved 4 February 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.