Brad Anderson (director)
Brad Anderson (born April 5, 1964) is an American film director, producer and writer.[1] A director of thriller and horror films and television projects, he is best known for having directed The Machinist (2004), starring Christian Bale, psychological horror film Session 9 (2001) and The Call (2013), starring Halle Berry. He also produced and directed several installments of the Fox science fiction television series Fringe. Early in his career, he directed the romantic comedies Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Happy Accidents (2000).
Brad Anderson | |
|---|---|
Anderson at the Berlin Film Festival, 9 February 2008 | |
| Born | April 5, 1964 Madison, Connecticut, United States |
| Alma mater | London Film School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | |
| Relatives | Holland Taylor (aunt) |
Biography
Early life
Anderson was born in Madison, Connecticut, the son of Pamela Taylor Anderson, a community services administrator.[2] He is the nephew of Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor. Before he began his film career, he attended Bowdoin College, where he majored in anthropology and Russian. He then went to London to finish his film education at London Film School before returning to Boston.
Film career
Anderson started out writing and directing the romantic comedies The Darien Gap (1996), Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Happy Accidents (2000), all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[3][4][5]
His next film was the 2001 psychological horror film Session 9. Unsuccessful at the box office, the film has since gained a cult following.[6] In 2002, Anderson was a member of the dramatic jury at the Sundance Film Festival.
This was followed by his most notable work to date, The Machinist (2004), starring Christian Bale. The film became well-known for Bales' dramatic weight loss (62 pounds) for the lead role, and for its screenplay, written by Scott Kosar.
His next two films were Transsiberian (2008), a thriller starring Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer and Ben Kingsley and the horror film Vanishing on 7th Street (2010), starring Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo and Thandie Newton. Notably, both Transsiberian and The Machinist were funded by Anglo-German production companies.
At one point, he was also one of the candidates to direct the sequel to Paranormal Activity.[7]
In 2013, Anderson directed The Call, a thriller starring Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin.[8]
This was followed by Stonehearst Asylum (aka Eliza Graves) in 2014, with Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, David Thewlis and Ben Kingsley in the leading roles.[9]
In 2018, Anderson directed the espionage thriller Beirut, which stars Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike,[10] and in 2019, he directed the Netflix thriller film Fractured, starring Sam Worthington, Lily Rabe, Stephen Tobolowsky and Adjoa Andoh, which was released on October 11.[11]
Television work
Anderson has directed numerous episodes of Fringe, as well as two episodes each of The Wire, The Killing, and Boardwalk Empire.
Anderson was one of the contributors to the horror series Masters of Horror, directing the season two episode "Sounds Like".
Anderson directed the pilot episode of the ABC prime time series Forever.[12]
He also directed the pilot episode of CBS's Zoo.
Anderson directed episodes of Clickbait for Netflix.[13]
Future projects
Anderson replaced Joseph Ruben as director of Bold Films thriller Jack[14] in May 2010, and cast John Cusack for the lead,[15] who has since been replaced by Liev Schreiber. Anderson was supposed to direct The Living and the Dead,[16] based on the novel of the same name by Robert Tinnell and Todd Livingston.[17]
After working together on The Machinist, Anderson and Christian Bale have had plans to collaborate again on an adaptation of J. G. Ballard's novel Concrete Island.[18]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Frankenstein's Planet of Monsters! | Yes | No | Yes | Short film |
| 1996 | The Darien Gap | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 1998 | Next Stop Wonderland | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2000 | Happy Accidents | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2001 | Session 9 | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer with Stephen Gevedon |
| 2004 | The Machinist | Yes | No | No | |
| 2008 | Transsiberian | Yes | Yes | No | Co-writer with Will Conroy |
| 2010 | Vanishing on 7th Street | Yes | No | No | |
| 2013 | The Call | Yes | No | No | |
| 2014 | Stonehearst Asylum | Yes | No | No | |
| 2018 | Beirut | Yes | No | No | |
| 2019 | Fractured | Yes | No | No | |
| 2023 | Blood | Yes | No | No | Post-production |
Television
References
- ^ a b "Brad Anderson". TV.com. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ . filmreference.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (21 January 1998). "Next Stop Wonderland". Variety. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Dequina, Michael (27 September 2001). "Happy Accidents". Film Threat. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Smith, Nigel (16 February 2011). "Brad Anderson: "If you're doing an apocalyptic movie, Detroit's the place to go."". Indiewire. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Tobias, Scott (November 24, 2010). "Session 9 | Film | The New Cult Canon | The A.V. Club". avclub.com. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- ^ "Paranormal Activity 2 Directing Gig Attracting Some Big Names | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central". Dread Central. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ Cook, Tommy (March 11, 2013). "Director Brad Anderson Talks THE CALL, Setting the Pace of the Film, His Fascination with Contained Spaces, and More". Collider. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2014-12-30. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
- ^ Myers, Jeff (April 23, 2018). "Shifting Sands: Director Brad Anderson on Making Beirut, and Managing a Career of Genre and Budget-Hopping". MovieMaker. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ N'Duka, Amanda (November 12, 2018). "Sam Worthington Set As Lead In Brad Anderson-Directed Netflix Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
- ^ a b Kondolojy, Amanda (September 23, 2014). . TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
- ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (August 25, 2019). "Netflix, Tony Ayres & David Heyman Team For 'Clickbait' Thriller Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ "Brad Anderson Introduced to 'Jack', a Serial Killer with Amnesia | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central". Dread Central. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "John Cusack Signed On for Brad Anderson's 'Jack'".
- ^ "Brad Anderson to Direct The Living and the Dead | Horror Movie, DVD, & Book Reviews, News, Interviews at Dread Central". Dread Central. 25 February 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Brad Anderson to Adapt 'The Living and the Dead'". Bloody Disgusting. 14 October 2009.
- ^ Fischer, Russ (February 9, 2011). "Brad Anderson and Christian Bale Plan to Reunite for Adaptation of J.G. Ballard's 'Concrete Island'". SlashFilm. Retrieved September 30, 2019.