Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Philip Anderson Lord (born July 12, 1975) and Christopher Robert Miller (born September 23, 1975) are American filmmakers and voice actors. They are the creators and co-stars of the adult animated sitcom Clone High (2002–2003, 2023–present), and the writers and directors of the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as the directors of the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014). Lord and Miller are best known for working on the Spider-Verse franchise, which won them the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). They have also worked on the television series The Last Man on Earth (2015–2018) for Fox and Unikitty! (2017–2020) for Cartoon Network.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller | |
|---|---|
Lord (left) and Miller (right) at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con | |
| Born |
|
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmakers, voice actors |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Spouse | Robyn Murgio (Miller) |
| Children | 2 (Miller) |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) |
Early life edit
Lord is from Miami; his mother is a Cuban-born psychologist, and his father retired from the aviation business and before that directed a dance company, Fusion, for 10 years. Miller is from the Seattle area, where his father runs a lumber mill.[3]
Lord and Miller both grew up making short films with an affinity for animation. They both attended Dartmouth College, where they first met, and had separate comics in the school newspaper, The Dartmouth. Lord was a member of Amarna, a co-ed undergraduate society while Miller was a brother at Alpha Chi Alpha. During his time in college, Miller met his girlfriend, now wife.
During their time at Dartmouth, the school paper published a profile on Miller, which caught the attention of Michael Eisner, then chairman of Disney. According to Lord, Eisner brought the profile to the attention of his fellow Disney executives who offered to set up a meeting with Miller. Miller agreed to the meeting as long as he could bring Lord. After three months, the two moved to Los Angeles and after one meeting were offered a two-year development deal at Walt Disney Television Animation.[4]
Career edit
2000s edit
Though nothing they pitched made it to air, they produced the pilot to Clone High, which was subsequently dropped by Fox. After they wrote and produced on a series of sitcoms, MTV informed the duo that they were interested in purchasing a 13-episode season of Clone High. Although the show was met with acclaim, MTV canceled the series after hunger strike protests occurred in India over the show's portrayal of Gandhi as a motor-mouthed partier.[5]
In 2003, the two were tapped to write a screenplay for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, their first feature film. After a year working on the script, they were fired for story issues and replaced with new writers, who after a year were fired themselves. Lord and Miller were re-hired in 2006. The two completely redid the script, this time with the creative input of their crew. The new draft had the protagonist as a failed inventor who wanted to prove himself to his town. The two were almost fired again after Amy Pascal, the head of Sony Pictures at the time, criticized the film for a lack of story. Although the film succeeded on the comedic front in the animatic stage, Pascal cited the lack of an anchoring relationship in the film as a failure in the story telling. Unable to create new characters and environments to suit the new story demands, the two elevated the character of the tackle shop extra to be the protagonist's father, thereby creating the relationship Pascal had requested.[6]
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was released in 2009 to positive reviews.
2010s edit
After Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was released, the two sought to try to make something different and pitched themselves as possible directors for the 21 Jump Street script that Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill had written. The studio agreed and the two directed their first live-action R-rated film, released to critical acclaim, which led to the production of the sequel 22 Jump Street.
In an interview with Robert K. Elder for his book The Best Film You've Never Seen, Lord stated that "in an animated feature, you remake the movie three or four times, and it's really easy to get bummed out that the way you did it before didn't get greenlit, didn't get paid, and you're making a totally different version of that movie."[7]
During the production of 21 Jump Street, they pitched a take on a possible Lego film to Dan Lin. Lin and Warner Bros. loved the take, so Lord and Miller wrote and eventually directed their third feature film together, The Lego Movie. The duo were picked by Warner Bros. to write the story treatment for the then-upcoming superhero film The Flash, but dropped out of the project in favor of directing the then-untitled Solo: A Star Wars Story.[8] The duo were picked by Sony Pictures Animation in 2015 to create an animated Spider-Man film, with the option to direct. The film was eventually made as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), which the duo produced and which Lord co-wrote.[9]
The duo have developed a live-action/animated series, Son of Zorn, for Fox, with Jason Sudeikis voicing the lead role of animated character Zorn, and Johnny Pemberton and Cheryl Hines playing the live-action roles.[10] They are producing a cable-TV drama based on the popular NPR/This American Life spinoff podcast Serial.[11]
In January 2017, Lord and Miller began directing the then-untitled film Solo: A Star Wars Story, a standalone Star Wars movie based on the Han Solo character. On June 20, 2017, it was reported that they had been fired from the project by Lucasfilm, after over four-and-a-half months of filming, about three-quarters through principal photography.[12] Lucasfilm announced that "creative differences" were the reason, with Entertainment Weekly reporting that Lord and Miller were going off-script and trying to make the film into more of a comedy. They were unwilling to compromise with Lucasfilm and writer Lawrence Kasdan on the direction of the film, preferring their vision. Two days later, Ron Howard was announced as the replacement, to complete the film and reshoots.[13][14] Lord and Miller received executive-producer credits on Solo: A Star Wars Story.[15]
In November 2017, Lord and Miller commented on their departure from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Lord stated "The experience of shooting the movie was wonderful. We had the most incredible cast and crew and collaborators. [...] We're really proud of the work we did on the movie and we wish everybody the best." Miller added "As Phil said, we had such a great relationship with cast and crew, we were really rooting for them. After we took a much-needed vacation, we got back into it and now we're writing and producing a sequel to The Lego Movie and producing a Miles Morales animated Spider-Man."[16]
In August 2019, Lord and Miller signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures.[17]
2020s—present edit
In 2021, Lord and Miller produced two animated films that were distributed through Netflix. The first was The Mitchells vs. the Machines for Sony Pictures Animation.[18] They also produced an R-rated animated Netflix original film called America: The Motion Picture alongside Will Allegra, Matt Thompson, Adam Reed, Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan from a screenplay by David Callaham and directed by Thompson.[19][20]
In June 2020, it was reported that Lord and Miller would be developing an eight-episode television series titled The Afterparty for Apple TV+. The series is a murder mystery comedy set at a high school reunion where each episode features a retelling of the same night told through a different character's point of view.[21] Miller created and directed the series, while serving as an executive producer alongside Lord. The series premiered on January 28, 2022, to critical acclaim.
On November 1, 2019, it was announced that Lord and Miller would be returning as producers and writers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was released on June 2, 2023.[22][23] In December 2021, Lord and Miller revealed that Across the Spider-Verse was being split into two parts after they had written down the story they wanted to tell for the sequel and realized that it was too much for a single film. Work on both parts was taking place simultaneously, or at least believed to be until June of 2023 when animators claimed they were overworked to complete Part One,[24] with Part Two since renamed to Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.[22][25] A release date has yet to be announced, as the film was removed from the release schedule on July 28, 2023 reportedly due to the then-ongoing 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[26] Its original release date was taken by Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Recording of voice lines restarted on November 9, 2023 following the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike.[27]
On July 2, 2020, it was announced that MTV Entertainment Studios was developing a revival of Clone High, and that original series creators, Lord, Miller, and Bill Lawrence would be involved with the project.[28] In February 2021, HBO Max ordered two seasons of the revival,[29] the first of which premiered on May 23, 2023.
As part of their first-look deal with Universal Pictures, Lord and Miller has produced two R-rated comedy films for the studio; Cocaine Bear, a comedy horror film which was inspired by the true story involving the eponymous bear,[30] and Strays, a comedy about talking dogs.[31]
Future projects edit
In September 2017, Lord and Miller were announced as co-directors of the film adaptation of the 2017 novel Artemis.[32] However, due to the Disney-Fox merger and producer Simon Kinberg ending his deal with the company, the fate of the project is unknown.
On May 15, 2020, Variety reported that Lord and Miller are attached to direct a film adaptation of Andy Weir's next novel Project Hail Mary for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with Ryan Gosling attached to star in the leading role and Amy Pascal producing.[33] Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2024 in the United Kingdom.[34]
In May 2021, it was announced that Lord and Miller would produce and direct an adaptation of the book The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, which chronicles the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.[35]
They made a five-year deal with Sony Pictures Television to develop an animated Marvel series, including a possible Into the Spider-Verse series,[36] as well as a first-look deal with Universal Pictures.[37]
In an interview with /Film during promotion of The Afterparty, Lord and Miller expressed interest in making a biopic of Hall & Oates.[38]
In October 2023, writer Dennis E. Taylor, author of the Bobiverse series, announced that a potential adaptation had been optioned to Lord Miller Productions for distribution through Universal Pictures.[39]
Other projects edit
Lord co-wrote the comic Spider-Man Annual #1, marking his first involvement on a comic book;[40] he and Miller also co-wrote a Marvel comic celebrating the company's 80th anniversary, marking Miller's first time writing a comic book.[41][42]
In September 2020, it was announced that a live-action television series based on the character Silk was in development, with both Lord and Miller serving as executive producers alongside Amy Pascal.[43]
Filmography edit
Films edit
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Writer(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Extreme Movie | No | Yes | Executive (uncredited) |
| 2009 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Yes | Yes | Executive (uncredited) |
| 2012 | 21 Jump Street | Yes | No | No |
| 2013 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | No | Story | Executive |
| 2014 | The Lego Movie | Yes | Yes | Executive (uncredited) |
| 22 Jump Street | Yes | No | Executive | |
| 2016 | Storks | No | No | Executive |
| 2017 | Brigsby Bear | No | No | Yes |
| The Lego Batman Movie | No | No | Yes | |
| The Lego Ninjago Movie | No | No | Yes | |
| 2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | Uncredited | No | Executive |
| Smallfoot | No | No | Executive | |
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | No | Phil Lord | Yes | |
| 2019 | The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | The Mitchells vs. the Machines | No | No | Yes |
| America: The Motion Picture | No | No | Yes | |
| 2023 | Cocaine Bear | No | No | Yes |
| Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Strays | No | No | Yes | |
| TBA | Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse | No | Yes | Yes |
Other credits edit
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Open Season | Special Thanks |
| 2007 | Surf's Up | Special Thanks |
| 2008 | Igor | Special Thanks |
| 2014 | Annie | MoonQuake Lake scenes |
| 2016 | Sausage Party | Special Thanks |
| 2017 | Baby Driver | Special Thanks |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Creators / Showrunners | Directors | Writers | Producers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane | No | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Crossing the Line" |
| 2001 | Go Fish | No | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Go Wrestling" |
| 2002–present | Clone High | Yes | Supervising | Yes | Executive | 23 episodes |
| 2003 | Luis | No | No | No | Supervising | 5 episodes |
| 2004 | Method & Red | No | No | Yes | Consulting | 9 episodes Episodes: "Well Well Well", "Da Shootout" and "A House Apart" |
| Cracking Up | No | No | No | Consulting | 6 episodes | |
| 2005–06 | How I Met Your Mother | No | No | Yes | Executive | 17 episodes Episodes: "Sweet Taste of Liberty" & "Belly Full of Turkey" |
| 2013 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | No | Yes | No | Executive | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2015–18 | The Last Man on Earth | No | Yes | No | Executive | 67 episodes Episodes: "Alive in Tucson" & "The Elephant in the Room" |
| 2016–17 | Son of Zorn | No | No | No | Executive | 13 episodes |
| 2017 | Making History | No | No | No | Executive | 9 episodes |
| 2017–18 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | No | No | No | Consulting | 104 episodes |
| 2017–20 | Unikitty! | No | No | No | Executive | 104 episodes |
| 2019–21 | Bless the Harts | No | No | No | Executive | 34 episodes |
| 2020 | Hoops | No | No | No | Executive | 10 episodes |
| 2022–23 | The Afterparty | Christopher Miller | Christopher Miller | Yes | Executive | Miller: Showrunner, directed 10 episodes and wrote 6 episodes Lord: wrote "Zoe" |
Acting credits edit
| Year | Title | Role as | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Lord | Christopher Miller | |||
| 1997 | The Empire Strikes Back | — | Stormtrooper | Special Edition re-release[44] |
| 1998–99 | Caroline in the City | Bill | Cliff | 3 episodes |
| 2002–present | Clone High | Principal Dr. Cinnamon J. Scudworth / Genghis Khan | JFK / Vice Principal Mr. Butlertron | Voice roles, 13 episodes |
| 2007 | How I Met Your Mother | Too Much Tongue Guy | — | Episode: "How I Met Everyone Else" |
| 2020 | Lego Masters | Himself | Himself | Episode: "Movie Genes" |
Accolades edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Phil Lord - IMDb". IMDb. from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ "Christopher Miller - IMDb". IMDb. from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ Buckley, Cara (June 6, 2014). "Lord and Miller, Directors With a Golden Touch". The New York Times. from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Phil Lord (21 Jumpstreet, Clone High, Cloudy ...) - Breaking In To Hollywood With Chris Miller. Justin Dean. March 14, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ Phil Lord & Christopher Miller on the Very Long Hiatus of 'Clone High'. hollywoodoutbreak. September 12, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ Rewriting Collective Insights: Phil Lord at TEDxCoconutGrove. TEDx Talks. October 11, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ Elder, Robert K. The Best Film You've Never Seen: 35 Directors Champion the Forgotten or Critically Savaged Movies They Love. Chicago, IL: Chicago Review, 2013. Print.
- ^ Busch, Anita (April 9, 2015). "'The Flash' Movie: 'Lego' Guys Phil Lord & Christopher Miller Building Warner Bros Pic". Deadline.com.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. "Sony Spins Animated Spider-Man With 'Lego' Filmmakers, Sets' Equalizer' Sequel And Dates Next Spidey". Deadline.com. from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 10, 2015). "Fox Gives Series Order To 'Son Of Zorn' Live-Action/Animated Comedy From 'Wilfred' Duo, Chris Miller & Phil Lord". Deadline.com. from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 30, 2015). "'Serial' TV Series Based On Podcast Set At Fox 21 With Christopher Miller & Phil Lord". Deadline.com. from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ Kit, Borys (June 22, 2017). "Ron Howard Steps in to Direct Han Solo Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ Stedman, Alex. "'Star Wars' Han Solo Film Loses Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller". Variety. from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
- ^ . Entertainment Weekly. June 22, 2017. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ Roettgers, Janko (March 23, 2018). "'Solo: A Star Wars Story': Phil Lord and Chris Miller Reveal Their Credit". Variety. from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Talk About Their Han Solo Firing". ComingSoon.net. November 20, 2017. from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ Galuppo, Mia (August 2, 2019). "Phil Lord, Chris Miller Set First-Look Deal With Universal". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
- ^ Coggan, Devan (February 20, 2020). "First look: A family battles a robot uprising in Phil Lord and Chris Miller's 'Connected'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 3, 2017). "Netflix Sets First Animated Film 'America'; Channing Tatum Voicing George Washington". Deadline. from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ "Netflix's first animated film will star Channing Tatum as George Washington". The Verge. March 31, 2017. from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (June 24, 2020). "Chris Miller, Phil Lord Set Murder Mystery Comedy Series at Apple (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 20, 2022). "'Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse' Heads To Summer 2023; Sony Dates 'Madame Web', 'Equalizer 3' Among Other Release Changes". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
- ^ Chris Miller [@chrizmillr] (February 25, 2021). "Actually not true. Phil and I are writing with Dave Callaham. Phil is currently working on the script this very second. Peter is an EP and is totally involved. Plus there are some other creative team announcements coming soon" (Tweet). Retrieved February 25, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Lee, Chris. "Spider-Verse Artists Say Working on the Sequel Was 'Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts'". Vulture. Vulture. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt; Rubin, Rebecca (April 26, 2022). "'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Teases Over 200 New Characters, Presents Never-Before-Seen Footage". Variety. from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt (July 28, 2023). . Variety. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Kroll, Justin (November 8, 2023). "'Deadpool 3', 'Gladiator 2', 'Beetlejuice 2', 'Juror No. 2' & 'Venom 3' Among Film Productions To Restart ASAP As Hollywood Gets Back To Work Post-Strike". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 8, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (July 2, 2020). "'Clone High' Reboot Coming to MTV from Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Bill Lawrence". Collider. from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ . pressroom.warnermedia.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Anderton, Ethan (December 17, 2019). "Phil Lord & Chris Miller To Produce A Bear-Driven Horror Comedy From Ready Or Not Directors". /Film. from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ Donnelly, Matt (May 27, 2021). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Picturestart Set Live-Action Comedy Strays at Universal (Exclusive)". Variety. from the original on May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 26, 2017). "Phil Lord & Christopher Miller To Direct Martian Author Andy Weir's New Novel Artemis". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (May 15, 2020). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller to Direct Ryan Gosling Astronaut Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. from the original on May 16, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (May 25, 2023). "The Widening Web of Phil Lord and Chris Miller". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Angelique; Vary, Adam B. (May 10, 2021). "Phil Lord & Chris Miller to Direct 'The Premonition: A Pandemic Story,' Producing With Amy Pascal". Variety. from the original on January 16, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
- ^ "Phil Lord, Chris Miller Developing Marvel TV Universe With Nine-Figure Sony Overall Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (August 2, 2019). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Sign First-Look Deal With Universal Pictures". Variety. from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ "Lord and Miller Actually Want to Make That Hall & Oates Biopic from the Afterparty [Exclusive]". January 29, 2022. from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ^ "Dennis E Taylor - Bobiverse". Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ "Spider-Verse's Phil Lord Joins Jason Latour on Spider-Man Annual #1". April 19, 2019. from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ "Phil Lord and Chris Miller Contributing to Mystery Marvel Comics Project". The Hollywood Reporter. May 9, 2019. from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
- ^ "Marvel Comics #1000 will span 80 years of Marvel history with 97 big-name creators". Polygon. May 10, 2019. from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (September 3, 2020). "Silk Live-Action Marvel Series in the Works at Sony Pictures Television". Variety. from the original on September 3, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (December 22, 2016). "46 Rogue One Easter Eggs: How Many Of These Did You Catch?". /Film. from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- ^ Malec, Brett (June 17, 2014). "Teen Choice 2014 Nominees: Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars Lead, Catching Fire Comes in Second". E! Online. NBC Universal. from the original on February 26, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
- ^ a b "National Board of Review selects 'A Most Violent Year' as Best Film". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ^ "New York Film Critics Give 'Boyhood' Best Picture, Director & Supporting Actress". Deadline. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ^ a b c . Blog.peopleschoice.com. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- ^ 72nd Annual Golden Globe® Awards Nominees Announced February 27, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Dickclark.com, Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ a b c "42nd Annual Annie Awards Winners". Annie Awards. from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- ^ a b "Birdman Leads Satellite Awards Nominations". The Wrap. December 2014. from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
- ^ "'Lego Movie' filmmakers visit Monmouth U". Asbury Park Press. from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ Dave McNary (January 5, 2018). "Producers Guild Awards: 'Get Out,' 'Wonder Woman' Among Film Nominees". Variety. Retrieved January 5, 2018.