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John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He is known for writing and directing the films The Brother from Another Planet (1984), Matewan (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), Passion Fish (1992), The Secret of Roan Inish (1994), Lone Star (1996), and Men with Guns (1997).
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John Sayles | |
|---|---|
 Sayles in March 2008 | |
| Born | John Thomas Sayles September 28, 1950 |
| Education | Williams College |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1971–present |
For Eight Men Out, Sayles was nominated for the USC Scripter Award. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Passion Fish and Lone Star. At the 56th Golden Globe Awards, Men with Guns was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His directorial debut, Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980), as well as Matewan were added to the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1997 and 2023, respectively.
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Sayles was born on September 28, 1950, in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary (née Rausch), a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator.[1] Both of Sayles's parents were Catholic and of half-Irish descent. Sayles has referred to himself as a "Catholic atheist".[2] He attended Williams College with frequent collaborators Gordon Clapp and David Strathairn, as well as his longtime partner, Maggie Renzi. Sayles earned a B.A. in psychology in 1972.[3]
| This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (April 2022) |
After college, Sayles moved to Boston where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs while writing short stories for The Atlantic.[3] These writings culminated in his first novel, The Pride of the Bimbos, published in 1975.
Like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, Sayles began his film career working with Roger Corman. He was discovered by Frances Doel. Sayles has been called "the greatest screenwriter to ever work at New World."[4]
Directorial debut
In 1979, Sayles used $30,000 he earned writing scripts for Corman to fund his first film, Return of the Secaucus 7.[5] To make the film on a limited budget, he set the film in a large house so that he did not have to travel to or get permits for different locations, set the story over a three-day weekend to limit costume changes, and wrote about people his age so he could cast his friends in it. The film received near-unanimous critical acclaim at the time and has held its reputation. In November 1997, the National Film Preservation Board announced that Return of the Secaucus 7 would be one of the 25 films selected that year for preservation in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress.
In 1983, after the films Baby It's You (starring Rosanna Arquette) and Lianna (a story in which a married woman becomes discontented with her marriage and falls in love with another woman), Sayles received a MacArthur Fellowship. He put the money into the science fiction feature The Brother from Another Planet,[6] a film about a three-toed humanoid who escapes bondage on another world and crash-lands in New York harbor; because he is Africanoid in appearance, he finds himself at home among the people of Harlem, being pursued by European-looking alien enslavers men in black.
In 1989, Sayles created and wrote the pilot episode for the short-lived television show Shannon's Deal about a down-and-out Philadelphia lawyer played by Jamey Sheridan. Sayles received a 1990 Edgar Award for his teleplay for the pilot. The show ran for 16 episodes before being cancelled in 1991.
Sayles has funded most of his films by writing genre scripts, such as Piranha, Alligator, The Howling, and The Challenge.[7] Having collaborated with Joe Dante on Piranha and The Howling, Sayles acted in Dante's movie, Matinee. Sayles gets the rest of his funding by working as a script doctor; he did rewrites for Apollo 13[8] and Mimic.
A genre script, called Night Skies, inspired what would eventually become the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.[9] That film's director, Steven Spielberg, later commissioned Sayles to write a script (unused) for the fourth Jurassic Park film.
He has written and directed his own films, including Lone Star, Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, The Secret of Roan Inish, and Matewan. He serves on the advisory board for the Austin Film Society.[10] Maggie Renzi has been John Sayles's long-time companion (and collaborator), but they have not married. Renzi has produced most of his films since Lianna. They met as students at Williams College.
Sayles works with a regular repertory of actors, most notably Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, and Gordon Clapp, each of whom has appeared in at least four of his films.
In early 2003, Sayles signed the Not In Our Name "Statement of Conscience" (along with Noam Chomsky, Steve Earle, Brian Eno, Jesse Jackson, Viggo Mortensen, Bonnie Raitt, Oliver Stone, Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon and others) which opposed the invasion of Iraq.[11]
In February 2009, Sayles was reported to be writing an HBO series based on the early life of Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The drama, tentatively titled Scar Tissue[needs update], centers on Kiedis's early years living in West Hollywood with his father. At that time, Kiedis's father, known as Spider, sold drugs (according to legend, his clients included The Who and Led Zeppelin) and mingled with rock stars on the Sunset Strip, all while aspiring to get into show business.[12]
In February 2010, Sayles began shooting his 17th feature film, the historical war drama Amigo, in the Philippines. The film is a fictional account of events during the Philippine–American War, with a cast that includes Joel Torre, Chris Cooper, and Garret Dillahunt.[13]
His novel A Moment in the Sun, set during the same period as Amigo, in the Philippines, Cuba, and the U.S., was released in 2011 by McSweeney's. It includes an account of the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 in North Carolina, the only coup d'état in United States history in which a duly elected government was overthrown.[14]
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- 1983 MacArthur Fellowship
- 1990 Edgar Award, for teleplay for pilot of Shannon's Deal
- In June 2014, Sayles donated his non-film archive to the University of Michigan. It will be accessible at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. Sayles's film archive is held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive.[15]
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Piranha | No | Yes | No |
| 1979 | The Lady in Red | No | Yes | No |
| 1980 | Return of the Secaucus 7 | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Battle Beyond the Stars | No | Yes | No | |
| Alligator | No | Yes | No | |
| 1981 | The Howling | No | Yes | No |
| 1982 | The Challenge | No | Yes | No |
| 1983 | Lianna | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Baby It's You | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Enormous Changes at the Last Minute | No | Yes | No | |
| 1984 | The Brother from Another Planet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1986 | The Clan of the Cave Bear | No | Yes | No |
| 1987 | Wild Thing | No | Yes | No |
| Matewan | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1988 | Eight Men Out | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1989 | Breaking In | No | Yes | No |
| 1991 | City of Hope | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1992 | Passion Fish | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1994 | The Secret of Roan Inish | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Men of War | No | Yes | No | |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | No | Uncredited | No |
| 1996 | Lone Star | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1997 | Men with Guns | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1999 | Limbo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2002 | Sunshine State | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2003 | Casa de los babys | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2004 | Silver City | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2007 | Honeydripper | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2008 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | No | Yes | No |
| 2010 | Amigo | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2013 | Go for Sisters | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 2018 | The Devil's Highway | No | Yes | No |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Return of the Secaucus 7 | Howie |
| 1983 | Lianna | Jerry |
| 1984 | The Brother from Another Planet | Man in Black #2 |
| 1986 | Something Wild | Motorcycle Cop |
| 1987 | Matewan | Hardshell Preacher |
| 1988 | Eight Men Out | Ring Lardner |
| 1991 | City of Hope | Carl |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | FBI Agent |
| 1992 | Passion Fish | Soap Doctor |
| 1993 | Matinee | Bob |
| 1996 | Gridlock'd | Cop |
| 2009 | In the Electric Mist | Michael Goldman |
| 2012 | The Normals | Dr. Marx |
Television
- A Perfect Match (1980)
- Unnatural Causes (1986) (television film)
- Shannon's Deal (1989) (television series; also creator)
- The Alienist (2018) (television series)
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Novels
- Pride of the Bimbos (1975) (novel)
- Union Dues (1977) (novel)
- Los Gusanos (1991) (novel)
- A Moment in the Sun (2011) (novel)
- Yellow Earth (2020) (novel)[16]
- Jamie MacGillivray (2023) (novel)[17]
Collections and non-fiction
- The Anarchists' Convention (1979) (short story collection)
- Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie "Matewan" (1987) (non-fiction)
- Dillinger in Hollywood (2004) (short story collection)
- Bruce Springsteen – "Born in the U.S.A."[18]
- Bruce Springsteen – "I'm on Fire"[19]
- Bruce Springsteen – "Glory Days"
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2010) |
Films
Awards for Honeydripper:
- Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film (Win) – 2008 NAACP Image Award[20]
- Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Theatrical or Television) (Nominated) – John Sayles – 2008 NAACP Image Awards[20]
- Top 10 Independent Films of 2007 – National Board of Review of Motion Pictures[21]
- Best Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 2007 San Sebastián International Film Festival (Tied with Gracia Querejeta and David Planell for Siete mesas de billar francés (2007))[22]
Award for Silver City:
- Golden Seashell Award for Best Film (Nominated) – John Sayles – 2004 San Sebastián International Film Festival[23]
Awards for Sunshine State:
- Golden Orange Award (Win) – John Sayles – 2002 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards[24]
- Special Mention For Excellence In Filmmaking (Win) – 2002 National Board of Review[25]
Awards for Limbo:
- Best Director Golden Space Needle Award (Win) – John Sayles −1999 Seattle International Film Festival[26]
- Outstanding Indies (Win) – 1999 National Board of Review[27]
Awards for Men with Guns/Hombres armados:
- Best Foreign Independent Film (Nominated) – 1998 British Independent Film Awards[28]
- Best Foreign Film (Nominated) – 1999 Golden Globes[29]
- Peace Award (Nominated) – 1998 Political Film Society[30]
- FIPRESCI Prize (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
- OCIC Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
- Solidarity Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
- Golden Seashell Award for Best Film (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 San Sebastián International Film Festival
Awards for Lone Star:
- Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Academy Awards[31]
- Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 BAFTA Awards[32]
- Best Screenplay, Motion Picture (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Golden Globes
- Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Writers Guild of America Award
- Best Picture (Nominated) – 1997 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- Best Motion Picture Original Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 Golden Satellite Awards
- Best Motion Picture – Drama (Nominated) – Maggie Renzi & R. Paul Miller – 1997 Golden Satellite Awards
- Best Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Film (Win) – Lone Star – 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
- Best Director (Win) – John Sayles – 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
- Best Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 1996 Lone Star Film & Television Awards
- Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Feature Film (Win) – 1996 NCLR Bravo Awards
- Best Director (Win) – John Sayles – 1997 Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
Awards for The Secret of Roan Inish:
- Best Genre Video Release (Nominated) – 1996 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
- International Critics Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1996 Gérardmer Film Festival
- Best Director (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1996 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1996 Independent Spirit Awards
Awards for Passion Fish:
- Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1993 Academy Awards[33]
- Golden Spur Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1993 Flanders International Film Festival
- Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1993 Writers Guild of America
Awards for City of Hope:
- Critics Award (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1991 Deauville American Film Festival
- Special Award, Democracy Award (Win) – 1992 Political Film Society[30]
- Tokyo Grand Prix Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1991 Tokyo International Film Festival
Awards for Matewan:
- Critics Award (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1987 Deauville American Film Festival
- Best Director (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1988 Independent Spirit Awards
- Best Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1988 Independent Spirit Award
- Human Rights Award (Win) – 1988 Political Film Society[30]
Awards for The Brother from Another Planet:
- Best Screenplay Caixa de Catalunya Award (Win) – John Sayles – 1984 Catalan International Film Festival, Sitges, Spain
- Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1985 USA Film Festival (later became the Sundance Film Festival)
Awards for Return of the Secaucus 7:
- Best Independent Film (Win) – 1981 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
- Best Screenplay (Win) – John Sayles – 1980 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- National Film Registry – 1997 Library of Congress, National Film Preservation Board
- Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1981 Writers Guild of America
- Best Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1980 New York Film Critics Circle
- Second Place – 1981 US Film Festival (later became the Sundance Film Festival)
Other recognition
Sayles's first published story, "I-80 Nebraska", won an O. Henry Award; his novel, Union Dues, was nominated for a National Book Award as well as the National Book Critics Circle Award.
In 1983,[34] Sayles received the John D. MacArthur Award, given to 20 Americans in diverse fields each year for their innovative work. He has also been the recipient of the Eugene V. Debs Award, the John Steinbeck Award and the John Cassavetes Award. He was honored with the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Writers Guild of America (1999).
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Actors who have regularly worked with Sayles include Maggie Renzi, David Strathairn, Joe Morton, Chris Cooper, Mary McDonnell, Vincent Spano, Kevin Tighe, Josh Mostel, Tom Wright, Gordon Clapp and Angela Bassett.[35]
Work Actor |
1980 | 1983 | 1984 | 1987 | 1988 | 1991 | 1992 | 1994 | 1996 | 1997 | 1999 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2007 | 2010 | 2013 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Alexander |  | | | |||||||||||||||
| Eliot Asinof | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Angela Bassett | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Jesse Borrego | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Leo Burmester | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Gordon Clapp | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Bill Cobbs | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Chris Cooper | | | | | | |||||||||||||
| Liane Alexandra Curtis | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Vondie Curtis-Hall | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Richard Edson | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Miguel Ferrer | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Kathryn Grody | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Lisa Gay Hamilton | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Daryl Hannah | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Clifton James | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Kris Kristofferson | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Perry Lang | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Susan Lynch | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Vanessa Martinez | | | | | ||||||||||||||
| Mary McDonnell | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Sam McMurray | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Joe Morton | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Josh Mostel | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Bill Raymond | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Maggie Renzi | | | | | | | | |||||||||||
| John Sayles | | | | | | | | | ||||||||||
| Vincent Spano | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Mary Steenburgen | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Fisher Stevens | | | ||||||||||||||||
| David Strathairn | | | | | | | | |||||||||||
| Kevin Tighe | | | | |||||||||||||||
| Ralph Waite | | | ||||||||||||||||
| Tom Wright | | | | | | | ||||||||||||
- Night Skies – for a more complete history of how the proposed Close Encounters of the Third Kind sequel became the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial story
- Diane Carson and Heidi Kenaga, eds., Sayles Talk: New Perspectives on Independent Filmmaker John Sayles, Wayne State University Press, 2006
- John Sayles, Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan, Da Capo Press, 2003
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