John Sayles

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Template:Short description Template:BLP sources Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox person 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), Men with Guns, (1997), Sunshine State (2002), and Silver City (2004).

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.

Early life

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Both of Sayles's parents were Catholic and of half-Irish descent. Sayles has referred to himself as a "Catholic atheist".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=britannica>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Template:BLP sources section After college, Sayles moved to Boston where he worked a variety of blue-collar jobs while writing short stories for The Atlantic.<ref name=britannica/> These writings culminated in his first novel, The Pride of the Bimbos, published in 1975.

Sayles began his film career working with Roger Corman, along with Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Ron Howard and James Cameron who also had stints with Corman early in their careers. Sayles was discovered by Frances Doel, who worked in the script department for Corman's New World Pictures. Sayles has been called "the greatest screenwriter to ever work at New World."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Directorial debut

In 1979, Sayles used $30,000 he earned writing scripts for Corman to fund his first film, Return of the Secaucus 7.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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 enslaver men in black.

Sayles at the Miami Book Fair International, 2011

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Having collaborated with Joe Dante on Piranha and The Howling, Sayles acted in Dante's movie, Matinee. Sayles has earned much of his funding by working as a script doctor; he did rewrites for Apollo 13<ref name="Sayles">Template:Cite news</ref> and Mimic.

Sayles' genre script, called Night Skies, inspired what would eventually become the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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,Template:Update inline would center 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.<ref>Sayles red hot for HBO's 'Scar' from Variety</ref>

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.<ref>Joel Torre believes 'Baryo' may stir controversy Template:Webarchive from www.mb.com.ph</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer Editor
1978 Piranha Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1979 The Lady in Red Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1980 Return of the Secaucus 7 Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
Battle Beyond the Stars Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
Alligator Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1981 The Howling Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1982 The Challenge Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1983 Lianna Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
Baby It's You Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1984 The Brother from Another Planet Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
1986 The Clan of the Cave Bear Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1987 Wild Thing Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
Matewan Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
1988 Eight Men Out Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:No
1989 Breaking In Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1991 City of Hope Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
1992 Passion Fish Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
1994 The Secret of Roan Inish Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
Men of War Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1995 Apollo 13 Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
1996 Lone Star Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
1997 Men with Guns Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
1999 Limbo Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2002 Sunshine State Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2003 Casa de los babys Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2004 Silver City Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2007 Honeydripper Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles Template:No Template:Yes Template:No
2010 Amigo Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2013 Go for Sisters Template:Yes Template:Yes Template:Yes
2018 The Devil's Highway Template:No Template:Yes Template:No

Executive producer

Television

Year Title Notes
1980 A Perfect Match Television film; writer
1986 Unnatural Causes Television film; writer
1989–1991 Shannon's Deal Television series; creator, writer, and producer
2018 The Alienist Television series; writer and consulting producer
TBA The Gray House Television series; writer

Acting roles

Year Title Role Notes
1978 Piranha Soldier Uncredited
1980 Return of the Secaucus 7 Howie
1981 The Howling Morgue Attendant Uncredited
1983 Lianna Jerry
1984 The Brother from Another Planet Man in Black #2
1984 Hard Choices Don
1986 Something Wild Motorcycle Cop
1986 Unnatural Causes Lloyd Television film
1987 Matewan Hardshell Preacher
1988 Eight Men Out Ring Lardner
1989 Untamagiru US High Commmisioner
1989 The End of the Night Wayne
1990 Shannon's Deal Ronny Nash 2 episodes
1990 Little Vegas Mike
1991 City of Hope Carl
1991 Square One Television Roy "Lefty" Combs 4 episodes
1992 Straight Talk Guy Girardi
1992 Passion Fish Soap Doctor Uncredited
1992 Malcolm X FBI Agent
1993 Matinee Bob
1997 Gridlock'd Cop
2000 Girlfight Science Teacher
2002 Sunshine State Man who almost got hit by a golf ball Uncredited
2007 Honeydripper Zeke
2009 In the Electric Mist Michael Goldman
2012 The Normals Dr. Marx
2025 Poker Face Chief Hal Episode: "The Taste of Human Blood"

Bibliography

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)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Jamie MacGillivray (2023) (novel)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • To Save the Man (2025) (novel)

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)

Music videos

Awards/nominations

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Films

Awards for Return of the Secaucus 7:

Awards for Matewan:

Awards for Shannon's Deal:

  • Best Television Feature or Miniseries (Win) – 1990 Edgar Award

Awards for City of Hope:

Awards for Passion Fish:

Awards for The Secret of Roan Inish:

Awards for Lone Star:

  • Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 Academy Awards<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Best Original Screenplay (Nominated) – John Sayles – 1997 BAFTA Awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 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 Men with Guns/Hombres armados:

Awards for Limbo:

Awards for Sunshine State:

Award for Silver City:

  • Golden Seashell Award for Best Film (Nominated) – John Sayles – 2004 San Sebastián International Film Festival<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards for Honeydripper:

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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).

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Recurring collaborators

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.<ref>Template:Cite bookpage 6</ref>

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See also

Further reading

  • 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

References

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