Christopher McQuarrie
Encyclopedia
Christopher McQuarrie is an American
screenwriter, producer and director. His screenplays include The Usual Suspects
, for which he won the 1996
Academy Award, The Way of the Gun
and Valkyrie
.
He is the creator of NBC television series Persons Unknown.
, New Jersey
, where he attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South
with director Bryan Singer
, actor Ethan Hawke
and musician James Murphy. In lieu of college he took a job working as an assistant teacher at a boarding school in Perth, Western Australia
, and later hitchhiked around the western half of the continent. Returning to the United States a year later, he went to work for a detective agency in New Jersey for the next four years. In 1992, he applied to the New York City Police Department
and was on his way to the academy when former schoolmate Singer offered him the opportunity to write their first feature film, Public Access
, winner of the 1993 Sundance Film Festival
’s grand jury prize.
, for which McQuarrie received best screenplay awards from Premiere
magazine, The Texas Board of Review, and the Chicago Critics as well as the Edgar Award
, The Independent Spirit Award, and the British and American Academy Awards. The film was later included on the New York Times
list of the 1000 greatest films ever made, and the character Verbal Kint was included on AFI’s
list of the 100 greatest Heroes and Villains
of all time. In 2006, the Writers Guild of America
voted The Usual Suspects #35 on their list of 101 Greatest Screenplays.
McQuarrie spent the next several years dividing his time between rewriting studio movies (such as Singer’s X-Men
) and developing a screenplay on the life of Alexander the Great, written with Peter Buchman, for Martin Scorsese
and Leonardo DiCaprio
. (Scorsese and DiCaprio chose to do The Aviator first, making way for Oliver Stone
to produce his version of Alexander
.)
McQuarrie also wrote and directed The Way of the Gun
, starring Benicio del Toro
, Ryan Phillippe
, and James Caan. Despite a desire to move away from the crime genre, it was the only arena in which he could find any creative control. He set out to make a crime film about truly "criminal" criminals – a revisionist modern-day Western
populated with multi-layered characters whose actions are not motivated by backstories contrived to make them endearing and sympathetic. He also rejected the stylized approach that had come to define the action-crime genre – choosing instead to rely on story and performance. The film failed to live up to the acclaim of McQuarrie’s earlier films.
More recently McQuarrie has developed a script with co-writer Dylan Kussman
about the life of John Wilkes Booth
, and The Last Mission with co-writer Nathan Alexander detailing the harrowing last hours of WWII in the Pacific.
He wrote and produced Valkyrie
, which opened on December 25, 2008. The story is based on the real-life July 20, 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler
. The script was co-written with Nathan Alexander. The pair had access to members of the Stauffenberg family as well as a book written by Fabian von Schlabrendorff - a conspirator who survived. While doing research for the screenplay, they also spoke with Hitler's bodyguard. In an interview, McQuarrie talked about how the plot succeeded in one key respect; despite the conspirators' obvious failure to kill Hitler, one of their objectives was also for history to reflect that they tried so the world would know that not all of Germany or its military was sympathetic to Hitler. The film stars Tom Cruise
and is directed by Bryan Singer
.
, a 2005 best selling novel by Lee Child
. The film rights were sold to Paramount Pictures
. Josh Olson
worked on the early screenplay and adapted it from the original novel, while McQuarrie worked on the finished script.
Tom Cruise
was confirmed to play the role of Jack Reacher
amidst much criticism from fans claiming that he has neither the tough image or the physique to carry out the role. Cruise will also act as a producer on the film. In an interview with the BBC
, Lee Child stated that it would be impossible to find a suitable actor to play the giant Reacher and that it is impossible to recreate the feel of the book on the big screen, but Cruise had the talent to make an effective Reacher.
Filming will begin in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area on October 3, 2011, continuing through the end of January, 2012. The film is scheduled to be released in February 2013.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screenwriter, producer and director. His screenplays include The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
, for which he won the 1996
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
Academy Award, The Way of the Gun
The Way of the Gun
The Way of the Gun is a 2000 American film produced by Kenneth Kokin, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. It is considered a cult film. To date, this is the only film that McQuarrie has...
and Valkyrie
Valkyrie (film)
Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country...
.
He is the creator of NBC television series Persons Unknown.
Early life
McQuarrie was born and raised in Princeton JunctionPrinceton Junction, New Jersey
Princeton Junction is also a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak station on the Northeast Corridor line.Princeton Junction is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within West Windsor Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where he attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Princeton Junction in Mercer County, New Jersey, serving students in Grades 9 through 12...
with director Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
, actor Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
and musician James Murphy. In lieu of college he took a job working as an assistant teacher at a boarding school in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, and later hitchhiked around the western half of the continent. Returning to the United States a year later, he went to work for a detective agency in New Jersey for the next four years. In 1992, he applied to the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
and was on his way to the academy when former schoolmate Singer offered him the opportunity to write their first feature film, Public Access
Public Access
Public Access is a 1993 American drama film directed by Bryan Singer in his feature film debut. Singer also wrote the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie and Michael Feit Dougan. The film was shot in 18 days for US$250,000. It was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it was...
, winner of the 1993 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
’s grand jury prize.
Career
Singer and McQuarrie collaborated again on the 1995 film The Usual SuspectsThe Usual Suspects
The Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
, for which McQuarrie received best screenplay awards from Premiere
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
magazine, The Texas Board of Review, and the Chicago Critics as well as the Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
, The Independent Spirit Award, and the British and American Academy Awards. The film was later included on the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
list of the 1000 greatest films ever made, and the character Verbal Kint was included on AFI’s
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
list of the 100 greatest Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest screen characters chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
of all time. In 2006, the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
voted The Usual Suspects #35 on their list of 101 Greatest Screenplays.
McQuarrie spent the next several years dividing his time between rewriting studio movies (such as Singer’s X-Men
X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...
) and developing a screenplay on the life of Alexander the Great, written with Peter Buchman, for Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
and Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
. (Scorsese and DiCaprio chose to do The Aviator first, making way for Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
to produce his version of Alexander
Alexander (film)
Alexander is a 2004 epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It is not a remake of the 1956 film which starred Richard Burton. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role...
.)
McQuarrie also wrote and directed The Way of the Gun
The Way of the Gun
The Way of the Gun is a 2000 American film produced by Kenneth Kokin, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. It is considered a cult film. To date, this is the only film that McQuarrie has...
, starring Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
, Ryan Phillippe
Ryan Phillippe
Matthew Ryan Phillippe , better known as Ryan Phillippe, is an American actor. After appearing on the soap opera One Life to Live, he came to fame in the late 1990s starring in a string of films, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, and 54...
, and James Caan. Despite a desire to move away from the crime genre, it was the only arena in which he could find any creative control. He set out to make a crime film about truly "criminal" criminals – a revisionist modern-day Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
populated with multi-layered characters whose actions are not motivated by backstories contrived to make them endearing and sympathetic. He also rejected the stylized approach that had come to define the action-crime genre – choosing instead to rely on story and performance. The film failed to live up to the acclaim of McQuarrie’s earlier films.
More recently McQuarrie has developed a script with co-writer Dylan Kussman
Dylan Kussman
Dylan Kussman is a film and television actor who played the part of Richard Cameron in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society as well as Dr. Allen Painter in The Way of the Gun in 2000. He has also appeared in such films as Leatherheads and X2 , and is the writer, director, and star of the online noir...
about the life of John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor...
, and The Last Mission with co-writer Nathan Alexander detailing the harrowing last hours of WWII in the Pacific.
He wrote and produced Valkyrie
Valkyrie (film)
Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country...
, which opened on December 25, 2008. The story is based on the real-life July 20, 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. The script was co-written with Nathan Alexander. The pair had access to members of the Stauffenberg family as well as a book written by Fabian von Schlabrendorff - a conspirator who survived. While doing research for the screenplay, they also spoke with Hitler's bodyguard. In an interview, McQuarrie talked about how the plot succeeded in one key respect; despite the conspirators' obvious failure to kill Hitler, one of their objectives was also for history to reflect that they tried so the world would know that not all of Germany or its military was sympathetic to Hitler. The film stars Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
and is directed by Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
.
One Shot
One Shot is an upcoming film being directed by McQuarrie, an adaptation of One ShotOne Shot (novel)
-Awards and nominations:*2006 Macavity Award nominee, Best Mystery Novel*New York Times Bestseller-Film adaption:Paramount Pictures own the rights to One Shot and a film is said to be in production. Josh Olson is attached to write the script. Tom Cruise has been confirmed to play the role of Jack...
, a 2005 best selling novel by Lee Child
Lee Child
Jim Grant , better known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British thriller writer. His wife Jane is a New Yorker, and they currently live in New York state. His first novel, Killing Floor, won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel....
. The film rights were sold to Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. Josh Olson
Josh Olson
Josh Olson is an American screenwriter and director. Olson began his career working as a production assistant in the art department on the 1987 film Masters of the Universe...
worked on the early screenplay and adapted it from the original novel, while McQuarrie worked on the finished script.
Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
was confirmed to play the role of Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher is a fictional character created by British author Jim Grant who writes under the pen name of Lee Child.-Biographical information:...
amidst much criticism from fans claiming that he has neither the tough image or the physique to carry out the role. Cruise will also act as a producer on the film. In an interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Lee Child stated that it would be impossible to find a suitable actor to play the giant Reacher and that it is impossible to recreate the feel of the book on the big screen, but Cruise had the talent to make an effective Reacher.
Filming will begin in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area on October 3, 2011, continuing through the end of January, 2012. The film is scheduled to be released in February 2013.
Filmography
- Public AccessPublic AccessPublic Access is a 1993 American drama film directed by Bryan Singer in his feature film debut. Singer also wrote the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie and Michael Feit Dougan. The film was shot in 18 days for US$250,000. It was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it was...
(with Bryan SingerBryan SingerBryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
and Michael Feit Dougan) (1993) - NYPD BlueNYPD BlueNYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
(1994) (TV) - The Usual SuspectsThe Usual SuspectsThe Usual Suspects is a 1995 American neo-noir film written by Christopher McQuarrie and directed by Bryan Singer. It stars Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Spacey and Pete Postlethwaite....
(1995) - X-MenX-Men (film)X-Men is a 2000 superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics characters of the same name. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Bruce Davison, James Marsden, Halle Berry, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park and Tyler Mane...
(with David HayterDavid HayterDavid Hayter is a Canadian-American voice and screen actor and screenwriter. He is best known for providing the English voices of Solid Snake and Big Boss in the Metal Gear video game series, and for writing the screenplay for X-Men and co-writing the screenplay for The Scorpion King and X2...
) (2000) (uncredited) - The Way of the GunThe Way of the GunThe Way of the Gun is a 2000 American film produced by Kenneth Kokin, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan. It is considered a cult film. To date, this is the only film that McQuarrie has...
(2000) (also Director) - ValkyrieValkyrie (film)Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country...
(with Nathan Alexander) (2008) (also Producer) - The TouristThe Tourist (2010 film)The Tourist is a 2010 romantic thriller film directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. It is a remake of the 2005 French action film Anthony Zimmer....
(with Florian Henckel von DonnersmarckFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckFlorian Maria Georg Christian, Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck is a German film director, best known for writing and directing the 2007 Oscar-winning film The Lives of Others and the 2010 film The Tourist.-Personal life and family:...
and Julian FellowesJulian FellowesJulian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, DL , known as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, as well as a Conservative peer.-Early life:...
) (2010) - Persons Unknown (2010) (TV) (Creator)
- Jack the Giant KillerJack the Giant Killer (2012 film)Jack the Giant Killer is an upcoming fantasy / adventure film based on the fairy tale of the same name. The film is directed by Bryan Singer and stars Nicholas Hoult as the titular hero with a script written by Darren Lemke, Christopher McQuarrie and Dan Studney...
(with Mark BombackMark BombackMark Bomback is an American screenwriter originally from New Rochelle, NY. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.- Screenwriter :*The Night Caller...
, Darren Lemke and Dan Studney) (2012) - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (with Andre NemecAndré NemecAndré Nemec is the writer and producer on hit television show Alias. Past credits for writing include episodes of Alias, Fastlane, She Spies, and Profiler. Nemec is the creator, writer and producer of October Road...
, Josh Applebaum and J.J. Abrams) (2012)
External links
- indieWIRE.com INTERVIEW: Christopher McQuarrie's Way of the Writer-Director. By Matthew BreenMatthew BreenMatthew Breen is a journalist and entertainment writer living in Los Angeles, CA, United States. He is the editor-in-chief of The Advocate, a national gay news magazine, and editorial director for The Advocate Group....
- Creative Screenwriting Magazine Podcast with Christopher McQuarrie (via iTunes)