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 directing 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 episodes of the Fox science fiction series Fringe. Earlier in his career he directed the romantic comedies Next Stop Wonderland (1998) and Happy Accidents (2000).
Brad Anderson | |
|---|---|
 Anderson in 2008 | |
| Born | April 5, 1964 |
| Alma mater | London Film School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | |
| Relatives | Holland Taylor (aunt) |
Biography
editEarly life
editAnderson 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
editAnderson 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 Thandiwe 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
editAnderson 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
editAnderson 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] As of 2024,"Jack" had not appeared.
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]
Anderson is slated to direct Peter Dinklage in the title role in an adaptation of Nobel prize winning author Pär Lagerkvist's novel The Dwarf.[19]
Filmography
editFilm
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Editor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Wake Up! On the Road with a Zen Master | Yes | — | No | No | Documentary; also cinematographer |
| 1995 | Frankenstein's Planet of Monsters! | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Short film; also cinematographer |
| 1996 | The Darien Gap | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Feature Film Debut |
| 1998 | Next Stop Wonderland | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Co-written with Lyn Vaus |
| 2000 | Happy Accidents | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2001 | Session 9 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Co-written with Stephen Gevedon |
| 2004 | The Machinist | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2008 | TransSiberian | Yes | Yes | No | No | Co-written with Will Conroy |
| 2010 | Vanishing on 7th Street | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2013 | The Call | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2014 | Stonehearst Asylum | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2018 | Beirut | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2019 | Fractured | Yes | No | No | No | |
| 2022 | Blood | Yes | No | Executive | No | |
| 2024 | The Silent Hour | Yes | No | No | No | |
| TBA | World Breaker | Yes | No | No | No | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | "Bones of Contention" |
| 2002–2006 | The Wire | "The Cost" "A New Day" |
| 2003 | The Shield | "Inferno" |
| 2006 | Masters of Horror | "Sounds Like" |
| 2008 | Fear Itself | "Spooked" |
| 2008–2011 | Fringe | "In Which We Meet Mr. Jones" "The Transformation" "Unleashed" "There's More Than One of Everything" "Night of Desirable Objects" "Olivia. In the Lab. With the Revolver." "The Plateau" "Entrada" "Immortality" "Os" "One Night in October" "And Those We've Left Behind" |
| 2010 | Treme | "Shallow Water, Oh Mama" |
| Rubicon | "A Good Day's Work" | |
| Undercovers | "Assassin" | |
| 2010–2011 | Boardwalk Empire | "Belle Femme" "Battle of the Century" |
| 2011 | The Killing | "Orpheus Descending" |
| Treme | "Carnival Time" | |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | "Legacy" |
| Alcatraz | "Cal Sweeney" | |
| The Killing | "Numb" | |
| 2013 | Almost Human | "Pilot" |
| 2014–2015 | Forever | "Pilot"[12] "The Ecstasy of Agony" "The Last Death of Henry Morgan" |
| 2015 | Zoo | "First Blood" |
| 2016 | Frequency | "Pilot" |
| 2017–18 | The Sinner | "Part IV" "Part VI" |
| 2017 | The Brave | "Pilot" |
| 2018 | Titans | "Titans" "Hawk and Dove" |
| 2019 | Treadstone | "The Kentucky Contract" "The Bentley Lament" |
| 2020 | Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector | "Requiem" |
| 2021 | Debris | "Pilot" |
| Clickbait | "The Sister" "The Wife" | |
| 2022 | Peacemaker | "Stop Dragon My Heart Around" |
| Devil in Ohio | "Mother's Keeper" "Rely-upon" | |
| 2023 | Invasion | "The Tunnel" "Pressure Points" "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
References
edit- ^ a b "Brad Anderson". TV.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^ "Brad Anderson Biography (1964–)". 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.
- ^ ""STONEHEARST ASYLUM" (Blu-ray Review)". 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). "Monday Final Ratings: 'Forever', 'Dancing With the Stars' & 'The Big Bang Theory' Adjusted Up; 'Scorpion' & 'America's Next Top Model' Adjusted Down". 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'". 26 May 2010.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "The Dwarf". IMDb.