Director/writer James Gray has come aboard biscuit filmworks for commercial representation worldwide except for France where he continues to be handled by Les Telecreateurs, Paris. Gray wrote and directed The Immigrant, a film starring Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix, set to debut at the Cannes Film Festival this month. His most recent commercial effort, Citro๏ฟฝn’s “Impossible” starring Ewan McGregor and Vinessa Shaw–and produced by Les Telecreateurs–broke on air earlier this month; he has also directed for Martell Cognac and a L’Oreal campaign starring Patrick Dempsey.
Gray made his directorial debut in 1994 with Little Odessa, a critically acclaimed film, which received the Critics Award at the Deauville Film Festival as well as the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. That same year, he received nominations from the Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. In 2000 Gray wrote and directed The Yards, his second feature and his first with Joaquin Phoenix who would become a frequent collaborator, going on to star in his next three films. The drama premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000. Gray’s New York crime drama We Own the Night, (2007) stars Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes and Robert Duvall. The film received a Cesar nomination in 2008 for Best Foreign Film and screened in competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Gray’s feature Two Lovers, (2008) then received nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Female Lead. The Brooklyn-set drama stars Phoenix opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw and Isabella Rossellini. The film premiered in competition at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and went on to receive a Cesar nomination for Best Foreign Film in 2009.
Born in New York City, Gray grew up in Queens and attended the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television.
“Storytelling is mostly about economy, especially in features,” said Gray. “I love making commercials because you have to hone in on storytelling with even greater discipline and focus on the visual message and still communicate an idea with great speed, accuracy and effectiveness.”
Prior to biscuit, Gray was repped by Anonymous Content. He now joins a biscuit directorial roster that includes company co-founder Noam Murro, Andreas Nilsson, Aaron Ruell, Aaron Stoller, Christopher Riggert, Clay Weiner, Jeff Low, Malcolm Murray, Mike Maguire, Philippe Andre, Steve Rogers and Tim Godsall.
Hwang Dong-hyuk On Season 2 of “Squid Game,” Wrapping Production on Season 3; What’s Next?
Viewers may gasp, cringe or cry out watching characters die on Netflix's "Squid Game," but those simulated deaths have a different effect on its creator, writer and director. Instead, Hwang Dong-hyuk feels happiness seeing them go.
The show has a huge cast and Hwang says it was "really difficult" to manage everyone on set.
As characters would die, Hwang recalls saying to the actors on their last day, "'Oh no! How sad! I won't see you tomorrow,' but I was always smiling inside."
"Squid Game" season two premieres Thursday. It once again stars Lee Jung-jae and centers around a secret competition in South Korea that targets people in debt and the winner gets a big cash prize. What they don't know is that losing the game is deadly.
Hwang originally conceived of the show 15 years ago as a two-hour film but it failed to gain traction with financiers or even interested actors. He put it aside and worked on other films instead. He then had the idea to make it a TV series instead and took the project to Netflix. There, it could reach a wide audience.
"I never in my wildest dream thought it was going to be this huge," said Hwang, who spoke about the show and what comes next. Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Q: What have you learned from "Squid Game"?
HWANG: I learned that I shouldn't give up. If you love something and if you want to create something, it might not work now, but the time might come later. Or that idea could be the source of inspiration for something else.
Q: You've already finished filming season three of "Squid Game." Have you thought about what your next project will be?
HWANG: I'm afraid to talk... Read More