Director J.C. Chandor–whose feature filmography consists of Margin Call (for which he earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination in 2012), All Is Lost, and A Most Violent Year–has joined RESET, the production house founded by managing director Dave Morrison and filmmaker David Fincher, for commercials and branded content worldwide.
Chandor had previously been handled in the ad arena by Washington Square Films, which was involved in all three of the director’s features.
Last December, the National Board of Review (NBR) tabbed director/writer Chandor’s A Most Violent Year as the Best Film of 2014. A drama set during the winter of 1981–statistically one of the most violent crime years in New York City’s history–A Most Violent Year starred Oscar Isaac as Abel Morales, a fuel supplier who’s trying to grow his business while staying true to his moral compass, a proposition which seems impossible in the face of rampant violence and corruption. Both the business and Morales’ family–including his wife portrayed by Jessica Chastain–are in jeopardy.
“A Most Violent Year is an exhilarating crime drama with a compelling story, outstanding performances, and an elegant cinematic style,” said Annie Schulhof, NBR president. “J.C. Chandor has given us a new and provocative perspective on the American Dream.”
NBR voting yielded a tie for the Best Actor honor between Isaac for A Most Violent Year and Michael Keaton for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Chastain earned Best Supporting Actress distinction for her performance in A Most Violent Year.
A Most Violent Year also garnered Chandor an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay in 2015. The year prior, Chandor was a Spirit Award nominee for Best Director on the strength of All Is Lost, which starred Robert Redford as a man who sails the Indian Ocean alone and suddenly finds himself in desperate survival mode when his boat is damaged and heads into a violent storm. On display are his ingenuity and resilience as well as his inner spirit as he faces the prospects of his own mortality. Chandor wrote the action/adventure film in a way whereby audiences came to know the Redford character through what he was experiencing rather than the spoken word.
A Most Violent Year and All Is Lost continued a Spirit Awards tradition for Chandor which began with Margin Call, a Wall Street-themed thriller that featured an ensemble cast including Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker and Demi Moore. Chandor’s debut theatrical motion picture, Margin Call, earned Best First Feature distinction from both the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and the Spirit Awards in 2012. At the latter competition, Margin Call additionally won the coveted Robert Altman Award, which is the Spirit’s Best Creative Ensemble honor spanning its director, casting directors and cast. Chandor also was named Best Debut Director by the National Board of Review.
