Dan Gilroy
Gilroy at Fantastic Fest 2014
Born
Daniel Christopher Gilroy

(1959-06-24) June 24, 1959
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Alma materDartmouth College (BA)
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Years active1992–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1992)​
Children1
Parents
RelativesTony Gilroy (brother)
John Gilroy (twin brother)

Daniel Christopher Gilroy[1] (born June 24, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known for writing and directing Nightcrawler (2014), for which he won Best Screenplay at the 30th Independent Spirit Awards, and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 87th Academy Awards. His other screenwriting credits include Freejack (1992), Two for the Money (2005), The Fall (2006), Real Steel (2011), and The Bourne Legacy (2012)—the last in collaboration with his brother Tony Gilroy. His wife, Rene Russo, has also been his frequent collaborator since the two met in 1992 and married later that year.[lower-alpha 1]

Early life and education

Dan Gilroy was born on June 24, 1959, in Santa Monica, California.[6][7] He is the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Frank D. Gilroy (1925–2015),[8][9] and sculptor and writer Ruth Dorothy Gaydos.[7] His brother, Tony Gilroy, is a screenwriter and director, and his fraternal twin brother, John Gilroy, is a film editor.[7][10] Dan Gilroy remembered that as a boy, seeing his father work and write at home full-time simplified the intricacies of becoming a writer.[11]

Gilroy grew up in Washingtonville, New York,[7] where he attended Washingtonville High School.[12] In 1981, he graduated with a degree in English literature from Dartmouth College,[10] which his father also attended.[8] At Dartmouth, he and Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr were classmates and attended a class taught by David Thomson, another film critic. Gilroy developed a strong interest in written works of the Victorian era—chiefly those of Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and George Eliot.[11]

Career

Gilroy's debut novel, a thriller titled Sight Unseen, was published by Carroll & Graf Publishers in 1989. It tells the story of an NSA satellite analyst who discovers a sunken Russian submarine off the coast of California containing the remains of American sailors.[13] Reviewing for The New York Times, Newgate Callendar called the novel "a clever, smoothly written piece of work that is never dull."[14][15]

Gilroy began his screenwriting career by co-writing the science fiction thriller Freejack (1992) with Steven Pressfield and Ronald Shusett, directed by Geoff Murphy and based on the novel Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley.[2][11] There, he met the film's co-star Rene Russo, whom he married later that year.[11] After Freejack, he wrote for the films Chasers (1994), Two for the Money (2005), and The Fall (2006).[16] In his positive review of Two for the Money, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said Gilroy's script "is about three people who are transformed in relation to one another, as a situation develops that is equally dangerous all the way around".[3]

With Jeremy Leven, he co-wrote for Real Steel (2011), directed by Shawn Levy and based on Richard Matheson's short story "Steel".[17] He co-wrote with his brother Tony Gilroy the script for The Bourne Legacy (2012), which was edited by his fraternal twin brother, John Gilroy.[11] Directed by Tony Gilroy, the film is inspired by Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne novel series.[18] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times described the Gilroys' script as something that "has given [Tony] much more to wrangle—locations, characters, hardware, franchise expectations—than he's had to deal with in the past",[19] while Toronto Star reviewer Peter Howell said it resorted "too much into jabbering and jargon and not enough into action".[20]

Gilroy made his directorial debut with the thriller Nightcrawler (2014),[21] which starred Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, and Riz Ahmed.[4] Gilroy also wrote the script, which he conceived in 1988 after reading the photo-book Naked City, a collection of photographs taken by American photographer Weegee of 1940s New York City residents at night.[22] Gilroy did not begin writing the script until he moved to Los Angeles two years later, when he recognized an abundance of violent stories on television news. According to Gilroy, he considers the film to be a success story about a modern equivalent of Weegee, and a cautionary tale about the risks posed by capitalism.[11] Nightcrawler was well received by the press on release, as was Gilroy's script,[23] for which he was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 87th Academy Awards,[24] and won Best Screenplay at the 30th Independent Spirit Awards.[25] At the Independent Spirit Awards, Gilroy closed his acceptance speech by lamenting the proliferation of superhero films in Hollywood.[26]

In 2017, he co-wrote Jordan Vogt-Roberts's adventure Kong: Skull Island with Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly,[27] and wrote and directed Roman J. Israel, Esq., a legal drama starring Denzel Washington.[28][29] Gilroy conceived of Roman J. Israel after doing extensive research about the 1960s where many Americans have staunchly protested and advocated certain individual and group rights.[30] The script had started as a spec, whose title role he wrote specifically for Washington; Gilroy has said that he would not have made the film had Washington declined to take over the role.[31] After its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), he re-edited the film by trimming thirteen minutes of runtime to get the plot to arrive quickly as the previous cut had laid much emphasis on the characters.[32] On release, although Washington's performance was mostly praised,[36] Gilroy's script for the film drew ambivalent responses from the press: Peter Travers at Rolling Stone praised it as "above standard-issue legal thriller but below the transcendent personal drama it aspires to be",[33] while Entertainment Weekly's Chris Nashawaty felt it was ultimately a letdown.[35]

Other projects

Gilroy was hired by Tim Burton to re-write Wesley Strick's Superman Lives script, making it more budget conscious and expanding the psychology for the final shooting drafts before it was cancelled by WB. Gilroy later appeared in the documentary The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? (2015) to recount his contribution to the project.[37] In 2011, he was due to write a film adaptation of the comic strip adventure The Annihilator.[38]

Personal life

Gilroy resides in Los Angeles with actress Rene Russo, to whom he has been married since 1992.[11] The couple has a daughter, Rose.[39]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Director Writer Notes Ref.
1992 Freejack No Yes [2]
1994 Chasers No Yes [40]
2005 Two for the Money No Yes Also executive producer [41]
2006 The Fall No Yes [42]
2011 Real Steel No Story [17]
2012 The Bourne Legacy No Yes [18]
2014 Nightcrawler Yes Yes Directorial debut [21]
2017 Kong: Skull Island No Yes [27]
Roman J. Israel, Esq. Yes Yes Formerly titled Inner City [29]
2019 Velvet Buzzsaw Yes Yes [43]

Producer only

Television

Year Title Notes
2007 City of Light 6 episodes
2022 Andor 3 episodes

Notes

  1. ↑ Rene Russo appeared in Freejack, Two for the Money, Nightcrawler, and Velvet Buzzsaw—all films that Gilroy has written.[2][3][4][5]

References

  1. ↑ Umland, Samuel J. (2015). The Tim Burton Encyclopedia. United States: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-8108-9200-2.
  2. 1 2 3 Maslin, Janet (January 18, 1992). "Review/Film; Scurrying Back in Time In Search of a Healthy Body". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Ebert, Roger (October 6, 2005). "Two for the Money Review (2005)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Scott, A. O. (October 30, 2014). "The First Responder Is a Cameraman, Nightcrawler Stars Jake Gyllenhaal as an Obsessive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ Davids, Brian (February 1, 2019). "Netflix Gave 'Velvet Buzzsaw' Filmmaker Dan Gilroy the Budget No Studio Would". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Dan Gilroy". Hollywood.com. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Kennedy, Lisa (March 22, 2009). "Tony Gilroy writes himself perfect role: intrepid filmmaker". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  8. 1 2 Stedman, Alex (September 13, 2015). "Frank Gilroy, Pulitzer-Winning Subject Was Roses Scribe, Dies at 89". Variety. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Frank D Gilroy, Pulitzer prize-winning playwright, dies aged 89". Associated Press. September 14, 2015. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Wagner, Pamela Mason. "Director's Cut". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. No. March–April 2015. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sragow, Michael (February 10, 2015). "Interview: Dan Gilroy". Film Comment. ISSN 0015-119X. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ Farlekas, Chris (October 7, 2005). "Lots of local affiliation to major Hollywood films". Times Herald-Record. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Sight Unseen". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ Callendar, Newgate (June 16, 1989). "Spies & Thrillers". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Dartmouth Authors". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. September 1, 1989. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  16. ↑ Goldstein, Gregg (January 2, 2015). "10 Directors to Watch: Dan Gilroy Dissects L.A. in Nightcrawler, Next Project". Variety. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  17. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (October 6, 2011). "Bare-Knuckle Bots, Showing Their Mettle in the Boxing Ring". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  18. 1 2 Debruge, Peter (August 6, 2012). "The Bourne Legacy". Variety. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  19. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (August 9, 2012). "Bourne, Under New Management". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  20. ↑ Howell, Peter (August 9, 2012). "The Bourne Legacy review: Thrill killer". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  21. 1 2 "If You Don't Read this Interview with Nightcrawler Director Dan Gilroy, Something Terrible Will Happen to You!". Yahoo! Movies. October 31, 2014. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  22. ↑ Friend, Tad (November 10, 2014). "Rembrandt Lighting". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  23. ↑ Labrecque, Jeff (October 31, 2014). "'Nightcrawler': The reviews are in..." Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  24. ↑ Han, Angie (January 15, 2015). "2015 Academy Awards Nominations". /Film. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
  25. ↑ Rich, Katey (February 21, 2015). "Complete List of Film Independent Spirit Award Winners". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on April 12, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Dan Gilroy on the "Tsunami of Superhero Movies" at the Independent Spirit Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. February 21, 2015. Event occurs at 0:13. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  27. 1 2 Dargis, Manohla (March 9, 2017). "Review: Kong: Skull Island Crosses a 1933 Classic With Apocalypse Now". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  28. ↑ "Denzel Washington Circling Dan Gilroy's Legal Drama Inner City (EXCLUSIVE)". Archived from the original on 2017-09-16.
  29. 1 2 Borys, Kit (June 22, 2017). "Sony's Denzel Washington Legal Drama Gets Title (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  30. ↑ Mokry, Natalie (November 14, 2017). "A Conversation with Dan Gilroy". Film School Rejects. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  31. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 20, 2017). "Dan Gilroy Encouraged Denzel Washington To Change Lanes For Roman J. Israel Esq". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  32. ↑ Cook, Tommy (November 23, 2017). "Dan Gilroy on Roman J. Israel Esq., Re-Editing the Film After TIFF, and More". Collider. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  33. 1 2 Travers, Peter (November 16, 2017). "Roman J. Israel, Esq Review: 'Great' Denzel Washington Breaks New Ground". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  34. ↑ Kenigsberg, Ben (November 16, 2017). "Review: In 'Roman J. Israel, Esq.,' Denzel Washington as a Lawyer Out of His Element". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  35. 1 2 Nashawaty, Chris (November 17, 2017). "Denzel Washington is great in the less-great Roman J. Israel, Esq.: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  36. ↑ [33][34][35]
  37. ↑ Collis, Clark (July 1, 2015). "The Death of 'Superman Lives': What Happened?: What really killed the '90s superhero project?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015.
  38. ↑ Taylor, Drew (December 7, 2011). "Real Steel Writer Dan Gilroy To Pen Asian-Themed Superhero The Annihilator For Stan Lee". IndieWire. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  39. ↑ Okwodu, Janelle (July 20, 2016). "Will Rene Russo's Daughter Be Fashion's New Favorite Face?". Vogue. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  40. ↑ Maslin, Janet (April 23, 1994). "Review/Film; Digression And Color Are All of It For Hopper". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  41. ↑ Schoell, William (13 April 2016). Al Pacino: In Films and on Stage (2nd ed.). United States: McFarland & Company. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-7864-7196-6.
  42. ↑ Ebert, Roger (May 29, 2008). "The Fall Review and Film Summary (2006)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  43. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (June 20, 2017). "Hot Package: 'Nightcrawler's Dan Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo Reteam". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
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