Craig Gillespie
Biography
Biography
Craig Gillespie was an Australian film director whose notable films included the critically-acclaimed dramedy "Lars and the Real Girl" (2007), the 2011 remake of "Fright Night," and the true-life baseball story "Million Dollar Arm." Gillespie was born on September 1, 1979 in Sydney, Australia. At the age of nineteen, Gillespie moved to New York City to enroll at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts to study illustration, graphic design, and advertising. In the ensuing years, Gillespie became a successful commercial director, earning several Directors Guild of America nominations and a win for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials for his work with sub-prime mortgage lender Ameriquest and breath mint brand Altoids in 2006. It was not until 2007 that Gillespie made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy "Mr. Woodcock," which starred Academy Award-winner Billy Bob Thornton as a hellish high school gym teacher. After wrapping up "Mr. Woodcock," the Australian director started to work on "Lars the Real Girl," starring Ryan Gosling as a young man who falls in love with a plastic sex doll; despite the oddball premise, the film attracted considerable notice for its sensitive tone and Gosling's subtle performance. In 2009, he was tapped by executive producers Diablo Cody and Steven Spielberg to direct several episodes of Cody's series, "The United States of Tara" (Showtime 2009-2011), a comedy-drama about a suburban housewife (Toni Collette) with multiple personalities. Gillespie's next feature was a remake of the 1985 horror cult favorite "Fright Night" (2011), starring Colin Farrell as vampire Jerry Dandridge. Gillespie followed "Fright Night" with the Walt Disney sports film "Million Dollar Arm" (2014). The film, based on the true story of two Indian cricket players recruited to play baseball by American sports agent J.B. Bernstein (Jon Hamm), garnered decent reviews and box office.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Life Events
2006
Directed his first film, the comedy "Mr. Woodcock"
2007
Directed "Lars and the Real Girl" starring Ryan Gosling
2014
Directed "Million Dollar Arm" starring Jon Hamm.
