Jay Russell – Bio
Best known for directing critically acclaimed audience-pleasing fare, filmmaker Jay Russell has an impressive track record of telling compelling stories with emotional resonance.
Russell completed his postgraduate studies at Columbia University in New York City, where he studied under the tutelage of Academy Award-winning director Milos Forman. After receiving his MFA in Screenwriting and Directing, Russell was invited to attend the Sundance Institute Film Workshop. It was there Russell developed his first film, “End of the Line”, a tale of two down-and-out railway workers played by Levon Helm and Wilford Brimley. The cast also included Kevin Bacon, Mary Steenburgen, and Holly Hunter.
Russell then developed a number of projects for Imagine Entertainment and TriStar Pictures. Russell also produced and directed documentary series and specials for NBC, CBS, The Learning Channel, and the Discovery Channel. At that time, Russell wrote, produced, and directed episodes of “Great Drives”, a miniseries on America’s most famous highways.
During the filming of “Great Drives,” Russell met Pulitzer-nominated author Willie Morris, who was working on an autobiographical memoir about his childhood, “My Dog Skip”, which became a national bestseller. Russell secured the movie rights to the book, which led to the Russell-produced and directed film adaptation of Warner Bros./Alcon’s release, “My Dog Skip”, which starred Kevin Bacon, Frankie Muniz, Luke Wilson, and Diane Lane. The film was a hit with critics and audiences alike and went on to score numerous awards, including the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Family Film.
Russell followed up with Walt Disney’s “Tuck Everlasting”, starring Alexis Bledel (Handmaid’s Tale) along with Academy Award winners, Sir Ben Kingsley, William Hurt, and Sissy Spacek. The well-received fantasy was also nominated for a Critics’ Choice Award for Best Family Film.
Next, Russell tackled his most commercial project yet with Disney/Touchstone Pictures’ “Ladder 49.” The film, an ode to the heroism of firefighters, starred Academy Award nominee John Travolta and Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as a pair of Baltimore firemen who share a father-and-son relationship that forges the backbone of this emotionally satisfying film. “Ladder 49” remains one of the top October weekend openers of all time and went on to make over $100 million in worldwide box office.
Next, Sony Pictures’ “Water Horse: Legend of the Deep” was one of the best-reviewed family films of its year. Starring Alex Etel, Ben Chaplin, Brian Cox, and Academy Award winner Emily Watson, the film was nominated by the Visual Effects Society for the groundbreaking digital work of the world-famous New Zealand FX company, Weta Digital. Worldwide, “The Water Horse” became Russell’s second $100 million+ dollar moneymaker in a row.
In different media, Russell produced the world premiere of the theatrical stage production of the classic thriller, “Rear Window,” adapted by Keith Reddin and directed by Tony Award winner, Darko Tresnjak, starring Kevin Bacon, McKinley Belcher III, Melinda Page Hamilton, Robert Stanton, and John Bedford Lloyd. He also co-wrote his first graphic novel, “Black Sparrow,” published by John Carpenter’s Storm-King Productions.
Russell is currently developing a feature he is co-writing and will direct, “The Renaud Brothers,” inspired by the Academy Award-nominated short documentary, “Armed Only With a Camera.”
AWARDS
Critic’s Choice Award – Best Family Film – MY DOG SKIP
Giffoni Film Festival – Silver Medal – MY DOG SKIP
Christopher Award Winner – MY DOG SKIP
Critic’s Choice Awards Nomination – Best Family Film – TUCK EVERLASTING
Heartland Film Festival – Truly Moving Picture Award – TUCK EVERLASTING
Andrew Sarris Achievement Award for Directing
Movie Guide Award – Most Inspiring Film – LADDER 49
Teen Choice Award Nomination – Best Drama – LADDER 49
Visual Effects Society Awards Nomination – THE WATER HORSE
Diamond Award for Excellence in Filmmaking –
Little Rock Film Festival
Honorary Board of Directors for Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation
ACADEMIC AWARDS
Louis B. Mayer Foundation Grant
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Fellowship
