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IMDbPro

Mick Garris

  • Writer
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Mick Garris
Trailer for Digging Up the Marrow
Play trailer1:32
Digging Up the Marrow (2014)
6 Videos
22 Photos
Born in Santa Monica, California, on December 4, 1951, Mick Garris grew up with his mother in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Van Nuys from age 12, following his parents' divorce. Garris was making his own 8mm home movies around that time, and when he got older be became a freelance critic for a number of film and music celebrities. He wrote publications for various bands and movies for newspapers and magazines like "The San Diego Door", "The Los Angewles Herald-Examiner", "Cinefantastique" and "Starlog" through the 1970s.

For eight years he was the lead singer in a band called The Horsefeathers Quintet, which disbanded in 1976. In 1977 Garris was hired as a receptionist in George Lucas' newly formed company Star Wars Corporation where, through industry contacts, he created and served as the on-screen host for a Los Angeles cable access interview program show called "Fastasy Film Festival," which aired on L.A.'s legendary Z-Channel. Guests included filmmakers like John Landis, Joe Dante, John Carpenter and Steven Spielberg and actors like William Shatner and Christopher Lee.

In 1980 Garris worked as a press agent for the newly merged Pickwick-Maslansky-Koeninsberg agency. He also began making a name for himself with photographing and directing "making-of..." features for such films as Scanners (1981), The Howling (1981), Halloween II (1981), The Thing (1982) and Videodrome (1983). In 1982 Garris was hired by MCA/Universal to write the script for Coming Soon (1982), which was a collection of horror movie trailers featuring Jamie Lee Curtis as the hostess and directed by John Landis. While struggling to find more work, Garris was hired by Steven Spielberg to be one of the writers and story editors for Spielberg's sci-fi anthology series Amazing Stories (1985). Garris worked as as an editor again for Spielberg in the sci-fi fantasy *batteries not included (1987). He also wrote screenplays for more horror anthology TV shows, from Freddy's Nightmares (1988) to a stint on the HBO cable series Tales from the Crypt (1989), as well as co-writer on the screenplays for The Fly II (1989) and the 'Stephen Sommers' remake The Mummy (1999). Garris wrote and directed Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) as a prequel to the Anthony Perkins "Psycho" films, featuring Perkins in his fourth (and last) appearance as Norman Bates. Co-starring with Perkins was Henry Thomas (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) fame), whom Garris hired to play young Norman. That same year Garris was approached by MCA/Universal to create a syndicated TV series about werewolves which was to be based on the hit John Landis film An American Werewolf in London (1981). The resulting series, She-Wolf of London (1990), ran for two seasons.

In 1992 Garris directed an original screenplay by Stephen King, Sleepwalkers (1992). The following year Garris received story and screenplay credit for the comic horror film Hocus Pocus (1993), and the year after that he took the reins at the request of Stephen King for the six-hour mini-series The Stand (1994) based on King's best-selling horror novel. The mini-series, which had a grueling 20-month shooting schedule, was one of the most-watched shows of 1994. Garris and King again teamed up for a three-part made-for-TV rewriting of King's novel, The Shining (1997). Later that year Garris oversaw the directing for Quicksilver Highway (1997), based on a pair of horror stories by King and Clive Barker. Garris directed Höst (1998) (later changed to "Virtual Obsession"), based on a novel by Peter James, with a screenplay written by P.G. Sturges, about a computer genius stalked by a female colleague bent on digitizing her consciousness. Taking a break from horror films, Garris directed The Judge (2001), an adaption of the mystery novel by Steve Martini. Garris and Stephen King reunited for Riding the Bullet (2004), directed by Garris and written by King, based on an internet short short about a hitchhiker being picked up by a soul-searching angel of death driving a 1959 Plymouth. They also collaborated on Desperation (2006), based on King's 1997 horror novel.

In 2005 Garris was able to assemble a group of his fellow horror film directors in the anthology horror series Masters of Horror (2005), which he created and executive-produced. Garris' own contribution, "Chocolate", was based on his own short story, written 20 years earlier.
BornDecember 4, 1951
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornDecember 4, 1951
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 6 wins & 5 nominations

Photos22

Mick Garris in The Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash (2018)
Mick Garris in Once Upon a Time (2011)
Mick Garris, Emma Booth, Rebecca Mader, and Tiera Skovbye in Once Upon a Time (2011)
Mick Garris and Tiera Skovbye in Once Upon a Time (2011)
Mick Garris in Once Upon a Time (2011)
Mick Garris in Once Upon a Time (2011)
Mick Garris in Sleepwalkers (1992)
Rick Baker and Mick Garris in Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)
Frank Darabont and Mick Garris in Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)
William Friedkin and Mick Garris in Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)
John Landis and Mick Garris in Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)
Wes Craven and Mick Garris in Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)

Known for

Kevin Costner, Harvey Keitel, Charlie Sheen, Christopher Lloyd, and John Lithgow in Amazing Stories (1985)
Amazing Stories
7.4
TV Series
  • Writer
Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)
Critters 2: The Main Course
5.5
  • Writer
  • 1988
Nightmare Cinema (2018)
Nightmare Cinema
5.5
  • Writer(segments Dead, The Projectionist)
  • 2018
Sleepwalkers (1992)
Sleepwalkers
5.3
  • Director
  • 1992

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer

  • Hocus Pocus
    • characters
    • In Development
    • TV Movie
  • Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Doug Jones, Lilia Buckingham, Belissa Escobedo, and Whitney Peak in Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
    Hocus Pocus 2
    • based on characters created by
    • 2022
  • Nightmare Cinema (2018)
    Nightmare Cinema
    • written by (segments Dead, The Projectionist)
    • 2018
  • Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)
    Post Mortem with Mick Garris
    • created by (creator)
    • TV Series
    • 2010–2016
  • Fear Itself (2008)
    Fear Itself
    • creator
    • written by
    • TV Series
    • 2008–2009
  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • creator
    • written by
    • teleplay ...
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2007
  • Riding the Bullet (2004)
    Riding the Bullet
    • screenplay
    • 2004
  • Bill Cobbs, Missy Crider, Gabriel Macht, and Julianne Nicholson in The Others (2000)
    The Others
    • writer
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • Host (1998)
    Host
    • teleplay
    • TV Movie
    • 1998
  • Quicksilver Highway (1997)
    Quicksilver Highway
    • teleplay
    • TV Movie
    • 1997
  • Ghosts (1996)
    Ghosts
    • screenplay
    • story
    • Short
    • 1996
  • Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy in Hocus Pocus (1993)
    Hocus Pocus
    • screenplay
    • story
    • 1993
  • She-Wolf of London (1990)
    She-Wolf of London
    • creator
    • written by
    • TV Series
    • 1990–1991
  • The Fly II (1989)
    The Fly II
    • screenplay by
    • story by
    • 1989
  • Critters 2: The Main Course (1988)
    Critters 2: The Main Course
    • written by
    • 1988
  • Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in *batteries not included (1987)
    *batteries not included
    • story by
    • 1987

Producer

  • Ghost Cat
    • producer
    • In Production
  • Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018)
    Eli Roth's History of Horror
    • consulting producer
    • TV Series
    • 2018
  • Nightmare Cinema (2018)
    Nightmare Cinema
    • producer
    • 2018
  • Post Mortem with Mick Garris (2009)
    Post Mortem with Mick Garris
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2010–2016
  • Jack O'Connell in Unbroken (2014)
    Unbroken
    • executive producer
    • 2014
  • Bag of Bones (2011)
    Bag of Bones
    • executive producer
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2011
  • Masters of Science Fiction (2007)
    Masters of Science Fiction
    • co-executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2007
  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2007
  • Desperation (2006)
    Desperation
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 2006
  • Riding the Bullet (2004)
    Riding the Bullet
    • producer
    • 2004
  • Bill Cobbs, Missy Crider, Gabriel Macht, and Julianne Nicholson in The Others (2000)
    The Others
    • supervising producer
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • Host (1998)
    Host
    • producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1998
  • Quicksilver Highway (1997)
    Quicksilver Highway
    • producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1997
  • Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy in Hocus Pocus (1993)
    Hocus Pocus
    • co-executive producer
    • 1993
  • The Magical World of Disney (1954)
    The Magical World of Disney
    • producer (produced by)
    • TV Series
    • 1986
  • Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Kerri Green, and Ke Huy Quan in The Goonies (1985)
    The Making of 'the Goonies'
    • producer
    • TV Short
    • 1985

Director

  • A Noble Lie aka Invasion
    • Director
    • In Development
  • Nightmare Cinema (2018)
    Nightmare Cinema
    • Director (segments The Projectionist, Dead)
    • 2018
  • Dania Ramirez in Once Upon a Time (2011)
    Once Upon a Time
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2017–2018
  • Dead of Summer (2016)
    Dead of Summer
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Harry Shum Jr., Emeraude Toubia, Katherine McNamara, Dominic Sherwood, Matthew Daddario, and Alberto Rosende in Shadowhunters (2016)
    Shadowhunters
    • Director (directed by)
    • TV Series
    • 2016
  • Julia Ormond, Mädchen Amick, Rachel Boston, and Jenna Dewan in Witches of East End (2013)
    Witches of East End
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2014
  • Ravenswood (2013)
    Ravenswood
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2014
  • Troian Bellisario, Sasha Pieterse, Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, and Shay Mitchell in Pretty Little Liars (2010)
    Pretty Little Liars
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2013
  • Bag of Bones (2011)
    Bag of Bones
    • Director
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2011
  • Happy Town (2010)
    Happy Town
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2010
  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2005–2006
  • Desperation (2006)
    Desperation
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2006
  • Riding the Bullet (2004)
    Riding the Bullet
    • Director
    • 2004
  • Melissa George in Lost in Oz (2002)
    Lost in Oz
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2002
  • The Judge (2001)
    The Judge
    • Director
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2001
  • Bill Cobbs, Missy Crider, Gabriel Macht, and Julianne Nicholson in The Others (2000)
    The Others
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2000
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos7

"Post Mortem" -- Rick Baker Interview
Interview 4:27
"Post Mortem" -- Rick Baker Interview
"Post Mortem" -- John Carpenter Interview
Interview 4:24
"Post Mortem" -- John Carpenter Interview
"Post Mortem with Mick Garris" -- John Landis Episode
Interview 4:47
"Post Mortem with Mick Garris" -- John Landis Episode
"Post Mortem with Mick Garris": Episode 1 -- Frank Darabont
Interview 5:26
"Post Mortem with Mick Garris": Episode 1 -- Frank Darabont
Trailer
Trailer 3:53
Trailer
Digging Up the Marrow
Trailer 1:32
Digging Up the Marrow
Tales from the Script
Trailer 2:23
Tales from the Script

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
  • Born
    • December 4, 1951
    • Santa Monica, California, USA
  • Spouse
    • Cynthia GarrisMay 13, 1982 - present
  • Other works
    Novel: "A Life In Cinema"
  • Publicity listings
    • 14 Interviews
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Works frequently with Stephen King in developing the bestselling author's books into television versions. Garris sits in the director's chair while King delivers the script of his choice.
  • Quotes
    As a director I work with actors, cinematographers, composers...All sorts of talented, creative people. But if the make-up don't work, nothing works. That's why I think of make-up guys as the ultimate magicians. They suspension of disbelief is what their magic's all about, and I'm in awe of them
  • Trademark
      Strong overhead lighting of pink and green

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