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IMDbPro

Jay Russell(I)

  • Director
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
On the set of "Ladder 49"
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 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 Critic's 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 Critic's 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 Picture's "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 has numerous projects in development and continues to make documentary films.
BornJanuary 10
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 10
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 5 wins

Photos12

Director Jay Russell (center) discusses a scene with Joaquin Phoenix (left) and John Travolta (right).
Jay Russell and Alex Etel in The Water Horse (2007)
Alexis Bledel and Jay Russell in Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Jay Russell, Sid, and Ralph in The Water Horse (2007)
Jay Russell and Joaquin Phoenix on the set of Ladder 49
Jay Russell, Roger Ebert and Skip (Enzo)
Ben Chaplin, Jay Russell, and Alex Etel in The Water Horse (2007)
Jay Russell and Alex Etel in The Water Horse (2007)
Jay Russell and Park So-Dam
On the Set of "Ladder 49"
Sissy Spacek and Jay Russell in Tuck Everlasting (2002)

Known for

My Dog Skip (2000)
My Dog Skip
7.0
  • Director
  • 2000
John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix in Ladder 49 (2004)
Ladder 49
6.5
  • Director
  • 2004
Jonathan Jackson and Alexis Bledel in Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Tuck Everlasting
6.6
  • Director
  • 2002
The Water Horse (2007)
The Water Horse
6.4
  • Director
  • 2007

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth
    • Director
    • In Development
  • Anne Heche, Kevin Daniels, Carlos Gómez, Brian Tee, Ali Skovbye, and Griffin Kane in One Christmas Eve (2014)
    One Christmas Eve
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 2014
  • The Water Horse (2007)
    The Water Horse
    • Director
    • 2007
  • John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix in Ladder 49 (2004)
    Ladder 49
    • Director
    • 2004
  • Jonathan Jackson and Alexis Bledel in Tuck Everlasting (2002)
    Tuck Everlasting
    • Director
    • 2002
  • My Dog Skip (2000)
    My Dog Skip
    • Director
    • 2000
  • Great Drives (1996)
    Great Drives
    • Director (episode four, episode one)
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1996
  • Case Closed (1993)
    Case Closed
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 1993
  • Don LaFontaine and John Walsh in America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988)
    America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • Kevin Bacon and Wilford Brimley in End of the Line (1987)
    End of the Line
    • Director
    • 1987

Producer

  • Brendan Fraser, Colm Meaney, and Yaya DaCosta in Stand Off (2011)
    Stand Off
    • producer
    • 2011
  • The Water Horse (2007)
    The Water Horse
    • executive producer
    • 2007
  • My Dog Skip (2000)
    My Dog Skip
    • executive producer
    • 2000
  • Chris Eddy and Gina Smith in CyberLife (1996)
    CyberLife
    • segment producer
    • TV Series
    • 1996

Writer

  • Kevin Bacon and Wilford Brimley in End of the Line (1987)
    End of the Line
    • written by
    • 1987
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos1

Black Sparrow Trailer
Demo Reel 2:28
Black Sparrow Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Born
    • January 10
    • North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
  • Spouse
    • Lee Cunningham1991 - present
  • Other works
    "Highway 61" PBS special, 1996
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    First job: Directed parks and tourism commercials for the state of Arkansas. Boss: Bill Clinton.

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